Join Professor Andrea Hearn to Discuss A JANE AUSTEN EDUCATION at Dec. JASNA Meeting

Professor Andrea Hearn will be the guest

discussion leader for

A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz

at the Dec. 9 Middle TN JASNA Meeting

Dear Current JASNA Members and Those Interested in JASNA,

Please join us for the December JASNA TN meeting coming up on December 9 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Andrea Hearn will lead a discussion of A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz.

Andrea is a member of the English Department at Vanderbilt with a specialty in eighteenth and early nineteenth century English literature. She has taught writing courses at Vanderbilt on commodity culture, crime narratives, the romantic comedy, poetry, and the literature of the Great War; most recently, she has taught a First-Year Writing Seminar on Jane Austen.

William Deresiewicz was an associate professor of English at Yale University until 2008 and is a widely published book critic. His reviews and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, The Nation, Bookforum, and The American Scholar. From Amazon’s description of the book, we learn that before discovering Jane Austen's works, William Deresiewicz was a very different young man. A sullen and arrogant graduate student, he never thought Austen would have anything to offer him. Then he read  Emma—and everything changed. In this unique and lyrical book, Deresiewicz weaves the misadventures of Austen’s characters with his own youthful follies, demonstrating the power of the great novelist’s teachings—and how, for Austen, growing up and making mistakes are one and the same. Honest, erudite, and deeply moving, A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man’s discovery of the world outside himself.

Judy Isaac will be hosting at her home in Brentwood.  Her address is: 1241 Cliftee Drive, Brentwood, TN (in Forest Hills).

Home phone: 370-0736

Directions from Nashville:

Drive south on Granny White Pike, past Otter Creek Rd. and Lake Radnor.  Continue 1 mile south past Otter Creek Rd. , and turn right onto Taggartwood Drive (immediately before Richland CC)  If you pass Richland CC, you have gone too far.  Drive up the Taggartwood hill (.01 mile) and turn right onto Cliftee. We are near the end at the cul de sac (.04 mile)  Parking in the driveway or on the street is fine.

As always, please bring a treat for tea.  Hope to see you there!

Coastal Carolina Tryon Palace Sponsors Austen Event: "Drinking with Jane"

	Scene from Historic Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina where Richard Foss will give the address:  "Drinking with Jane"    "Drinking With Jane Austen"
Dates/Times:	Saturday, October 27, 2:00 p.m.
Location:	North Carolina History Center, Cullman Performance Hall
Description:	The world portrayed in Jane Austen's books was one of elaborate banquets and sumptuous parties, but the author provided very few details on just what was consumed at those events, and some of the items she did describe are unfamiliar to the modern reader. Food and beverage writer Richard Foss will supply some of the details Ms. Austen left out - what refreshments both alcoholic and non-intoxicating were imbibed by the various social classes in England of 1800, and how Ms. Austen indicated the character of her characters from the things they chose to drink, or to serve. This lecture was first given at the annual meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America in Los Angeles in December of 2010. Richard Foss has been writing about food and drink professionally since 1986, when he started reviewing restaurants for the Los Angeles Reader newspaper. Since then he has written for over twenty different publications, including contributing articles to the Encyclopedia of World Food Cultures (Greenwood 2011). He is currently on the board of the Culinary Historians of Southern California, teaches a class called "500 Years of American Food" at Osher Institute/UCLA Extension, and has written a book on the history of rum that has been released by Reaktion Books. A sampling of beverages and period foods will be served following the program. Both alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Attendees who wish to partake in any sampling of alcoholic beverages must be 21 years of age or older. Reservations Strongly Suggested- Call 252-639-3524 for Tickets
Admission:	$12 per adult, $10 per Council of Friends Member, $4 per child Reservations Strongly Suggested- Call 252-639-3524 for Tickets



New Book Examines Names Austen Gives Her Characters and Locations

 

 

If you’re anything like me, I’ll bet you have wondered how Jane Austen settled on the names for the characters and places in her novels.  Among others, these questions have crossed my mind :  Was “Lizzy” a popular nickname for headstrong girls at the time?  Did Austen have a natural antipathy toward the name Willoughby because she had a distasteful neighbor with that moniker? Did a young Jane Austen read about a Mr. Darcy in a newspaper article on a bright blue day when she was particularly happy?  I’m not a fiction writer myself, but I feel certain that as careful a novelist as she was, Jane Austen thought long and hard before finally selecting each character’s name in every one of her novels.  

Author Janine Barchas has carefully delved into the issue of the names of people and places that populate Austen’s novels in her newly published scholarly book from The John Hopkins University Press, Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity.  Matter of Fact’s  book jacket states, “Barchas is the first scholar to conduct extensive research into the names and locations in Austen’s fiction by taking full advantage of the explosion of archival materials now available online.   According to Barchas, Austen plays confidently with the tension between truth and invention that characterizes the realist novel.  Of course, the argument that Austen deployed famous names presupposes an active celebrity culture during the Regency, a phenomenon recently accepted by scholars.  The names Austen pluck from history for her protagonists (Dashwood, Wentworth, Woodhouse, Tilney, Fitzwilliam and many more) were immensely famous in her day.  She seems to bank upon this familiarity for interpretive effect, often upending associations with comic intent.”

This is the same book that Susie Russenberger recommended to those present at the October meeting of the Middle TN JASNA regional group.  Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity promises to be a scholarly book which may cross over to the popular non-fiction category for Austen lovers.  --Mildred Tilley

Beth Pattillo, Author of The Dashwood Sisters Tell All, to Speak at Oct. Meeting



 



Middle Tennessee JASNA members are in for a treat in October when author Beth Pattillo will be the speaker for the Fall Meeting.  Ms. Pattillo, author of numerous books, specifically a series of books which echo the plotlines, settings and characters of Jane Austen novels  (Jane Austen Ruined My Life, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart and The Dashwood Sisters Tell All) , will speak to the group about her writing life and how Jane Austen has influenced her ideas about what makes a great novel.  Details about this meeting are as follows:

 

Date: Sunday, October 14



Time:  2:00-4:00 pm

Hostess:  Mildred Tilley

Location:  4413 Howell Place, Nashville

 

 

Be sure to bring light refreshments for high tea prior to the program

Handmade Book Festival That Jane Austen Surely Would Have Attended!

 

Local Janeite, Caroline Davis, passed this poster on to me about "Handmade and Bound," Watkins

College of Art's wonderful fall festival that celebrates handmade books.  I think that if Jane Austen were alive today, she would not miss this!!--Mildred Tilley

"A Little Tea, If You Please"

JASNA members obviously like the tea they're drinking!

Ten intrepid Middle Tennessee JASNA members made their way to Germantown in north Nashville on August 25 to enjoy an elegant afternoon tea at the Savannah Tea Company.  Surrounded by teacups and vintage hats on the walls of the resaurtant, the Middle TN Janeites sipped three specialty teas as well as nibbled on elegant tea sandwiches, fruits, scones and bite-sized desserts.  A watermelon sorbet ended this elegant summer repast!

JASNA Summer Meeting at Savannah Tea Company



The Middle Tennessee JASNA Region will hold its summer meeting on Saturday, August 25 at the Savannah Tea Company Restaurant and Gift Shop.  We plan to meet as a group at this restaurant located in historic Germantown at 707 Monroe Street for lunch/high tea at 1:00 in the afternoon.  Since reservations are necessary at the Savannah Tea Co. on Saturdays, Mildred Tilley will need to hear if you plan to attend by August 13 so that she can give the folks at the restaurant an accurate head count. Contact Mildred by e-mail at:  millietilley@gmail.com.  The site below for the Savannah Tea Co. gives detailed information about menu options and prices.  You may opt to order tea or order one of the luncheon options.  However, I definitely need to know by Aug. 13 if you plan to order high tea.  (Note that the cost of tea is considerably more than the luncheon prices.)

http://www.savannahteacompany.com/menu.htm

Jane Austen's Ring Sells for $236,557



A lovely ring for sale!



A simple odontalite ring (substitute for turquoise) set in gold was recently sold at auction through  Sotheby's for $236,557.  Originally belonging to Jane Austen, this ring was bequethed to Cassandra Austen, Jane's sister, in 1817.  To learn more about this ring, click here.

Illustrator Janet K. Lee to Speak at May Meeting

 2012 Spring Meeting Details

Speaker:  Janet K. Lee, Illustrator of Emma and Northanger Abbey

Date:  Sunday, May 20

Time:  2:00-4:00 pm

Hostess: Paula Covington, 907 Estes Road, located across from Woodmont Park

Remember to bring a treat to share at "high tea" at the beginning of the meeting!

Janet Lee's whimsical illustration from Emma

The Middle Tennessee Chapter of JASNA is delighted to feature artist and illustrator, Janet K. Lee, as our speaker for May's meeting. As the illustrator for the Marvel graphic novel versions of Emma and Northanger Abbey, Ms. Lee should bring many insights about the challenges of adapting Austen's work to the graphic novel format. According to Janet Lee's website, she has been "illustrating her life since she could hold a pencil." It sounds like her presentation should be a big hit for Middle TN Janeites!

Something to Post on Your Calendar: Louisville Jane Austen Festival 2012

"Travellers Rest" Trip Delights JASNA Members

 

Middle TN JASNA members took a "field trip" to Travellers Rest, home of early Tennessee settler, John Overton, at their February meeting. In addition to touring the Overton home originally built in 1799, JASNA members enjoyed a "spot" of tea and learned about Regency Era fashion from Tonya Staggs, educational co-ordinator at Travellers Rest. 

The detailed house tour, led by Brian Allison, curator of Travellers Rest, informed the group about the role John Overton played in the development of Tennessee, his relationship with Andrew Jackson as well as his interesting personal life (he was a short man married to a much younger woman who was over 6 feet tall!)  Many of the furnishings in the house belonged to the Overton family and much was said about hospitality and entertaining that went on in this home in the 1800's. 

Following the house tour, JASNA members went to the "barn" where they sipped tea, ate sweet delicacies and listened to Tonya Staggs give a wonderfully illustrated lecture about clothing of the Regency period.  Tonya did an especially good job of linking historical happenings such as the French Revolution and Britain's war with France to the changes in clothing that appeared in the early 1800's.  She also showed a bonnet which she had made that looked much like ones in fashion plates of this period. JASNA members were glad to hear that workshops about hat and dress making from this era will be offered in the future at Travellers Rest.

February JASNA Meeting to be Held at Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum

Wish to see more information about Travellers Rest? Click on this link to their home page.

Middle Tennessee JASNA members are invited to historic Travellers Rest for the February 12 meeting.  The program will feature a tour of this historic Middle Tennessee home built by John Overton in 1799, followed by high tea and a presentation about Regency dress by Tonya Staggs, Director of Youth Education Programs at Travellers Rest.

The tour begins at 1:30 pm; cost of admission and tour is $10.00 payable at the gift shop.  Parking is in a gravel lot near the gift shop, with overflow parking in the grass nearby. 

Members are also encouraged to bring $5.00 for annual local dues as well as a treat to share with the group for high tea.  (If you cannot attend the February meeting, please mail your payment to Jo Ann Staples at 57 Revere Park, Nashville, TN 37205.  Checks may be made out to JASNA Tennessee.)

National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar This Summer: "Jane Austen and Her Contemporaries"

In June 2012, the National Endowment for the Humanities will sponsor a seminar, "Jane Austen and Her Contemporaries," at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO.   This seminar is one in which sixteen participants will seek significant new insights about Jane Austen by reading her works closely alongside  works of now understudied (but well-known) writers of her own day. This program is designed primarily for those who teach American undergraduate students, although qualified independent scholars are also eligible to apply.

The seminar is scheduled from June 18-July 20, 2012; deadline for applications is March 1, 2012.
For more information about the seminar, click on this link.

Vanderbilt's Dean Dever Leads Outstanding Discussion of "Persuasion" at Dec. Meeting

Dean Carolyn Dever and JASNA member Phil Staples at the December meeting.

The Nashville chapter of JASNA-Middle Tennessee gathered on December 11, 2011, at the Abbotsford home of Roberta Maguire to enjoy their final meeting of the year.  Following an elegant and varied tea, members settled in to listen to and exchange views with Dean Carolyn Dever, a professor of English at Vanderbilt University and dean of the College of Arts & Science.  Dean Dever, a Victorian specialist who has taught a first-year writing seminar for Vanderbilt on Austen adaptations, spoke about her favorite Austen novel, Persuasion, and the resistance of her college students to its heroine.  Dean Dever speculated that Austen’s famous formulation of Anne Elliott—“She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older”—explained her female students’ reluctance to identify with the reverse aging of Austen’s “most experimental” narration.  A spirited discussion followed Dean Dever’s remarks about what she called Austen’s “sexiest” novel.  The conversation was stimulating, the company was convivial, the food was excellent, and the weather was mild—a lovely way to conclude a year of local JASNA gatherings and welcome the holiday season! --by Andrea Hearn

Vanderbilt University Offers "An Evening of Jane Austen Dances"

Reviewer Calls Janet Lee's New Version of Northanger Abbey "Energetic and Vibrant"

Nashville illustrator, Janet Lee, has recently published a new graphic novel of Northanger Abbey.  This highly reviewed version of Austen's send up of Gothic novels is published by Marvel Comics.  Ms. Lee will be the  speaker for the Middle Tennessee JASNA's May meeting.  To read a longer review of this work, click on this link.

Information About 2012 Annual General Meeting is Available

JASNA's NY Region will host the 2012 Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn, NY.  The theme for the AGM to be held Oct. 5-7 2012 is "Sex, Money and Power in Jane Austen's Fiction."  Although all the breakout sessions have not been posted, plenary speakers include:  Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Dr. Cornel West, Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University; Sandy Lerner, Chawton House library founder and Daniel James Cole, Fashion History Scholar.  More information about this exceptionally rich meeting may be found at the AGM website.