During last week's reading group discussion on "Travel in the Novels," there were several resources shown and referred to, including the following:

• A Treatise on Carriages:  Comprehending Coaches, Chariots, Phaetons, Curricles, Whiskeys, & C. by William Felton, Coachmaker. This comprehensive volume -- complete with prices! -- was originally printed in 1794, and it is available to read full-text online, at http://archive.org/details/atreatiseoncarr00feltgoog

• "Transports of Delight: How Jane Austen's Characters Got Around" by Ed Ratcliffe. This paper was published in the 2012 online edition of The Inkwell, which is the literary journal of the JASNA-Northern California region. The paper can be read online in its entirety, at http://www.jasnanorcal.org/ink9.htm 
  

• Thoughts on Travel in ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (Part I and Part II) is available through the Jane Austen in Vermont site, the online home of the Vermont JASNA region. Part I is available here at http://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/thoughts-on-travel-in-sense-and-sensibility/ , and Part II is available here at http://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/thoughts-on-travel-in-sense-and-sensibility-part-ii/

Dear Janeites,

 The next reading group meeting will take place at 1pm on Sunday, March 10th. The discussion will cover "Travel in the Austen Novels" and "Travel Tips for the U.K." The discussion leaders will be Robin Darby-Bridwell, Nelson Bridwell, and Pat Fulbright. 

We will be meeting at the home of Kelly Kirschner in Tualatin. Please RSVP to Kelly via the contact info sent to members via email.

I look forward to seeing many of you there!

Kim Higgins
Regional Coordinator of the Jane Austen Society of North America
Oregon/ SW Washington Chapter

For our January 13 meeting, let's pretend we're putting together the ultimate condensed version of Jane's letters. We don't need to include all the stuff about Mrs. H. visiting and the cost of muslin or meat; we do want witty comments on balls, marriages, children, literature (including JA's own), etc. There are also references to family dramas and deaths. We can use entire letters if warranted, but in most cases snippets will be enough. Let's see what we can create!

Feel free to read all the letters and select the bits from each you think merit a place in JANE'S GREATEST HITS, but we've gone through them for you and picked out the ones we find the most entertaining or interesting or productive of excellent quotes. The numbers refer to the Deirdre Le Faye collection of Jane Austen's Letters (3rd edition, 1997).

1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 27, 34, 36, 41, 45, 50, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 68D, 68(A), 71, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, 90, 94, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 113, 114, 118, 129, 132(D), 138(D), 146, 148, 151, 153, 155, 158.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
Debbie Guyol and Bill Boyd

It is almost time for our January regular meeting! We will commence discussion on January 13th at 1pm at the home of Alexandra Guerra. Our discussion leaders will be Deb Guyol and Bill Boyd. The topic will be Jane Austen's letters ... more soon with details about the topic. Please let Alex know if you are able to attend.

See you next Sunday!

For texts of Jane Austen's letters (Brabourne edition), please visit http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/brablets.html.

For the reading group discussion schedule and more events this year, please see our 2013 Events page.

Hello all you JASNA OR/SW Washington Fans!

Our next JASNA meeting will be Sunday, September 9th at 1pm, and it will be at Alexandra Guerra's home in Tigard (see our 2012 Events page). Our topic is "Sex, Money and Power or The Top Three Deadly Sins in the Regency!" Susan Schwartz and Janet Rohrbaugh will be our discussion leaders. Please RSVP (see our Contacts page). 

Below are the details to RSVP with Alex as well as some discussion questions to ponder before our meeting. 

"There is, undoubtedly, more liberality and candour on these points than previously."  ~Mansfield Park

We will break out into four smaller discussion groups. Here are some possible questions for you to consider in each topic:

1. (Sex) Do you think there is sex in Jane Austen? Of what kind? How does gender influence sexual behavior? How does Jane Austen distinguish between licentious behavior and appropriate love?

2. (Money) What is Austen saying about the inter-relationship between love and money? How does money influence the lovers in each of the novels? How does the lack of money change the behavior of characters in the novels? Is there a meaningful difference between inherited wealth vs. naval prize money vs. money made in trade in the novels?

3. (Power) In what ways do men and women have and use different kinds of power? How is power related to gender and relationships? In what ways are wealth and power inter-related?

4. (Regency)  Was the Regency an era of sexual freedom? Were the relationships between men and women changing during the Regency? What was happening to the social structure and economics during the Regency? Were there changes in the political power structure in the Regency? What do we see in Jane Austen's own family and her novels reflecting the changes in society?

After the breakout sessions we will set up a panel of four representatives (one from each group) to summerize their group's discussion and answer other questions.

Here is a bibliography of sources for this discussion:

• Two Guys Read Jane Austen by Steve Chandler and Terrence Hill
• A Jane Austen Education: How six novels taught me about love, friendship and the things that really matter by William Deresiewicz
• Jane Austen's World- The life and times of England's most popular author  by Maggie Lane
• Jane Austen on Love  by Juliet McMaster
• The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen by Janet Todd
  

There's still time to RSVP for the upcoming July reading group meeting this Sunday, July 8 @ 1pm. 

Some last-minute reminders:

• To RSVP, please email Kim directly @ jasna.orswwa@gmail.com
• Please read over the bylaws sent out via email about 2 months ago, as we will be discussing and ratifying them at the meeting

Also, we will be showcasing our new website at the meeting!

Greetings Janeites,

Our next reading group meeting will be held at Kim Higgins's house on Sunday, July 8th at 1 pm. Bill  Boyd and Elaine Blatt will lead the discussion entitled, "Liberal or Conservative Jane?" They will touch on the social classes and their responsibility to society.

If you can attend, please let Kim know directly. See our Contacts page for contact info. Seating is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Also, feel free to bring something for the table. Kim will provide tea, sandwiches, and fruit.

To inquire about  sharing a ride, please see our Carpooling page.

For more 2012 events, please see our Events page.