Dance Like Jane Austen Sunday, December 11th - 1:30PM to 4:00PM Solon Library “There were more Dancers than the Room could conveniently hold, which is enough to constitute a good Ball at any time.” - Letter to Cassandra Austen. January 9, 1799. We know how important dance was to young people in Austen’s time and to Jane Austen herself. Please celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday with us this December as we host a dance of our own! Our favorite English Country Dance expert Carol Kopp is returning to lead us in the steps. We will have live period music and we have asked Carol to extend the invitation to her friends to ensure that there will be some people at least who will go in the right direction. Take this opportunity to try dancing as it was done in Austen’s time without fear. No need to dress in fancy gowns (but you may if you wish). Casual and comfortable is fine. Flat or athletic shoes are fine too. No worries if you are as clumsy as Mr. Collins (and some of us are!). Fo...

Highlights of the 2016 Washington DC AGM Emma at 200: “No One But Herself” as reported by JASNA ONC members lucky enough to attend. Sunday, November 6th - 1:00PM to 3:30PM Solon Library

Featuring Josefien Stoppelenburg – Soprano Saturday, September 17 - 1:00PM to 3:30PM Solon Library “ I assure you it has been the greatest satisfaction, comfort, and delight to me, to hear what a musical society I am got into. I absolutely cannot do without music. It is a necessary of life to me…” Mrs. Elton to Emma Woodhouse in Emma . Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg has performed as a soloist in the US, Europe, Asia, South America and the Arab Emirates. She has performed for Dutch King Willem Alexander and has won several prestigious awards. And wonderful news for us - she and her husband met over Jane Austen! As Austen fans, we all know how important it was to Jane to be able to practice her music and entertain her family. What would this have sounded like? Josefien will help transport us back 200 years to a family gathering at the Austen home as we experience Jane Austen’s music. The musicians will perform, we’ll talk about Jane Austen and music in her time, an...

Emma Woodhouse or Mrs. Elton – Cast Your Vote! Sunday March 6, 2016 - 1:15PM to 4:00PM Twinsburg Public Library With the Presidential Primary fast approaching, we'll have a chance to cast our own votes as proponents of Miss Woodhouse and Mrs Elton compete to win our hearts and minds. Everyone will have to pick sides in this stirring debate. Who makes the best comic heroine, and why? Come prepared with your arguments. We’ll tally the good, bad, and ugly of our favorite (and not so favorite) characters. Be prepared to support your position with readings from Jane Austen’s Emma . Just for fun, we’ll share some insights from novelist Diana Birchall’s In Defense of Mrs Elton , which can be found at www.jasna.org/publications/defense / SPECIAL UPDATE: VOTE NOW TO BEAT THE LONG LINES AT THE POLLS: Besides being two of the greatest comic characters in the English language, Emma Woodhouse and Mrs. Elton are arguably Highbury's two most important residents. Yet these mavens are...