What Happened in 1803 - July Reading Group Discussion

timeline_1803b.pdf
File Size:	435 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

etymology_of_1803.pdf
File Size:	19 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

biblio_1803.pdf
File Size:	246 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

Reading Group Discussion of “What Happened in 1803”
Discussion Leaders: Bill Boyd and Vonnie Alto
Hostess: Karen Kinzey
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary
 
In July, Karen Kinzey hosted our region in her lovely garden at her Washington home. What a beautiful garden venue and such a gracious hostess!

Bill Boyd and Vonnie Alto reprised their roles for a “Conversation with Lord Boyd and Lady Alto on What Happened in 1803” – the year Northanger Abbey was sold to a publisher.
 
The dynamic duo discussed Jane Austen’s life, her family, her romances, the mood surrounding 1803,  historical events leading up to the Peace of Amiens, the breaking of it, and how it affected those living in England and France. Other topics discussed were famous births and deaths, medicine, dentistry, travel, fashion, literature, etymology, and new word usage.
 
Handouts were distributed which included a Chronology of Events Surrounding 1803, a Jane Austen Timeline in 1803, Etymology and New Word Usage of 1803, and a Bibliography of 1803. Photocopies of fashion plates and period paintings were also passed around to the group for a total immersion into 1803.