Fourth Jane Austen Day
June 7, 2008

Marriott University Park Hotel
880 East Second Street, Tucson, Arizona 85719

Sign-in: 9:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Program: 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Thirty atttendees celebrated Jane Austen Day on Saturday, June 7, with the Southern Arizona Region of the Jane Austen Society of North America. The focus of this year’s event was Emma, thought by many to be Austen’s most entertaining novel - and even her masterpiece.

Program Highlights:

• "'A Mind Lively and at Ease’: Imagination and Emma"
  JASNA Traveling Lecturer Kay Young examined Emma’s fantasy life and considered the nature of her imagination and its role in bringing her to self-consciousness. Dr. Young is Associate Professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a 2008 JASNA Traveling Lecturer.

• "Mrs. Elton Was First Seen at Church"
  Diana Birchall presented unique insights on the novel Emma gained through her long-time study of Mrs. Elton. Ms. Birchall is the author of Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma and the Mrs. Elton trilogy (In Defense of Mrs. Elton, The Courtship of Mrs. Elton, and Mrs. Elton in America). The author signed copies, with a limited number of copies of Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma available for purchase.

• "Janne on Jane II: Music in Emma"
  Pianist and musicologist Janne Irvine received rave reviews at the 2006 AGM for her unique musical program featuring music from Austen’s era interwoven with conversation about the six novels. She has since developed a program that focuses just on music in Emma. There were some Irish melodies in the mix!

• "Two Poems and a Proposal"
  Southern Arizona Region members joined Diana Birchall in a Readers’ Theatre presentation of her short play that follows Mr. Elton’s courtship of Miss Augusta Hawkins in Bath.

• Open Discussion
  Sharing "one thing very clever, or two things moderately clever" in this group open forum, we discussed a variety of topics sparking lively conversation!