To celebrate Jane’s 250th all year long, JASNA Virtual Region members are contributing and compiling 250 ways to do so. The starting list is here below on our website on Jane250 page on the JASNA Virtual Region website jasnavirtualregion.org and will be updated until all 250 ideas are posted. Check back often! To submit an idea, email to jasnavirtualregion@gmail.com and we will review to make sure it is consistent with JASNA policies on non-endorsement before posting. If you submit an idea that has not already been submitted earlier and that meets content guidelines of JASNA policies you will be entered to win a free JASNA membership for one year. There will be one winner for student members and one winner for non-student members of JASNA Virtual Region. The drawing will take place at the next scheduled Virtual Region meeting after we reach 250 ideas. You can enter as many ideas as you wish subject to review with JASNA content policies and the more entries, the better the chance of winning. With regard to that,
“The content herein (events, production, workshop, film adaptation, etc.) is not sponsored or
endorsed by JASNA but we are sharing it because we thought it might be of interest to
members.”
To get started, here are a few ways contributed so far this year:
1. Visit the Special Exhibition page on this website entitled Inspired by Austen, The Jane Doll Collection created by our own talented Virtual Region member, Jeanne Vaver, and watch the introductory video to see how she became inspired by Jane and created a Jane Austen doll and clothing collection, authentic to the Regency period patterns.
2. Binge-watch the 1995 P&P- perfect for those gloomy days you do not want to leave the couch during this year of the 250th because it is so true to the dialogue in the book. Watch any adaptation again, especially viewing them from a unique perspective or common theme—the combinations and permutations are infinite.
3. Tune into the JASNA P&P read on several consecutive Sundays, starting in January.
4. One member found escape in Austen during her own personal loss within her skating community in the tragic DC plane crash, sharing that Jane helps “connect with eternity” as she has endured for 250 years, and so will the memories of those lost to us on earth in the belief that we will all meet again.
5. Watch the Andrew Davies interview on the production of the 1995 P&P. Austen Chat (JASNA) Adapting Austen Episode 18 Andrew Davies on 1995 Pride and Prejudice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIiZyFBnAqA
6. Visit the Jane 250 Special Exhibit Inspired by Jane on the home page of the jasnavirtualregion.org of the Jane Doll Collection created by JASNA Virtual Member Jeanne Vaver. See the video there of how she created this wonderful collection over two years during the Pandemic and is now sharing it with Austen fans. Each month, look for a new article on a different aspect of the collection.
7. The Global Jane Austen Celebrating and Commemorating 250 Years of Jane Austen: University of Southampton: Southampton.ac.uk
8. Events at Jane Austen’s House . https://janeaustens.house/visit/jane-austen-250/
9. Events at Chawton House. https://chawtonhouse.org/whats-on/
10: Podcast:. https://austenconnection.substack.com/podcast
11. Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonnets-at-dawn/id1245449210
Please note that these podcasts are often available at multiple sites including Youtube, Spotify, Apple and other podcast outlets and we do not endorse any particular outlet.
13. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/festival-news/your-worldwide-guide-to-jane-austen-250th-events
14. https://janeaustensociety.org.uk/2025/01/the-jane-austen-society-agm-2025/
15. Read the book, Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby, in anticipation of the airing of the PBS/Masterpiece Theater 4 part mini-series in May 2025 or listen to the Audible version, read by Juliet Stevenson who sounds like Maggie Smith
16. See the movie theater re-release of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice coming soon to a theater near you! See the article and trailer here: https://www.focusfeatures.com/article/pride-and-prejudice_20-anniversary_trailer_tickets
17. If you are in the UK in 2025, see the West End London theater production of Austentacious: https://www.austentatiousimpro.com/westend and if the that is not in your travel plans for the 250th, watch the 2015 TV series Austentacious online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1soN7GURWE
18. Check out the JASNA podcasts at https://www.youtube.com/@jasnaorg
19. If you are a student, enter the Young Filmmaker contest sponsored by JASNA. See https://jasna.org/programs/young-filmmakers-contest/ for details. Student submissions during the 250th will be extra-special and we would love to see a JASNA Virtual Region student member do a film!
20. If you are visiting the UK, there is a West End London production of Clueless. Ticket details https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/clueless-tickets?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaign%7D&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqcO_BhDaARIsACz62vOpPy_kQpwd7PHZD_ICCOkWwDPAkk6WGebQpDiHyf5tw4JLaxLEps0aAgfmEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
21. If you visit the UK, there is a theater production of Austenland, too. https://www.westendtheatre.com/274092/shows/austenland-tickets/
22. In Winchester, the house at 8 College Street where Austen died will be open to the public for tours for the first time ever this summer. https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/events/no-8-college-street#:~:text=In%20the%20summer%20of%202025,story%20of%20her%20last%20days.
23. We all have a uniquely personal story we can share about how we came to be acquainted with Jane Austen and we encourage everyone to submit theirs and you may do so anonymously if you wish. To send your Austen story, just email us at jasnavirtualregion.org and to get you started see this wonderful contribution from our Virtual Region member:
How I Met Jane Austen
“My long life (83 years) has always included libraries and books and bookworm reading, but It was only about twenty some years ago when I first read Jane Austen, and this in spite of an undergraduate degree with a double major in Elementary Education and Literature in 1968 and a Master’s in Library Science in 1989. (How could this happen?) My first encounter with Jane Austen was in 1984 when our son Anthony was a Senior in high school. He had a major role in the annual spring play which that year was “Pride and Prejudice”. The title meant nothing tome. As parents, of course we were in the audience, and I had to say then and even now that this play was pretty hard to sit through. The costumes seemed to be a mishmash of thrift store finds and former prom outfits for both the women and men in the play. The drawing room setting was definitely furnished in an unrecognizable time period. There was so much talking and not so much action that it was difficult to know what was happening. It was a strange play to choose for a community that supported the school sports programs with enthusiasm, but for music and the other arts, not so much. Later, my faculty colleague Mrs. Brown, head of the English Department and retiring at the end of the school year, told me in conversation that she had chosen this play because she could not leave teaching without giving this group of exceptional Seniors a taste of Jane Austen. Then I understood that she gave her students something more valuable than the chance to be on stage. Her comment also gave me a nudge to put Jane Austen on my list of authors to investigate, but I never seemed to get to her, as the years passed.
Then, In 2008 on Sunday nights, Masterpiece Theater began showcasing Jane Austen films in a series titled “The Complete Jane Austen”. Each book, presented in episodes, had interesting characters who were involved with each other in situations happening in the past but very similar to what could be happening today. The costumes were completely authentic, and the episodes were filmed in actual English locations both inside historic buildings and outside in the English countryside. My husband and I both became committed to Sunday evenings dedicated to watching Jane Austen dramatized.
One day a box was delivered; it contained all six volumes of the “Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen”. What a surprise! How expensive! (We kept a careful budget. How could we afford this?) When I looked at Jerry for an explanation, he said that he thought I should read the books. (I have to tell you that this gift came from a man who had never picked up a book to read for pleasure since being forced to read “Moby Dick” in high school.). I started reading and reading and found that it’s true that the book is always better than the movie.
In 2012 I went “just for fun” with a friend to get my “star chart” read by Doris who lived down the road and around the corner. She wanted to know my date of birth, time, and place and I gave her this information a week before our appointment. As soon as I walked in the door for our meeting, she told me that I was either a teacher or a communicator. (True.) Further on she told me that my countries were 1. England (I loved anything English, especially the history and the literature), 2. Belgium (we had hosted Helena, a foreign exchange student from Brussels in 1978 and now she and her husband and their four children were and still are, considered our second family) and 3. Egypt. So, she got 2 out of 3… Then she told me that the next 18 months would be a perfect time for me to travel, and not just to go on a little trip, but to go somewhere really, really special. I got up my nerve and told Jerry that I wanted to go to England. He said, well, I don’t want to go, so I planned for 9 months and went by myself, for three days in the Cotswolds and then a week in London with a Rick Steves group. It was on the fourth day in London when Gillian, our guide, took us to the British Library, deposited us at the Treasures Gallery, and left us to be on our own for the rest of the day. Here I could take all the time I wanted and of course I tried to take in everything - Mozart’s manuscripts, the Magna Carta, - but knowing also that I had to keep moving to see as much as possible. And then - there it was right in front of me. Jane Austen’s writing desk. I immediately burst into sobbing tears that I had to hide from all those in the crowded room. I don’t know how this happened, and even writing about it now makes the tears come. I had read about the desk when it was donated, a detailed description of it, and all that was done to verify the authenticity of the desk, but I never imagined that I would ever see it! That $40 dollars I paid to Doris turned out to be worth a fortune to me! When I got home, I told Tony, the son who was in the Pride and Prejudice Play and now has a PhD in Early 19th Century English Literature (sure wish I could tell Mrs. Brown that!) what had happened to me when I saw the writing desk. He said that I must tell the story to Devoney Looser. He and Devoney have stayed in touch since they were both in graduate school at SUNY Stony Brook - Devoney actually introduced Tony to her friend Martha, and that introduction had consequences. Tony and Martha have been happily married since 1996!
When I introduced myself to Devoney through a letter she responded warmly, and we have been communicating ever since. She sent me an autographed copy of her book “The Daily Jane Austen A Year of Quotes” which I treasure. Through Devoney I was led to JASNA just last year, and I’m quickly discovering that this is the place I’ve been looking for, a place to interact with others who also love Jane Austen and are ready for a Jane Austen conversation at any time. So, that’s the story of how I met Jane Austen. I hope that you, yes you, dear reader, will be inspired to share your story too! Do it now!” Jeanne Vaver March 16, 2025
24. Jeanne also suggests Reach for the book The Daily Jane Austen: A Year of Quotes, Edited and with a Foreword by Devoney Looser, University of Chicago Press, published 2019. Maybe you have it on your bookshelf already. If not, treat yourself to this little treasure that presents a Jane Austen quote for each day of the year, and a longer quote for each new month or consider the Five- year Journal Jane-a-Day. This is a very different way to appreciate Jane Austen’s genius by concentrating our focus on quotes - sometimes a short sentence, sometimes more - that reveal her genius if we take a moment to stop and consider what she said in just a few words. Devoney’s Foreword tells us how to do it. If you have self-control, you read one quote a day. Or you can open the book anywhere and just read until you decide you must stop to save pages for another day.
It is not even necessary to use a quotation book, you can use any quote from a Jane Austen book or quote that is your favorite and send it and why it is your favorite to jasnavirtualregion@gmail.com to be placed on this 250 celebration list.
25. In the spirit of Jeanne’s suggestion, here is how I first encountered Austen. When I had read every book in the children’s library as a child, sometimes many times over, the library consented to let me access the adult library even though I was still under the age limit for access. The first two books I chose were non-fiction, a thick one on every breed of dog and its history. I memorized every dog by sight and its group in the American Kennel Club. The second was a book on computers because the IBM mainframes had started to be adopted in business and I wanted to understand the binary system and how computers worked. I have always been somewhat of a data nerd. For the third, I wanted a fiction and I asked the librarian what she suggested. She gave me Pride and Prejudice and I have never looked back, reading it and every Austen novel over and over every few years and every decade of my life, each time each book revealing new layers of meaning and new levels of perspective as I evolved. Austen had me at what will forever be my favorite quote, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” In one fell swoop, the quintessence of Austen is captured, incandescently illuminating the conflict at hand with her inimitable expression and wit, setting the stage for her timeless themes, and challenging all subsequent authors to dare to match the brilliance of that opening line in literature. Bravo, Jane!
I hope everyone will share their Jane story and favorite quote and why it has meaning to you.
Marcia Johnson
26. Watch the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie on the big screen again to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of this version. Many theaters across the country are showing it in late April. Check your local theaters for show times and if not available or you missed it, view it again on Netflix and other streaming services.
27. JASNA is hosting a Clueless watch party in July this year. For details, see the latest issue of JASNA News.
28. Worried that after the 250th, there will be a lack of Jane Austen media? Au contraire, Netflix has announced a new Pride and Prejudice series—most likely will not be available in 2025 and gives us something to continue to celebrate after the 250th-check on the Internet for the updates.
29. Another production by the BBC based on the book The Other Bennet Sister has also been announced.
30. Need to feed your Jane addiction: head over to the JASNA YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@jasnaorg for videos, podcasts, and more!
31. Waxing poetic? Region member says she is using a form poem for a memoir writing class and will share her Jane Austen poem soon.
Below is the form worksheet to be used as a guide, if you want to try your hand at it, along with the original poem by George Ella Lyon to give you an example:
I Am From Poem
Use this template to draft your poem, and then write your own Jane memory poem: .
I am from ______________________________
(specific ordinary item)
From ________________________ and __________________________
(product name) (product name)
I am from the ______________________________________________
(home description)
___________________ , _________________ , ________________________________
(adjective) (adjective) (sensory detail)
I am from _________________________________________ ,
(plant, flower, natural item)
________________________________________________________________________
(description of above item)
I am from ____________________________ and ______________________________
(family tradition) (family trait)
From ______________________________ and _________________________
(name of family member) (another family name)
I am from the ____________________________ and ______________________
(description of family tendency) (another one)
From _________________________________ and ________________________
(something you were told as a child) (another)
I am from ___________________________ , __________________________________
(representation of religion or lack of), (further description)
I am from _______________________________________________
(place of birth and family ancestry)
______________________________________ , ________________________________
(a food item that represents your family) (another one)
From the ______________________________________________________________
(specific family story about a specific person and detail)
The _________________________________________________________
(another detail of another family member)
_________________________________________________________________
(location of family pictures, mementos, archives)
__________________________________________________________________
(line explaining the importance of family items)
Original Poem:
Where I'm From
By George Ella Lyon
I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.
32. And here is one for Jane Austen:
I Am From
(Jane Austen)
by Tracey Boyle
I am from quill pens,
from Twinings black tea, and Ladies Magazine.
I am from a rectory in Hampshire,
with fields of sheep, and walks on cool mornings.
I am from the hill I roll down with my brothers,
soft with grass tickling my arms.
I'm from dancing to pianoforte music,
and morning calls to neighbors,
from Cassandra and George, and my Lefroy cousins.
I'm from stitching shirts, and evening games of whist,
from he’s ‘in want of a wife’ and ‘obstinate headstrong girl’
from Fordyce’s Sermons, and Lovers’ Vows.
I'm from Steventon and a gentleman’s estate,
from White Soup, and Syllabub.
From Edward’s new name, Knight, when he is adopted to be heir,
and from the scent of burned letters by a sister’s kind hand.
From Mama’s silhouette and Cassandra’s drawings,
I’m from stories scratched on writing paper stored in a precious desk.
From the squeak of a door warning me
to conceal the reveal of Wentworth’s ‘half agony, half hope.
33. Spring has sprung! Share your favorite quote about the seasons from Austen. Here is a quote to celebrate Jane and the Spring season from Pride and Prejudice: "He has made me so happy," said she one evening, "by telling me, that he was totally ignorant of my being in town last spring! I had not believed it possible."
Speaking of the weather which can be inspiring and dismal, here are some of Jane Austen quotes about the weather, each accompanied by the specific book chapter or letter date as its source.
Sense and Sensibility
34. How horrid all this is! ... Such weather makes every thing and every body disgusting. Dulness is as much produced within doors as without, by rain. It makes one detest all one's acquaintance. What the devil does Sir John mean by not having a billiard room in his house? How few people know what comfort is! Sir John is as stupid as the weather.”
35. “Her love made no answer; and after slightly bowing to the ladies, began complaining of the weather.”
Chapter 207
36. “They attempted, therefore, likewise, to excuse themselves; the weather was uncertain, and not likely to be good.”
Chapter 197
37.“When the weather is settled, and I have recovered my strength," said she, "we will take long walks together every day.”
Chapter 467
38.“The weather was remarkably fine, and she readily consented.”
Chapter 337
39.“And Marianne was in spirits; happy in the mildness of the weather, and still happier in her expectation of a frost.”
Chapter 277
40.“At this time of the year, and after such a series of rain, we shall certainly have very little more of it.”
Chapter 276
41,“With great surprise therefore, did she find herself prevented by a settled rain from going out again after dinner.”
Chapter 426
42,“The wind roared round the house, and the rain beat against the windows; but Elinor, all happiness within, regarded it not.”
Chapter 436
43,“The two gentlemen arrived the next day to a very late dinner, affording a pleasant enlargement of the party, and a very welcome variety to their conversation, which a long morning of the same continued rain had reduced very low.”
Chapter 426
44.“She had depended on a twilight walk to the Grecian temple, and perhaps all over the grounds, and an evening merely cold or damp would not have deterred her from it; but a heavy and settled rain even SHE could not fancy dry or pleasant weather for walking.”
Chapter 426
45.“I have three unanswerable reasons for disliking Colonel Brandon; he threatened me with rain when I wanted it to be fine; he has found fault with the hanging of my curricle, and I cannot persuade him to buy my brown mare.”
Chapter 106
47.“Margaret agreed, and they pursued their way against the wind, resisting it with laughing delight for about twenty minutes longer, when suddenly the clouds united over their heads, and a driving rain set full in their face....”
Chapter 96
48.“Most grateful did Elinor feel to Lady Middleton for observing, at this moment, 'that it rained very hard,' though she believed the interruption to proceed less from any attention to her, than from her ladyship's great dislike of all such inelegant subjects of raillery as delighted her husband and mother.”
Chapter 126
49,“The morning was rather favourable, though it had rained all night, as the clouds were then dispersing across the sky, and the sun frequently appeared.”
Chapter 136
50.“The idea however started by her, was immediately pursued by Colonel Brandon, who was on every occasion mindful of the feelings of others; and much was said on the subject of rain by both of them.”
Chapter 126
Northanger Abbey
51.“She had no doubt in the world of its being a very fine day, if the clouds would only go off, and the sun keep out.”
Chapter 112
52.“‘Oh! dear, I do believe it will be wet,’ broke from her in a most desponding tone.”
Chapter 112
53.“‘No walk for me today,’ sighed Catherine; ‘but perhaps it may come to nothing, or it may hold up before twelve.’”
Chapter 112
54.“‘There are four umbrellas up already. How I hate the sight of an umbrella!’”
Chapter 112
55.“‘It was such a nice-looking morning! I felt so convinced it would be dry!’”
Chapter 112
56.“At half past twelve, when Catherine's anxious attention to the weather was over and she could no longer claim any merit from its amendment, the sky began voluntarily to clear. A gleam of sunshine took her quite by surprise; she looked round; the clouds were parting, and she instantly returned to the window to watch over and encourage the happy appearance. Ten minutes more made it certain that a bright afternoon would succeed, and justified the opinion of Mrs. Allen, who had ‘always thought it would clear up.’”
Chapter 112
Emma
57.“Mr. John Knightley now came into the room from examining the weather, and opened on them all with the information of the ground being covered with snow, and of its still snowing fast, with a strong drifting wind; concluding with these words to Mr. Woodhouse: ‘This will prove a spirited beginning of your winter engagements, sir. Something new for your coachman and horses... to be making their way through a storm of snow.’ ... ‘I admired your resolution very much, sir,’ said he, ‘in venturing out in such weather, for of course you saw there would be snow very soon. Every body must have seen the snow coming on. I admired your spirit; and I dare say we shall get home very well. Another hour or two's snow can hardly make the road impassable; and we are two carriages; if one is blown over in the bleak part of the common field there will be the other at hand. I dare say we shall be all safe at Hartfield before midnight.’”
Chapter 155
Jane Austen’s Letters
58,“I enjoyed the hard black Frosts of last week very much, & one day while they lasted walked the whole way to Deane by myself. – I do not know that I ever did such a thing in my life before.”
Letter #15, December 24–26, 1798, from Steventon to Cassandra at Godmersham3
59. “I am sorry my Mother has been suffering, & am afraid this exquisite weather is too good to agree with her. – I enjoy it all over me, from top to toe, from right to left, Longitudinally, Perpendicularly, Diagonally; – & I cannot but selfishly hope we are to have it last till Christmas; – nice, unwholesome, Unseasonable, relaxing, close, muggy weather!”
Letter #15, December 24–26, 1798, from Steventon to Cassandra at Godmersham3
60.“She does not like the cold Weather, but that we cannot help.”
Letter, December 17, 1816, to James Edward Austen at Steventon, from Chawton3
61.“Monday. Here’s a day! – The Ground covered with snow! What is to become of us? – We were to have walked out early to near Shops, & had the Carriage for the more distant. – Mr. Richard Snow is dreadfuly fond of us. I dare say he has stretched himself out at Chawton too.”
Letter #98, March 7, 1814, from London to Cassandra in Chawton
62. Celebrate Jane with our new JASNA Virtual Region Podcast: The Austen Pod Squad with JASNA Virtual Region hosts chat with authors and others about All Things Austen. The promo and the first episode are now available under the Austen Pod Squad tab of this website. Click on the tab and then the episode you want to listen to. Click the play arrow above the description to listen. Right now the podcast is available on this website but will soon be on Apple and other podcasting media.
For Mother’s Day this year, celebrate Jane with these Quotes about Mothers- See if you can identify which Austen book or letter the quote is from!
63. She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next: that with them, to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect.
64. I particularly recollect your saying one night, after they had been dining at Netherfield, 'SHE a beauty!--I should as soon call her mother a wit.' But afterwards she seemed to improve on you, and I believe you thought her rather pretty at one time." "Yes," replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer, "but THAT was only when I first saw her, for it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.”
65. A mother would have been always present. A mother would have been a constant friend; her influence would have been beyond all other.
66. I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet: I send no compliments to your mother. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased.
67. A sick child is always the mother's property; her own feelings generally make it so.
68. You are veery kind in planning presents for me to make, and my mother has shown me exactly the same attention.
69. You are very kind in planning presents for me to make, and my mother has shown me exactly the same attention; but as I do not choose to have generosity dictated to me, I shall not resolve on giving my cabinet to Anna till the first thought of it has been my own.
70. You think me foolish to call instruction a torment, but if you had been as much used as myself to hear poor little children first learning their letters and then learning to spell, if you had ever seen how stupid they can be for a whole morning together, and how tired my poor mother is at the end of it, as I am in the habit of seeing almost every day of my life at home, you would allow that to torment and to instruct might sometimes be used as synonymous words.
71. I have had to contend against the unkindness of his sister, and the insolence of his mother; and have suffered the punishment of an attachment, without enjoying its advantages.
72. Celebrate Austen 250 by attending the JASNA AGM, either in person in Baltimore or virtually!
Access these links for more information: planning: https://jasna.org/conferences-events/agms/agm-updates/planning-your-agm-recording/
AGM Brochure: https://www.jasna.org/assets/Annual-General-Meetings/2025-AGM-Brochure-05.19.25.pdf
Conference Registration is June 19, 2025starting at Noon Eastern Time Zone and hotel registration is June 23, 2025: https://jasna.org/agms/baltimore2025/registration.php
73. In addition to being a lifelong Jane Austen-aficionado, musician Meg Huskin is a composer of opera and music theatre works. She recently completed a Master's degree in composition at Johns Hopkins University, and for my thesis I wrote an opera that was a character study of Austen's heroines, utilizing text from her completed novels. If you would like to know more about her or her musical celebration of Austen, you can visit her website and see the performance here:
https://www.meghuskin.com/music/mydearestjane
74. Treat yourself to the newest Jane Austen fandom movie which premieres May 2025 at many movie theatres and on Apple streaming. Watch the trailer for Jane Austen Wrecked My Life here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inLm4GvLQuk
75. Considering branching out your Austen travel horizons, by celebrating Austen250 at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England in September. See this link for details of the 2025 multi-day festival https://janeausten.co.uk/pages/festival-home-page This year JASNA Virtual Region member, Sarah Makowski, will be conducting a session
Print Culture & Calling Card Etiquette in the time of Jane Austen - workshop
Friday 19th September - 10:30 & 13:30
Giving and receiving visiting cards was essential to Regency social etiquette. Using Persuasion as an example Sarah J. Makowski, author of Bitches in Bonnets: Life Lessons from Jane Austen’s Mean Girls, will explore Austen's depictions of their use (and abuse) in communication and maintaining social hierarchies.
Typography expert Manfred Makowski will then demonstrate the creation of authentic replica cards, including video footage from his letter press studio. Participants can examine various traditional print materials, movable type, decorative elements, and tools.
Each participant will receive a hand-printed souvenir calling card celebrating Austen’s 250th birthday to keep.
Jane Austen 250
250 Ways to Celebrate Jane’s 250th Birthday 2025
Jane’s 250th Decadent Birthday Cake Regency-Style with 250 Blazing Candles