Hurricane Sandy Recovery

I want to start out by saying that our thoughts and prayers are with those who were struck the hardest by this storm.

I would like to provide everyone with some links to help in your recovery today.

First are power outage maps provided by Jersey Central Power & Light and PSE&G.  (The PSE&G map might take a little while to load).  They will show you areas affected by the power outages and it will keep you updated as power is restored. 

Next is the website for the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.  This is your best bet for New Jersey related news.

• They have a series of links for Current Weather and Traffic conditions.  
• A Media sections with access to their News Room, and social media pages.  
• There is also a section for Alerts & Updates.
• The NJ OEM also has information for the NJOEM Public Assistance Program. You can go here to find a list of Disaster Public Assistance Forms.

Another important resource is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Counties where people are eligible for individual assistance are:

• Atlantic County
• Cape May County
• Essex County
• Hudson County
• Middlesex County
• Monmouth County
• Ocean County
• Union County

Those living in these counties and need assistance can apply for disaster assistance.  There is are questionnaire so you can see what you may be eligible for a place for you to apply on line for that assistance.

FEMA also has a helpful page on How To Avoid and Report Scam Artists After a Disaster.  We would like to believe that people would truly like to help but there are those that will take advantage of your hardship.  Please read over this page so you can better protect yourself from more loss during this time.

If you would like to help FEMA also has a page for you! They suggest you donate money to National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster or to an organization of your choice.   Here is the link for NJ's National VOAD.  You can also volunteer to help by visiting Jersey Cares.

Again our thoughts and prayers are with those that were effected by this storm.  Please be a neighbor and help those in need around you!

-Amelia

Celebrating Pride and Prejudice

Celebrating Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine

2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s best-loved novel. To mark this special occasionHazel Jones and Maggie Lane have written this beautifully illustrated 64-page book looking at the history of the work that Jane Austen called her “darling child”.

To celebrate the bicentenary of the book’s first publication in 1813, Hazel and Maggie investigate the reasons for its popularity and describe the extraordinary history, reception and afterlife of the phenomenon that is Pride and Prejudice. 

Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Darling Child is available now price £6.99 (about $12) plus postage.

To order the book please visit Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine's website!

A JASNA PSA

(Is that title enough acronyms for you?)

This is just a reminder that when you move to update your address with JASNA.

It is very important that you communicate to JASNA your
new address, whenever you move. JASNA News (and any other correspondence) that are not deliverable as addressed are returned. It's been noticed that more than 50% of the JASNA News  returned had been addressed to Life Members.  When this happen, the member does not get one of the benefit of the membership and JASNA, on top of the cost of the publication, has to pay for each returned JASNA News. Just a few moments to send an e-mail or to write a short note would  prevent a loss for both parties.
-modified message from Isa Schaff

2013 Meeting Dates

We'll be finishing up 2012 with:

November 11 - A small group of us will be going up to see The Heiress on Broadway.  Staring Jessica Chastain, David Strathairn, and Dan Stevens

December 15 - Jane's Birthday Celebration and Book Pollyanna

In 2013 we will be meeting on the following dates:

March 16 - Pray Tell Me: The Charades of Jane Austen's Time presented by Mark Turner

May 18 - Regency Music (We were supposed to cover this earlier in the year but snow kept us from gathering.  Here is the post I wrote for that event.

August 17 - Box Hill Picnic possibly at Sayen Gardens

October 19 - Discussion of Mansfield Park

December 15 - Jane's Birthday Celebration and Book Pollyanna


We're starting later in 2013 to try to avoid the bad weather.  All meeting ideas subject to change, look for our newsletter or email closer to the meeting dates for meeting topics.  You can sign up for our newsletter by emailing us.

Fashion in Jane Austen's Time

Our October Meeting was all about Fashion.  Meredith and Jere (pictured above) lead our discussion of the women's fashion during Jane's life.  Meredith was wearing the kind of outfit that Mrs. Austen would have worn and Jere was in a dress that Jane would have worn in her 20s.  The ladies also shared other examples of clothing, materials and accessories.  They also shared with us their ball gowns that they recently wore to the AGM in Brooklyn.

For more pictures from the meeting please see our Facebook Page.

A few books that were mentioned in relationship to this talk were:

Patterns of Fashion by Janet Arnold
Fashion
Jane Austen Fashion by Penelope Byrde


We also discussed our upcoming events.  We have a trip scheduled to go up to see the Heiress on Broadway.   We also have our last meeting of the year on December 15th to celebrate Jane's Birthday.
Look for the 2013 days and topics in Wednesday's blog post.

Books Recommended by Members:
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michale Faber.  (The book and the miniseries were both recommended)
Let the Great World Spin: A Novel by Colum McCann
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
March by Geraldine Brooks
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan

Friday Fun!

The Men of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Meet Mr. Ricky Collins

Meet Bing Lee

Meet George Wickham

I can only wonder what Darcy will look like!

Regency Fashion

Source: maries-jewels-royals.blogspot.co.uk via Anne on Pinterest

A complete gold and opal parure, consisting of a tiara comb, necklace, two bracelets, earrings and a brooch.

Source: napoleon-fashion.com via Anne on Pinterest

Shawl. Silk and wool. Scotland, 1815-20.

Source: lesleyannemcleod.blogspot.com via Anne on Pinterest

A pair of pink glace kid slippers with stylized pattern of black floral moverall (stenciled!); pointed toe; very low heel covered with pink leather; pink silk cord ties single pair of eyelet holes at front; narrow ribbon covers seam

Source: west-moreland.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: lesleyannemcleod.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Gentleman's Suit, 1820s Nordiska Museet  

For more Regency Fashion check out Anne Tjaden's Pinterest board. 

Spencer jacket, early 19th century (back)

Source: fripperiesandfobs.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Friday Fun!

Have you ever Googled yourself?

Meredith did just that recently and the results kind of freaked her out, when she found a bunch of random websites that were quoting her.

On July 23, 2012 RoseDog Author Blog wrote a post titled Relax and enjoy a picnic with your book and on July 7, 2011 Dorrance Author Blog wrote a post titled Picnics! A great way to promote your book.  Both blog posts wrote: 

According to Shelf Awareness, Meredith Barnes, regional coordinator for the Central New Jersey JASNA group, said, "Our version is slightly different. At our picnic meeting, we usually share something from the novel that we enjoy or will start a discussion. We eat our lunches and have dessert.... Some chapters have actually gone strawberry picking while others have a more formal tea to celebrate the occasion."

Shelf Awareness, wrote in it's newsletters for Readers on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 a post called Picnicking Jane Austen Style in which they write

The article from the Northern New Jersey Patch notes that picnicking grew in popularity in Austen's time, although the picnic scene in Emma is rather tense (Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for her rudeness to another guest). Meredith Barnes, regional coordinator for the Central New Jersey JASNA group, said, "Our version is slightly different. At our picnic meeting, we usually share something from the novel that we enjoy or will start a discussion. We eat our lunches and have dessert.... Some chapters have actually gone strawberry picking while others have a more formal tea to celebrate the occasion."

Back in July of 2011 Meredith talked with a reporter from the South Orange Patch about your upcoming Box Hill Picnic.  You can find the blog post announcement here and the article here.  

In case you were interested Shelf Awareness is a great website that puts out two newsletters.  One for readers and one for those in the book industry.  The newsletters are free and the one for readers provides a lot of great information on upcoming and newly released books.

 

Austen, Dickens, & Rushdie

I have written and spoken elsewhere about my debt to the oral narrative traditions of India, and also to those great Indian novelists Jane Austen and Charles Dickens - Austen for her portraits of brilliant women caged by the social convention of their time, women whose Indian counterparts I knew well; Dickens for his great, rotting, Bombay-like city, and his ability to root his larger-than-life characters and surrealist imagery in a sharply observed, almost hyperrealistic background, out of which the comic and fantastic elements of his work seem to grow organically, becoming intensifications of, and not escapes from, the real world.
 - Salman Rushdie

From the Introduction to Midnight's Children

Rushdie, Salman. Introduction. Midnight's Children. By Rushdie. New York: Random House, 2006. eBook.

CNJ JASNA @ the Annual General Meeting!

October Newsletter

Regency Fashion

Source: sensibility.com via Anne on Pinterest

Sleeve embroidery, 1810 evening gown. The Art of the Dress, Jane Ashelford

Jane Austen Siting on Jepoardy!

During the Jeopardy! Round on Friday's game there was a Jane Austen siting.

The category was 2-WORD RESPONSES

The $1000 answer was - Jane Austen dedicated "Emma" to the future George IV, not by name but under this title

The Question - What is Prince Regent?

Before he was George IV, he was the Prince Regent ruling in his father's place during the years of 1811 and 1820.

Emma was dedicated to the dissolute Prince Regent (George Augustus Frederick), at his request; he was the uncle of Victoria, and was Prince Regent from 1811-1820 and later king George IV (1820-1830). Jane Austen was apparently not especially pleased by this honour (see her letter on the infidelities of the Prince and his wife). This episode was productive of her amusing correspondence with Mr. Clarke. - from Pemberley.com

 So easy right?  Wrong, this question stumped all three contestants.