Author Archives: JASNA Hawaii

Candlelight in the Assembly Rooms

Discussion of crowded candlelit ballrooms in Northanger Abbey with JAS New Zealand reminded me of these photos from the 2022 JASNA tour to England. The chandeliers in the Assembly Rooms were converted to electirc lights and stored away for safety during WWII bombings. That’s King George III and family in the portrait. Note the highContinue reading “Candlelight in the Assembly Rooms”

Help Choose the Books for our Reading Group

Take our survey to help determine the books we will read and discuss during the coming year. Join JASNA and designate Hawaii as your region to ensure you are on the mailing list for in-person and/or online discussions. Already a members of another JASNA region? Email jasnahawaiinei@gmail.com with your name, region and contact information.

Tea at 1024

The Austens were snowed in when Jane was born in December 1775. In Hawai‘i, we’re just snowed under by the busy holiday season, so we follow the family’s lead and celebrate the April baptism for our annual tea. It was a cozy, scrumptious, fun get-together in downtown Honolulu with a challenging quiz supplied by GretchenContinue reading “Tea at 1024”

Teen Austen

On Saturday, June 25, we will discuss Teenage Writing by Jane Austen, Katherine Sutherland and Freya Johnston, editors, via Zoom at 1 p.m. Hawai‘i Standard Time. In these stories, written “to be shared and admired by a named audience of family and friends … devices and themes which appear subtly in Austen’s later fiction runContinue reading “Teen Austen”

A Visit to Camp Austen

On Feb. 18, members and guests discussed Ted Scheinman’s Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan via Zoom. Reactions were mixed, with some wondering if the title was likely suggested by the marketing department and others noting that their expectations might have been different had they noticed the “Literary Criticism” designation onContinue reading “A Visit to Camp Austen”

P&P Onscreen: Discussing MGM’s 1940 film – with quiz

Before Colin Firth there was Laurence Olivier. Like the 1995 mini-series, the 1940 black and white film spurred interest in Austen’s novels. Hawai‘i JASNA members were joined by fellow Janeites from as far as St. Louis and Montreal on Jan. 21 to discuss the merits of various screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and debateContinue reading “P&P Onscreen: Discussing MGM’s 1940 film – with quiz”

P&P, Irreverently

Members Gretchen, Donna and Cheryl enjoyed front row seats for Koa Theater’s production of Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice in December. Directed by Kelsey Baehrens with intimate, minimalist staging, the “bold, surprising, boisterous and timely” comedic take offered a fun, fresh approach blending period-dress and traditional language with modern sensibilities and amazingly quick on-stage costumeContinue reading “P&P, Irreverently”

Meet me at the AGM

Although they live on different islands in Hawai‘i, Regional Coordinator Cheryl Ernst, far left, and member Margaret Gill, far right, were together on Canada’s Vancouver Island for the 2022 Annual General Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. Theme for JASNA’s 2022 AGM was Sense and Sensibility in the City of Gardens. The nearly 700 attendees enjoyedContinue reading “Meet me at the AGM”

Kiss and Tell in Courting Jane

Hawai‘i Region founding coordinator Bob Newell answered questions about his first book, a time-travel romance titled Courting Jane during the Sept. 24, 2022 reading group discussion. Bob gamely accepted criticism, shared opinions about the characters, identified locations described in the book and explained some of his plot decisions (including the kissing and ambiguous ending). ViewContinue reading “Kiss and Tell in Courting Jane”