Even more than 200 years after her death, Jane Austen maintains an outsized impact on the world around us.
Her novels such as “Sense and Sensibility” and “Emma” are still required reading in schools throughout the United States. Admirers have come together to form a nonprofit, the Jane Austen Society of North America, to better appreciate and include people in her work.
“Jane Austen is a comfort read for a lot of people. During the pandemic, I re-read all of my Jane Austen books, just as a way of grounding myself,” said Lisa Lintner, a lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society. “There’s something in those books that make you laugh, give you hope, you enjoy the humanity of people in the book.”
Admirers and fans of Austen’s work are taking over Franklin this weekend. The Johnson County Public Library will host a book discussion on “Pride and Prejudice” with the help of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Following the book discussion, the Historic Artcraft Theatre is showing the big-screen adaptation of the book starring Keira Knightly.
The event will hopefully serve as a way for Austen fanatics to delve into their favorite author, while also offering those new to her work a chance to share ideas with like-minded people, said Lintner, director of the Johnson County Public Library.
“I hope that people get a feeling of kindred spirits among people who are new to them. That’s what happened to me when I joined the Jane Austen Society,” she said. “Hopefully, people make friends. And maybe they’ll explore some of her other stories or other film adaptations and learn more about her world.”
Founded in 1979, the Jane Austen Society of North America aims to encourage more people to read literature’s great authors, with emphasis on Austen. The organization boasts more than 5,000 members, and is the largest literary society devoted to Austen and her work.
The Indiana regional group came together in 2006, and since then, has focused on sharing the joy of Austen’s work throughout the state.
“We do book discussions, talk about the Regency period. We love to drink tea,” said Mary Miller, former coordinator for the Indiana region of the society. “It’s a chance for us to talk about the time period and Jane and literature.”
Lovers of Austen’s work have found a comfort in her characters and storylines, which speaks to the enduring quality of the books.
“In times of trouble, at least for over 100 years, people have been turning to Jane. In the trenches of World War I, soldiers read Jane. When the pandemic happened, a lot of people either re-read Jane or found her through her books or the movies,” Miller said. “It’s calming — something you can turn to.”
The idea for the event stems from a link between the Jane Austen Society and the Artcraft. The theater had just started its Reel Women/Vintage Wine events, which featured films spotlighting strong women and included a glass of wine with the ticket.
When the theater picked an adaptation of an Austen book to be featured, the Jane Austen Society of North America, Indiana region, made it a group outing to see the film, Lintner said.
In following years, when the theater featured Austen movies, society members were in attendance. After the Artcraft chose “Pride and Prejudice” for its schedule, the group brainstormed additional activities they could build around it.
“The library will sometimes do book discussions to partner with the Artcraft. We don’t do it terribly often; it has to be a book that people are interested in reading and talking about,” Lintner said. “But this is one of those classics we know we can get people to show up for.”
Lintner and Miller will sit down with participants to talk about the characters and plot of the novel. A focus will be on some of the secondary characters, such as Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas.
“We’ll have our book discussion, and then anyone who’s planning on going to the movie, we’ll go over together,” Lintner said.
Organizers are anticipating a good turnout among Jane Austen Society members. People are coming from as far away as Louisville, Kentucky, and Fort Wayne to participate, Miller said.
“You don’t see these things on the big screen, so when they found out about it, they had to come to town,” she said.
