Jane Austen Society of North America
Puget Sound Region
Program of Events
2026 Upcoming Programs
We have sketched out our plans for meetings in 2026 under the direction of our new Programming Coordinator Diana Lowry.
Sunday February 8, 2026
Virtual Meeting (over Zoom)
11:00 a.m. PST to 12:30 p.m.
We are starting at 11 to avoid conflict with the Super Bowl.
-
Theme: Valentines in Jane Austen's time
-
We will also discuss Captain Wentworth’s letter at the end of Persuasion
-
Diana Lowry will lead the meeting
Sunday. April 12, 2026 – 2 p.m.
-
Who’s Who and Who’s Where—an examination of the social status implied by Bath locations in Persuasion
-
This lecture will trace the importance of Location, Location, Location, in the social structure in Bath. “The proper address” was acutely important to Sir Walter Elliott, and everyone in the novel is aware of what his lofty perch in Camden-Place connotes.
-
Julie Buck first researched this information for the AGM in Kansas City in 2018 but has not presented it to our local region. Agnes Gawne will present the information on Julie’s behalf.
-
Location – a library or community meeting room - to be arranged
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 2 p.m.
-
Theme: Northanger Abbey - Trends of Gothic novels
-
Interactive murder mystery
-
Library meeting space to be arranged
Sunday August 9, 2026, 2 p.m.
-
Theme: Music in Bath as cited in Jane Austen’s works
-
We are hoping to arrange a musical performance
-
Location To Be Arranged as other details fall into place
Sunday, October 11, 2026, 2 p.m.
-
Theme – pending
-
Speaker - pending
-
Location: Library - To Be Arranged
Sunday, December 13, 2026, 2 p.m.
-
Jane Austen’s 251st birthday celebrationJ
-
Potluck afternoon tea
-
Speaker to be arranged
-
Location to be arranged
Past Meetings
Saturday, December 6, 2025
All day event
celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of
Jane Austen
capped with a
Regency Ball in the evening.
The Women's University Club in Downtown Seattle was the location for our all day party celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday started with a welcoming message from our Regional Coordinator followed by a fashion show demonstrating the styles from 1775-1817, Jane Austen's lifetime. We then removed to the salon and games rooms to chat and play games before entering the dining room for a delicious supper meal.
The festivities continued with a Regency dance in the ballroom.
The one hundred people who attended all had a great time.
August 17, 2025
Bellevue Botanical Garden
Our meeting was at 2 p.m. in the Aaron Education Center.
The Bellevue Botanical Gardens are open and free from dawn to dusk
so members were able to come early and stay late to make a day of it and enjoy the full gardens. We re-read the text of the Box Hill picnic scene from Emma and discussed it together.
June Meeting
June 8, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Stimson-Green Mansion
1204 Minor Avenue, Seattle
What would Jane Austen's mother's baby shower have been like?
June Meeting was June 8, 2025 at the Stimson-Green Mansion on Seattle's Capitol Hill.
Throughout 2025 folks around the world are celebrating the 250th birthday of Jane Austen - but - she will not be born until December 16! Therefore, we decided to make the June meeting a Baby Shower theme! We don't really know very much about baby showers in 1775 (they probably did not happen at all!). Nevertheless we wanted to celebrate the anticipated happy event for the Austen family.
We had a very short presentation about what was done in preparation for a birth in the family of a proper English clergyman. We learned what gifts someone might "expect while expecting" in the late 18th century. Everyone was asked to think about what gift you would like to bring to Mrs. Austen if this were a real baby shower. We all shared our ideas for the perfect gifts and explained how we imagine we would have acquired these gifts and why we chose those gifts for Mrs. Austen.
A tea party and a baby shower cake followed the meeting.
Persuasion - The Cancelled Chapters
Sunday April 13, 2025
Greenlake Branch of the Seattle Public Library
We know that on July 8, 1816, Jane Austen began what she called Chapter 10 of the second volume of Persuasion. On the last page of Chapter 11 she wrote "Finish July 18 1816". The original ending was first published by Austen's nephew and biographer, J. Edward Austen-Leigh in his A Memoir of Jane Austen.
The cancelled chapters are the only manuscript from any of the six novels that we have in original form -- crossings-out, emendations and all. The fragment is now in the British Museum.
We read and discussed the cancelled Chapter 10 as well as Chapters 10 through 12 as published.
Christmas Traditions in Jane Austen's Time
Sunday, December 8, 2024
December is the time when we gather together to celebrate Jane Austen's birthday! While it is always a festive event for the life of Jane Austen, being in December also reminds us of the holidays. Our program was a look at Christmas celebrations in the time of Jane Austen. Agnes Gawne, regaled us with stories of Christmas traditions Jane might have experienced.
We will raise our glasses to toast Jane Austen with sherry or cider. As ever, Regency attire is always admired, never required.
