Jane Austen Society of North America, Southwest (JASNA-SW)

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A Recap of the Event

by Jaye Scholl Bohlen
[PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT]

Jane Austen disliked the Prince Regent, George IV, especially for the cruel way he treated his wife, Caroline. But Austen was a political and behavioral conservative. Shaken by the violence of the French Revolution, Austen favored preserving the social order at any cost.

That’s the view of Charles Lynn Batten, a UCLA English professor who addressed the question, “Jane Austen, Liberal or Conservative?” at the spring meeting of JASNA-Southwest Region, held May 2, 2009. Batten, a popular lecturer with Los Angeles Janeites, said he was not swayed by contemporary literary critics who see Austen as a feminist or even as a progressive.

Margaret Horowitz, the JASNA 2009 Traveling Lecturer, analyzed three film adaptations of Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, focusing on how screenwriters brought the epigrammatic qualities of her novel to life. The Grants Committee of the Jane Austen Society of North America provided a $1,500 grant to JASNA-SW to cover costs of bringing speakers to a regional chapter.

Laurie Viera Rigler read from her upcoming novel, RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, a sequel to CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT. In her new novel, which will published June 25, a young woman named Jane Mansfield is transported to the 21st Century, where she struggles to comprehend television, iPhones and rock concerts. Ms. Rigler also serves as JASNA-SW’s webmaster.

Syrie James, author of THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN, read from her new book, THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE, which will be published in June.

The program, A DAY OF PRIDE, PREJUDICE, AND POLITICS, was held at the UCLA Faculty Center and was organized by JASNA-SW board member Carla Washburn. A sale of Austen-related books from the estate of Vivian Hall and made possible by Viki Barie raised more than $600. The proceeds will be used to sponsor future JASNA-SW events.