At Holidays at Highbury, we provided something much better than a basin of gruel.
Holidays at Highbury: Understanding Jane Austen’s Emma
took place on Saturday, December 13, 2008
at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
It was a day devoted to Jane Austen and Emma.
Professor Kay Young from UC Santa Barbara (L) delivered her JASNA Traveling Lecture, “’A Mind Lively and at Ease’: Imagination and Emma.”
Our own Diana Birchall (R) gave a talk on Mrs. Elton’s Bristol connections, “Mrs. Elton: the Bride From Bristol.”
There was a reading of Diana Birchall's short playlet The Courtship of Mrs. Elton, directed by Nancy Gallagher.
Congratulations to Nancy Gallagher, our newly elected President and Regional Coordinator, who was elected at the meeting.
Many thanks to our departing Co-Presidents/Regional Coordinators, Claire Bellanti and Mimi Dudley, who will be continuing on the Board as Ex-officio Memmbers.
**As Emma loves to advise, we also participated in a lunch activity in which we wrote fictional "Dear Abby" letters from the point of view of Jane Austen’s literary characters.
In general their evenings were less engaged with friends than their mornings: but one complete dinner engagement, and out of the house too, there was no avoiding, though at Christmas. Mr. Weston would take no denial; they must all dine at Randalls one day; even Mr. Woodhouse was persuaded to think it a possible thing in preference to a division of the party.
--- Emma, Chapter 13
Like the party at Randalls, we dined in a historic building fitted with all of the modern conveniences.
In order to help defray some of the event costs, we held a raffle for a gift bag full of Jane Austen goodies, obtained at the AGM.
