
It has been an exciting few months for our region. We have recently launched several new interest groups: Jane Austen Fiber Friends- a group dedicated to knitting and crocheting projects inspired by Jane Austen and the Regency Period- has been meeting every month before our regular reading group. Our new group Austen on Stage has been organizing outings this Fall to regional theater productions of two different plays inspired by Jane Austen’s novels. And our new group The Jane Austen Movie Fan Club lead by regional member Joy Prevost has been particularly active. In July we watched the movie “The Jane Austen Book Club” to tie in with our discussion of Karen Joy Fowler’s book in our reading group. In August the movie club presented the 2005 movie version of “Pride and Prejudice” to our newly formed Austentacious Study Group.
This fall our region has been focusing on Northanger Abbey in order to compliment the theme for this year’s AGM. We are midway through our series now. In September both of our regional reading groups discussed the novel. On September 14th at our quarterly program meeting regional member Nancy Kleinert gave a presentation on the origins of Gothic Literature in England and its influence on Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. That was followed by the viewing and discussion of the moderately obscure 1986 BBC version of “Northanger Abbey” presented by our Jane Austen Movie Fan Club. Our Northanger Abbey series will continue in October with our members attending a local theatrical production of “Northanger Abbey” and in November with a program featuring lectures from local academics.