JASNA NorCal

Jane Austen's Bookshelf Lecture by Rebecca Romney
2025-02-01 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
A special talk by Rebecca Romney, rare book dealer and guest star of the hit show Pawn Stars about her new book at Rare Books San Francisco event at Fort Mason. $75. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf will be the featured book at JASNA Norcal’s November 11 reading group.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jane-austens-bookshelf-tickets-1105044871959?aff=website

JASNA Norcal Virtual Valentine Event - Food and Love in the Regency: A Jane Austen Valentine's Celebration
2025-02-11 18:30 - 20:00
Tuesday, February 11, 6:30–8:00 pm (PT) on Zoom

You are warmly invited to a cozy Jane Austen Valentine’s Day celebration. This year, the theme will be “Food and Love in the Regency.” JASNA NorCal’s Anne Krause, who will be taking a course on this topic offered by the Regency Academe, will start the evening off with a short presentation on culinary culture and romantic traditions in the Regency.

This will be followed by an open discussion of food and romance in Jane Austen’s novels. Of course, this topic will be a springboard, not a constraint, to a lively discussion!

Register at jasnanorcal.org for this zoom event.

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group - Natalie Tyler, The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility
2025-03-11 18:30 - 20:00
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JASNA NorCal presents“The Forgotten Tale of Doctor Syntax, the Regency’s Most Popular Fictional Character” - In person and virtual event
2025-04-05 13:30 - 15:30
The Regency’s favorite travelling clergyman has reached the Bay Area! Join us in the Terrace Room at Margaret-Jacks Hall on Stanford Campus (or online) for a talk on what was, by some measures, the most popular poem of Austen’s day, The Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque (1812). JASNA NorCal member Ben Wiebracht and three of his students, co-winners of the 2024 JASNA New Voices Award, will share key insights from their semester-long project on Doctor Syntax. Register at https://www.jasnanorcal.org/

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group - Miss Austen by Gill Horby
2025-04-08 18:30 - 20:00

Pulp & Prejudice: A Defense of Romance Novels
2025-04-19 19:00 - 21:00
Pulp & Prejudice is a hilarious one-woman show that passionately defends romance—romance novels, that is. Written and performed by local artist Jenny Noa, Pulp & Prejudice has been described as “a tightly corseted solo show about lovers and haters.” Noa turns a wide-angle lens on the subject of romance and the intense emotions the novels in particular inspire. Why is the genre vilified and beloved in equal measure? This comedic exploration of this complicated topic covers the origins of the author’s own obsessions, romance novels as social barometer, and larger questions about why we love what we love. All proceeds from this event will directly support Chapter 510’s free writing programs for Black, brown, and queer youth in Oakland. Tickets are available on a sliding scale. The Dept. of Make / Believe546 9th Street, Oakland, CA, 94607United States https://www.chapter510.org/events/chapter-pulp-andprejudice-event

JASNA Southwest A Star Is Born: A Truth Universally Acknowledged
2025-05-03 08:30 - 2025-05-04 17:00
2025 is the anniversary of numerous filmed adaptations of Austen’s novels: the 85th anniversary of MGM’s 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier; the 45th anniversary of the Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul production; and the 30th anniversary of Clueless, Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility, Sony Picture Classics’ Persuasion, and the beloved BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and the 20th anniversary of the Keira Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen version.

To celebrate these milestones, our Southwest Region is planning a multi-day Gala the first weekend in May 2025. The theme is “A Star is Born: A Truth Universally Acknowledged.” https://jasnasw.com/events/upcoming-events/

Old Friends and New Francies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen; Rudyard Kipling, “The Janeites”; Rudyard Kipling, “Jane’s Marriage”; Active 19th Century Lady of Distinction, The Mirror of the Graces by Sybil Brinton
2025-05-13 18:30 - 20:00

The Family Fortune by Laurie Horowitz
2025-06-10 18:30 - 20:00

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group -Persuasions articles (TBD)
2025-07-08 18:30 - 20:00

Austen at Sea by Natalie Jenner
2025-08-12 18:30 - 20:00
The book comes out May 6. https://jasnanorcal.org/

Emma by Kate Hamill, Silicon Valley Shakespeare
2025-08-16 17:30 - 21:00
Members are invited to gather at picnic tables in Sanborn Skyline County Park in Saratoga, CA at 5:30. General seating at 6. Show starts 7 pm. https://www.svshakespeare.org/emma

Jane & Me: My Austen Heritage by Caroline Jane Knight with Special Guest Caroline Knight in Attendance
2025-09-09 18:30 - 20:00

JASNA AGM Austen at 250 - Baltimore, MD
2025-10-10 08:00 - 2025-10-12 17:00
Austen at 250: “No check to my Genius from beginning to end”

2025 will be a milestone year as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, with Baltimore welcoming JASNA back for its first AGM since 1980. We are planning a diverse and unique celebration of her life and literary genius, as well as an opportunity for attendees to connect with the rich history of Maryland and “Charm City.” Attendees must find themselves agreeing that “a very strange [Janeite] it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of [Baltimore], to make him wish to know it better.”

https://jasna.org/agms/baltimore2025/home.php

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price
2025-10-21 18:30 - 20:00

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend by Rebecca Romney
2025-11-11 18:30 - 20:00

JASNA NorCal Annual Jane Austen Birthday Gala Tea
2025-12-13 11:00 - 13:00
Trinity Lutheran Church at 1295 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Details and registration coming soon on our website.

JASNA NorCal Silicon Valley TheatreWorks Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley
2025-12-13 14:00 - 16:30
Following our Gala Tea we will cross the street to Silicon Valley TheatreWorks to see the new play by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Tickets for the play are available now through TheatreWorks https://theatreworks.org/mainstage/georgina-kitty/ . TIckets are selling fast. Make sure you select the matinee to join us. 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group: The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
2026-02-10 18:30 - 20:00

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group - The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne
2026-03-10 18:30 - 20:00
More information at JasnaNorcal.org

JASNA NorCal presents James Nagle, "Ending the Regency Marriage" - a virtual presentation
2026-03-21 13:00 - 14:30
Jane Austen’s writings focus on forming the Regency marriage, from the courtship to the proposal. Unfortunately, ending the Regency marriage was also a fact of life (hello, Mr. Rushworth!). In Jane’s time there was no such thing as a no-fault divorce; instead, the process was long, complicated, very expensive, and engendered a great deal of societal disapproval. In this Zoom presentation, James Nagle will explain the ins and outs of this laborious process in the context of Austen’s works and the broader Regency period. James Nagle is a semi-retired lawyer and member of JASNA’s Puget Sound region. He is the former secretary of JASNA and has spoken at numerous AGMs and to various regions. We’re looking forward to welcoming him virtually in March and hope that you’ll join us!

Notes:

This event is only open to JASNA members. If you are not a member, you can find information on how to join here.

A link to the Zoom will be provided to registrants via email at least 48 hours prior to the event.

Virtual Reading Group: Once Persuaded, Twice Shy: A Modern Reimagining of Persuasion
2026-04-21 18:30 - 20:00
Join us to discuss Melodie Edwards’s Once Persuaded, Twice Shy: A Modern Reimagining of Persuasion.

JASNA NorCal presents "Formed for [an] Elegant and Rational Society”: The History of Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line - a virtual presentation by Susan Allen Ford
2026-04-25 13:00 - 14:30
How did Persuasions develop from a 32-page newsletter designed to serve a fledging organization to a 256-page printed journal and a vibrant online journal accessible worldwide? The story of Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line is part of JASNA’s history that helps us see the genius, the excitement, and the growing pains of the organization and its members.

Susan Allen Ford has been Editor of Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line since 2006 . She is Professor of English Emerita at Delta State University. She has written on Austen and her contemporaries, the gothic, detective fiction and Shakespeare. Her book, What Jane Austen’s Characters Read (and Why), was published in 2024. She is now working on a history of JASNA.

jasnanorcal.org for registration and more information

Virtual Reading Group: In the Path of Jane Austen: Travels and Tales, a 250th Birthday Anthology
2026-05-12 18:30 - 20:00
For our May reading group, we’re discussing a new anthology of Austen-inspired short stories that the publisher describes as “just as much a whimsical travelogue as an anthology of excellent Regency romance fiction and fantasy. Each author tells the story of their homage to Jane Austen during their past travels to the UK, with photos to enhance the tale.”

We’re thrilled that one of the six authors, Kelly Miller, will be joining us for our discussion! A third generation Japanese-American native California, Kelly is a fellow member of JASNA NorCal. She is the award-winning writer of a number of Austenesque Regency romances, including The Impoverished Orphan, A Dutiful Son, and Captive Hearts.

Kelly is generously providing some free download codes for her audiobooks and e-books, which we’ll distribute via a drawing at the meeting, so be sure to join us for your chance to win!

JASNA NorCal presents Conduct Literature in Jane Austen's Time (in person) by Stanford PHD Candidate Rebecca Adams
2026-05-30 13:00 - 14:30
Conduct literature refers to texts that instruct and inform and give guidance on basic etiquette, and larger matters of religion and intellectual life. The primary concern of such works was virtue and propriety. Jane Austen was no stranger to the genre, though her personal feelings towards it are difficult to ascertain. Conduct literature seems to be as much a part of the world of Austen’s characters as it was a part of her own.

This program will be a live event on the Stanford campus.

jasnanorcal.org for registration and more information

JASNA NorCal Virtual Reading Group: Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
2026-06-09 18:30 - 20:00
Join our discussion of Death Comes to Pemberley. “P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.” – Goodreads

JASNA NorCal presents Jane Austen in 41 Objects, a virtual presentation by Professor Kathryn Sutherland
2026-09-19 13:00 - 14:30
Jane Austen in 41 Objects is Professor Kathryn Sutherland’s attempt to address a paradox: of all writers Jane Austen is among those very few that we most ardently wish to know but so little survives for us on which to base our knowledge. Summarizing a life in 41 objects is a way of acknowledging that no life can ever be fully known; all our encounters with another life are selective and partial—Jane Austen’s most of all.

Professor Kathryn Sutherland is Senior Research Fellow and Professor of English Literature, St Anne’s College, Oxford.

Visit jasnanorcal.org for more information and registration

jasnanorcal.org for registration and more information

JASNA NorCal presents “Austen’s Forgiveable Rakes,” a virtual presentation by Rachel Gevlin
2026-11-07 13:00 - 14:30
What do Austen’s novels tell us about attitudes towards rakishness? This talk will consider Austen’s most famous rakish figures—John Willoughby, Henry Crawford, and George Wickham—and explore each novel’s narrative handling of these men’s sexual transgressions. Rather than excoriate rakish behavior, Austen’s novels present these characters with various forgiving conclusions—conclusions that appear to promote sympathy toward men’s sexual missteps that are not afforded to women.

Rachel Gevlin is a Teaching Assistant Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on 18th-century literature, literary theory, and women writers. Her book project explores representations of marital disunion in the 18th-century novel, and her writing on Austen has appeared or is forthcoming in English Literary History, Persuasions, and Persuasions On-Line. She has given many presentations on Austen to regional societies of JASNA across the country, and she was a breakout speaker at the 2023, 2024, and 2025 AGMs. In 2025, she received the JASNA IVP Fellowship to conduct research at Chawton, and she looks forward to sharing her research with the JASNA community.

visit jasnanorcal.org for additional information and registration
