JASNA CWNY February Meeting - A Book Pairing!

Lady Susan and Leonora with Susan Harris-Gamard Saturday, February 21, 2026, 1:00 pm EST via Zoom Join us for a lively discussion comparing two epistolary novels, Lady Susan (Austen) and Leonora (Maria Edgeworth) led by CWNY Regional Coordinator Susan Harris-Gamard. Haven't read the books but want to before the meeting? Both books can be accessed via PROJECT GUTENBERG: Lady Susan: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/946 Leonora: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35638 To get the Zoom link for the meeting, sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-E6RT4mlQnalk_60oBcd8g#/registration Mark your Calendars for our March and April Meetings! Saturday, March 21, 2026, 1:00 pm EST via Zoom A virtual tour of the recent Morgan Library exhibit “A Lively Mind” with Juliette Wells. Sign up for the Zoom link will be sent in March. To learn more about the exhibit and see a select number of images, visit the Morgan Libraries exhibit page at https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/lively-mind-jane-austen-250 Saturday, April 18, 2026, 1:00 pm, Pittsford Barnes & Noble Community Room Jane Austen and Thrift - an exploration of thrift in Jane Austen's life and works with CWNY member Marie Sprayberry. To explore the topic early, see the book Jane Austen's Guide to Thrift by Kathleen Anderson and Susan Jones and the article "To be above Vulgar Economy: Thrifty Measures in Jane Austen's Letters" by Susan Allen Ford, Persuasions 30 (https://jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number30/ford.pdf) Coming in May - War of 1812 Weekend at Genesee Country Village & Museum Genesee Country Village & Museum, Mumford, NY, War of 1812 weekend is May 16 and 17 and they have invited JASNA-CWNY to be part of the event. Mark your calendars now - more information is coming soon!

January Meeting

Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 1:00 pm on Zoom. Jane Austen's Garden with Molly Williams and Jessica Roux To get the Zoom link for the meeting, sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/25FcZHEDRDifhpt-49JL0g#/registration

Jane Austen Day in Brighton, NY

Town of Brighton, New York-Government Today is 250th anniversary of famed English author Jane Austen's birth. Brighton, NY shares a connection with the author as our town is named after Brighton, England, a town frequently noted in Austen's work. As such, today is proclaimed as Jane Austen Day in the Town of Brighton!

 Afternoon Tea to Celebrate Jane Austen's 250th Birthday

Sunday, December 14, 2025, Asa Ransom House, Clarence, NY, 1pm

Tea at Adelaide's at the Asa Ransom House in celebration of Jane Austen's birthday! There are still spots left, see information below!

Want to learn more about tea at Adelaide's? Visit https://asaransom.com/adelaides

Cost: $46, tax and service included. Can be paid at the door using a check to Susan Harris-Gamard. Need more information? Please contact Susan directly at mailto:sharrisgamard@gmail.com.

Jane Austen Day at Barnes & Noble

 Help us introduce B&N customers to Jane Austen's Genius

Join Us as We Celebrate

Jane Austen's 250th Birthday!

The event will include information about Jane Austen, her writing, family,

and home, dancing, a cravat-tying demonstration, and more! 

There will also be birthday treats and a raffle of Austen-related items!

This event is free and open to the community, so bring your friends and family!

When: November 15, 2025, 1 – 3 pm

Where: Community Room (Second Floor), Barnes & Noble,

Pittsford Plaza, Pittsford, NY

Nagasaki Bay 1833
workshop of Kawahara Keiga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period

Event:   JASNACWNY April Neeting
Title:     Japan in the Time of Jane Austen by Todd Mitchell
When:   April 19, 2025, 1:00 pm
Where:  In person, Barnes and Noble, Pittsford Community Room

Todd Mitchell became fascinated with Japan as a high school exchange student. He majored in East Asian Studies at the University at Buffalo, during which time he studied Japanese at Christian International University in Tokyo for a year. Todd taught English as a Second Language for over 30 years, and retired last June. He and his wife, Atsuko Nishida, celebrated by visiting family in Japan for six weeks last fall. Todd looks forward to spending more time on his hobbies of history, Japanese culture, and reenacting the War of 1812. 

See you there.

Black Lives in 18th and 19th Century Britain

Ignatius Sancho, 1768 British writer and composer
by Thomas Gainsborough
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Sancho

Event:     Discussion led by Kate Jorgensen and Alice Villaseñor
Title:       Exploring Black Lives in 18th and 19th Century Britain
When:     March 15, 2025
Where:   In Person at Pittsford Barnes & Noble, Community Room

We will discuss a BBC Radio 4 series hosted by scholar Gretchen Gerzina. Dr. Gerzina travels to different locations in England, Wales, and Scotland to interview experts about Black people living in the United Kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Before our meeting, please review one or both of the following compilations:

Omnibus 1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x15n5

Omnibus 2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07yqp3v

Hope to see you there!

The Role of Parents in Jane Austen's Novels

JASNA CWNY

February Meeting

Event: Book Discussion

Topic: Parenting in Jane Austen's Novels

When: Saturday, February 15, 2025, 1 pm

Where:   Zoom to register click HERE

At our next meeting, Susan Harris-Gamard will lead us in a discussion of parents and the concept of
parentage in Jane Austen's novels.

Throughout Jane Austen's novels, parents play a key role not only in the lives of her characters, but
within the narrative itself. Susan will start out our discussion by exploring the variety of parents in the
novels, while focusing on the consequences of those parents’ actions. She will also be examining the
concept of parentage and the family tree and what these mean to the many parents in the novels. Her
specific focus will be on the “fallen women” in her novels, and the role of parents in their “falling”.
A lively discussion will ensue immediately afterwards. 

Please feel free to bring your own ideas about
parents and parentage to the table.

Here are three available references that Susan has provided for the meeting:
General Tilney and Tyranny: Northanger Abbey untitled

Father Figures in the Novels of Jane Austen
The Transformative “Fall”: A Structural Metaphor in Jane Austen’s Persuasion

And two more references from older issues of Persuasions if you have them:
Parental Relationships in Jane Austen’s Novels: New Perceptions on Rereading » JASNA
Breeding and Inbreeding in Mansfield Park

The meeting will be on Zoom since it is winter in Rochester. Here is the link to register for the Zoom

meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zLJ6CqdKQeitC_bz-MtDYQ

When you register, Zoom will send you a link for the meeting.

See you on Zoom!

Orphans in Jane Austen's Novels: A Discussion

Event: A discussion led by Susan Harris-Gamard, a JASNA-CWNY member

Topic: Orphans in Jane Austen's Novels

When: Saturday, January 18, 2025, 1 pm

Where:   Zoom

Many of Jane Austen's novels have characters who have lost at least one parent. In Emma, Jane Fairfax is an orphan, and Emma Woodhouse and Frank Churchill have each lost one parent. In Persuasion, Anne Elliot has lost her mother and has a father who has, for all practical purposes, abandoned her. These characters have suffered loss yet they manage. Jane Fairfax must depend on her father's friends, Frank and Emma remain in wealthy families, and Anne Elliot is still an Elliot.

At our next meeting, Susan Harris-Gamard will lead us in a discussion of orphans in 18th century literature and Jane Austen's works. Here are two references that Susan has provided for the meeting:

https://content.e-bookshelf.de/media/reading/L-2846089-54482e95ca.pdf

https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/extended-reading/she-was-only-anne-elliot

The meeting will be on Zoom since it is winter in Rochester. Here is the link to register for the Zoom meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Q-DJvgCfSRyd6l-BRDidiw

When you register, Zoom will send you a link for the meeting.

See you on Zoom!

Celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday

Happy Birthday Jane Austen!

🎂🎂🎂

Celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday

Saturday, December 14

1:00 - 3:00 pm

The Highlands at Pittsford

100 Hahnemann Trail, Pittsford, NY 14534

Learn how to make puzzle purses with local JASNA member Aniela Wolkonowski.

All supplies provided.

_____________

Growing Older with Jane Austen

C.E.Brock
https://pemberley.com/janeinfo/jabrokil.html#senssens

 

Event: JASNA CWNY November Meeting

Topic: "Growing Older with Jane Austen"

Discussion led by Marie Sprayberry, JASNA-CWNY member

When: Saturday November 16 23, 2024 at 1 pm EST: Note this event is postponed to November 23

Where:   In Person at Pittsford Barnes & Noble, Community Room

Marie Sprayberry writes: At our Sat., Nov. 16 meeting at the Pittsford Barnes & Noble, I will lead a discussion inspired by Maggie Lane’s 2014 book Growing Older with Jane Austen (published in the UK by Robert Hale, London). Unfortunately, this book is not currently available in the US except at outrageous prices from online booksellers. 

However, coming to our rescue are two guest posts by Brenda S. Cox on Vic Sanborn’s blog “Jane Austen’s World.” In these posts, Cox (the author of the book Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England) summarizes Lane’s chapters; provides (at the end of the first post) a list of characters Lane discusses in her book; and gives us much food for thought. I thank both Brenda Cox herself for these posts, and our own Celia Easton for bringing them to my attention. Here are the links:

https://janeaustensworld.com/2023/03/27/growing-older-with-jane-austen-part-1/

https://janeaustensworld.com/2023/04/24/growing-older-with-jane-austen-part-2/

To get things going on the 16th, here are some discussion questions to consider. Let’s definitely discuss this first set:

(1) Here are Cox’s own questions at the end of her first post: Who is your favorite older character (let’s say over 35; lifetimes were shorter then) in Austen’s novels? Who is your least favorite older character? Why? Do they show you anything particular about aging in Austen’s England?

And then let’s pick a few of these others:

(2) In her consideration of characters growing older, Lane also includes some characters under 35 who are encountering the limits of marriageability in Ch. 1, “The Loss of Youth and Beauty.”  Whose loss of “bloom” and “approach to the years of danger” may become a problem for them, and how do they overcome this problem (or not)?

(3) One topic Lane discusses in Ch. 2, “My Time of Life,” is that of older characters who have arrived at a certain “time of life” and use this perspective (sometimes explicitly) to give advice to younger characters. Which pairs of characters do you see as falling into the advisor/advisee pattern, and how successful is the advice-giving in each case?

(4) In Ch. 3, “Parent Against Child,” Lane considers several characters in parental roles who get into tense situations with their children or wards. Who are some of these parents/guardians and children/wards, and how are the tensions eventually resolved?

(5) In Ch. 4, “Old Wives,” Lane discusses the characters who have “been married long enough to come to some accommodation with the choices they had made in youth and to live with whatever idiosyncrasies they may have discovered in their husbands” (p. 72). Who are some of these characters, and what do you think of their ways of adapting?

(6) In four chapters, Lane considers the fates of “Old Maids” (Ch. 5) and various types of widows (Chs. 7-9). Among the various spinsters and widows, how do money (as also discussed in Ch. 10, “Age and Money”) and the professions or social status of fathers or deceased husbands influence their situations? And whose adaptations to their situations do you admire most and least? 

(7) In her final two chapters, Lane discusses “The Dangerous Indulgence of Illness” (Ch. 11) and “Nothing to Do but to Die” (Ch. 12). In which of Austen’s works do the illnesses or deaths of characters play roles in the plots?

Review of the Cleveland AGM

JASNA AGM
Cleveland

 Intriguing? Come and find out what really happened at JASNA's Annual General Meeting in Cleveland. Meet the folks who attended and find out what they learned. See you there!

Event: JASNA CWNY October Meeting

Topic: AGM Reports

When: Saturday October 26, 2024 at 11:00 AM Note change of date and time!!!!

Where:   In Person at Pittsford Barnes & Noble, Community Room

September Double Header

September features an exciting double header for our region

First up is an event in the Buffalo region on September 12:

Event: Jane Austen: The Origins of a True Original

Where: Clarence Library

When: September 12, 6 pm

Next up is an event in the Rochester area on September 21.

President James A. Garfield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield

Event:  A Preview of Dr. Alice Villaseñor's talk at the AGM in October

Where: Pittsford Barnes and Noble Community Room

When:  September 21, 1 pm

Political Satire - Austen Style

This session will focus on “Austen style” political satire in two contexts. First, the session will highlight examples of the author’s satirical allusions to local Hampshire political campaigns. In consideration of the conference location’s proximity to the Garfield National Historic Site, the session will also discuss President Garfield’s use of Austen’s satire to describe a book about a political figure of his own time.

Dr. Alice Villaseñor is the Associate Director of Civic and Community Engagement at SUNY Buffalo State University. She has published on Jane Austen and has a forthcoming book chapter about teaching Elizabeth Gaskell. A lifetime JASNA member, she has served JASNA as the 2006 International Visitor, member of the IVP Committee, board member of JASNA and JASNA-SW, and current member of the JASNA EDI Committee. This will be her ninth AGM presentation.

LinkedIn profile for Dr. Villaseñor: www.linkedin.com/in/alice-villaseñor

Join the Navy See the World

The Spirit of Buffalo - Sail Ho!

"A little beauty, and a few smiles, and a few compliments to the navy, and I am a lost man."

Persuasion chapter 7

A quick reminder about our Buffalo area events:

Film Night

We have our Film Night at Clarence Library on June 27th at 6:30 pm. Susan will bring popcorn! If anyone wishes to bring additional treats, it would be greatly appreciated. We will be viewing the 2007 Persuasion.  

Sailing Adventure

Also, if anyone is interested in the Spirit of Buffalo sail, there are tickets left for that day. It’s Saturday, July 20th, at 6 pm. 

To register contact Susan Harris-Gamard at: sharrisgamard@gmail.com

What a wonderful combination of events! You can watch a great movie adaptation of Jane Austen's most naval novel and, a few weeks later take to the high seas (or at least Lake Erie) on the Spirit of Buffalo.

Hope you can join in!

Regency Games

A Game of Cribbage or Boney's Last Shuffle
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/389106

"We have had Mrs. Lillingstone and the Chamberlaynes to call on us. My mother was very much struck with the odd looks of the two latter; I have only seen her. Mrs. Busby drinks tea and plays at cribbage here tomorrow..."  Jane Austen, Letter to Cassandra, 1801

Regency Era Games for Young Ladies

Both are Skittles. Which one is from the Regency?

Try a few games at our next meeting on Saturday, May 11 at 1:30 pm. (Please Note the Date & Time Change) Pittsford Barnes & Noble Community Room

Black Girl in a Big Dress Let's Watch and Discuss

 

Black Girl n a Big Dress
https://www.facebook.com/BlackGirlinaBigDress/

Event: JASNA CWNY April Meeting

Topic: “Black Girl in a Big Dress” Webseries, let's watch and discuss

                Discussion led by Alice Villaseñor, JASNA-CWNY member

When: Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 1 pm EDT

Where:   IN PERSON at Pittsford Barnes and Noble, Community Room

 

Black Girl in a Big Dress is a web series featuring “an African American Anglophile cosplayer in love with the Victorian Era” (See the “About” Section of the BGBD YouTube Channel). For the April meeting, Alice will facilitate a discussion about the first season, which can be viewed on Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/@BlackGirlinaBigDress. Please try to watch as much of the first season as you can so that we can have a lively conversation (it will take about 30-minutes). 

I think you will enjoy both the series and the discussion.

 

 

Jane Austen for Young Adults

 

By Cassandra Austen, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen

Event: JASNA CWNY March Meeting

Topic: A discussion of young adult versions of Jane Austen’s books

When: Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 12:30 pm EDT. Note the earlier start time.

                It's a Barnes and Noble thing.

Where:   IN PERSON at Pittsford Barnes and Noble, Community Room

Jane Austen started writing when she was in her teens. Many of her fans started reading her works in their teens, and now her works are enjoyed by young and old. Many authors have taken Jane Austen's works a step further and written Jane Austen themed novels specifically for young adults. 

Join us for a discussion of works written for young adults. The discussion will be lead by Kate Jorgensen with assistance from Celia Easton. Try a young adult novel and let us know what you think of it. Here are a few websites you can visit for suggestions:

https://www.sjpl.org/blogs/post/ya-friday-jane-austen-retellings/

https://arapahoelibraries.bibliocommons.com/list/share/2107229229/2218056899

https://www.janeaustensummer.org/post/juvenile-book-adaptations-of-jane-austen

London Farrington Coach 1835
James Pollard (1792 - 1867)

Event: JASNA CWNY February Meeting

Topic:            "Dormeuse to Donkey Carts

The Horse-drawn Carriages in the writings and life of Jane Austen"

                       A talk on carriages by Amy Bracey, British carriage expert & author

When: Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 1 pm EST

Where: Online through Zoom 

Registration: To register click HERE

Catherine Morland was forced to take a coach home alone when General Tilney threw her out of Northanger Abbey, an egregious breach of etiquette. Mr. Knightly usually preferred to walk. Carriages were an important theme in Jane Austen's work. Please join us on Zoom as Amy Bracey explores the topic of carriages in Jane Austen's work.

About our speaker:

Amy Bracey regards the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as being the golden era of horse-drawn transport with some of the most beautiful carriages being designed and built. They were a way to get from A to B, a representation of social standing, and a magnet for the ladies! Jane Austen both experienced and wrote about carriages in all these ways - themes that will be explored and illustrated in this talk.

Amy has had a passion for horse-drawn carriages since childhood. After spending 15 years working in museums, her interest in carriages turned to a career with her work for The National Trust as a researcher, cataloguing the carriages within their collections. In 2015 she took on the role of Project Curator for The Carriage Foundation. Here she deals with the day-to-day running of a charity and advises museums and individuals across the globe on the care, conservation, research and interpretation of historic carriages.

She has lectured on various subjects with a connection to horse-drawn carriages for groups and organisations across the UK, Europe and America and regularly contributes articles to magazines and journals. In 2020 she published her first book 'The A to Z of Carriages' and has several more in the pipeline.

Please join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion. It's on Zoom so no carriage is required. 

 

JASNY CWNY Buffalo area event

Buffalo Area Event

Event:     Buffalo Area JASNA CWNY meeting

Topic:      Book Discussion: The Mysteries of Udolpho

                Catherine Morland's Favorite book

When:     Saturday, February 24, 2:00 PM

                Note this is not on the third Saturday

Where:   Clarence Library Meeting Room

Please join us for this Buffalo Area event. Enjoy some tea and Jane Austen and get your dose of Gothic horrors. That will be fun even if you haven't read the book.

Susan Harris-Gamard writes:

Announcing our February meeting! Trying to get as many people to attend this one as we can. I am collaborating with the librarian at Clarence Library to get more attendees interested, both from the high school and the community. I thought it would be fun to read The Mysteries of Udolpho since Austen mentions the book in Northanger Abbey, but it is long, so if you aren't up to it, still please come to discuss regardless. A lively discussion with people of various backgrounds will add to the atmosphere.

More events are in the works. As always, if anyone has ideas or even better connections please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Buffalo Area JASNA CWNY Book Discussion

Event: Buffalo area JASNA CWNY Book Club Meeting

When: Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 1:30 PM Note Time Change

Where: Clarence Library Meting Room

Please Join us, here are the details:

There will be tea and biscuits. 
First 15 to arrive will receive a free Jane Austen book mark. 
The discussion will revolve around:
Turning a Beast into a Prince: Heroes and Villains in Austen's World
2 Books: 
Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen
The Darcy Myth by Rachel Feder