Our Reading Group revisits the Austen novel of sisterly love and romance gone wrong at 2 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 26 in preparation for our October outing to view the new film adaptation. Weʻll focus on Edward Farrars and Col. Brandon, lovers many modern readers find wanting (Do they appeal? Whoʻs played them best?). We also invite your reviewsContinue reading “September Sense and Sensibility”
Category Archives: Reading Group
The Austen Affair June 27
The JASNA Hawai‘i Reading Group discussed The Austen Affair on June 27 as a Zoom event. “Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this “delightfully clever and riotously funny” 2025 debut novel by Madeline Bell that Macmillan Publisher calls a tribute to JaneContinue reading “The Austen Affair June 27”
Musical Persuasion May 25
We will discuss Persuasion, with particular focus on the role of music in the novel, then listen to music that Jane Austen mentions in her writing over tea. Persuasion is Jane Austenʻs final complete novel, often described as “autumnal.” Brunch at Chawton: A Jane Austen Musicale is a JASNA Annual General Meeting encore video presentationContinue reading “Musical Persuasion May 25”
Mixed Reviews for Jane Austen’s Bookshelf
There was a wide difference of opinion among the small but spirited group who met in April to discuss Rebecca Romneyʻs 2025 book Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. Some enjoyed the 2025ʻs bookʻs glimpses into the world of a rare book dealer andContinue reading “Mixed Reviews for Jane Austen’s Bookshelf”
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf
Explore your favorite author’s favorite authors at the JASNA Hawai‘i Reading Group’s summer discussion on March 28. We will discuss Rebecca Romney’s 2025 book Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. The Washington Post calls the book “a meditation on reading and writing, on honestyContinue reading “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf”
A Lady of Letters
Jane Austen is believed to have written thousands of letters. Just 161 survive, collected in various compendiums—familial and scholarly, deciphered and illustrated, economic, and expensive. The Hawai‘i Region explore a handful of the letters for its July 12 Reading Group online discussion. Participants from Hawai‘i and across the continent read excerpts and speculated about theContinue reading “A Lady of Letters”
Sisterly Censorship
To get ready for Public Television’s four-part Masterpiece Theater series Miss Austen in May, the JASNA Hawaii Reading Group discussed the novel that inspired the new series—Gill Hornby’s Miss Austen: A Tale of the Austen Sisters. Allowing plenty of room for speculation, we had a spirited discussion of sibling relationships, Regency manners, and Cassandra Austen’s possibleContinue reading “Sisterly Censorship”
Jane Austen at Home
Lucy Worsley describes herself as a “signed-up Janite, a devotee and a worshiper“ who has found Austen to be “a far better version of myself.” The historian’s 2017 biography Jane Austen at Home explores places that shaped Austen’s life and figured prominently in her writing. She argues that Austen fought for freedom to live herContinue reading “Jane Austen at Home”
Fancy That – the Original Fan Fiction
Written in 1914, Old Friends and New Fancies is considered to be the first work of Austen fan fiction. Goodreads says “this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from all six Austen novels with new characters of the author’s devising. Inventive matchmaking leadsContinue reading “Fancy That – the Original Fan Fiction”
Persuasive Valentines
In February, the JASNA Hawai‘i Reading Group hosted an online discussion of Persuasions, focusing on the couples, with a spirited discussion of who was was well matched, who wasn’t, and why.