“Writing the Regency: Jane Austen and the ‘Strange Business’ in America” was the theme of our Regional Meeting on Saturday, December 14 held at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. We were fortunate to catch our guest speaker, Prof. Robert Morrison of Bath Spa University in the UK and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, on a brief layover in New York City between the two countries. Prof. Morrison, a specialist in 19th-century British literature and culture, is the author most recently of The Regency Years (Norton, 2019). He gave an engaging and spirited talk explaining why Jane Austen deserves to be recognized for a central role in the Romantic movement. After the meeting, Natalie Jenner (author of the upcoming novel, The Jane Austen Society) offered the annual Birthday Toast in honor of our Jane. Happy 244th birthday to a timeless writer and close observer of society! A raffle, high tea, and conversation completed the afternoon’s festivities.
The next meeting will be our full-day conference on March 28.
-Michele Kling