Last Thursday evening I attended my first Jane Austen Society meeting. The Jane Austen Society of North America is a society of people that love to get together and discuss all things Jane Austen. Her books, her biography and any academic nuance that someone can think of and research. I was the recipient of a membership because my DS bought one this summer. It was a pleasant surprise when I received my handwritten membership letter from the society secretary and she told me the local chapter would be in touch. Mostly, the local chapter is comprised of English profs and retired English profs. The meeting was at a member's house on the NW Arm off Purcell's Cove and just finding it was an adventure, but we arrived in good time despite traffic delays and a useless google map.
Some of the regular members had just returned from the national AGM in Philadelphia, and they reported on what they saw before we listened to a paper that one of them had presented there. It was research on a brother of Jane Austen who as a Captain in the Royal Navy was stationed here in Halifax. She drew parallels between his life and his wife and the characters of Capt. Wentworth and Mrs Croft in Pursuasion.
It was an interesting evening, with great food to boot, and I'm looking forward to December 16, when we all meet again for Jane's Birthday lunch. (She probably won't be there, unless she's a Zombie.)
I Blame Jane (AISSBH)
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