Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
The Library will commemorate the 200th anniversary
of Jane Austen’s death with a series of lectures, book
discussions, film screenings & more!
Unless noted otherwise,
please register for all programs at
ridgefieldlibrary.org or call 203-438-2282
Ridgefield Library Presents
All About Jane:
Celebrating 200 Years of Jane Austen
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single
man in possession of a good fortune,
must be in want of a wife. ”
“He is a gentleman, and I am a gentleman's daughter.
So far we are equal.”
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Summer and Fall 2017
Sunday, October 1, 2 PM @ Yale Center For British Art,
1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT
A Jane Austen Inspired Tour of the Yale Center for British
Art in New Haven with Patricia Carr
During this tour Patricia Carr will imagine that
some of the portraits in the collection are
characters in the novels of Jane Austen as she
discusses the paintings. This interactive tour is an
interesting way to view the Center’s admirable
collection of British art, the largest in the world
outside of the UK. The tour is limited to 15. Fee
is $5 per person at ridgefieldlibrary.org.
Special Events
Thursday, November 2, 10 :30 AM
Murder by the Book: Jane and the
Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by
Stephanie Barron The opening volume in a long-running series in which Jane
Austen investigates murder and other skullduggery in early
19th century England.
Tuesday, November 14, 6:30 PM @ Ridgefield High School
& Wednesday, November 15, 6:30 PM @ the Library
Books Building Bridges: Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Adult readers are invited to join students from Ridgefield
High School in this year's Books Building Bridges
intergenerational book chats, facilitated by high school
students. Adults and students are encouraged to attend either
the session on Tuesday, November 14 at Ridgefield High
School or on Wednesday, November 15 at the Library.
Book Discussions
Sunday, November 12, 1 - 4 PM
Jane Austen Celebration Party!
Period card games, refreshments, crafts, live
music and more! Come in period costume if
you would like, and remember that “One
cannot have too large a party.” - Emma
Additional Programs
We are scheduling additional events including some craft and
sewing programs. Check our All About Jane webpage for
up-to-date information about all we have going on
for Austen fans this summer and fall!
Also, be sure to check out the Library Store on the Main Level
for Jane Austen-themed souvenir and other gift items.
Al l About Jane
i s m a de p os s i b l e t h an k s to t he
F r i e nd s o f t he Li bra r y
Copies of titles by, about and inspired by Jane Austen may be
purchased at a special 15% discount at Books on the Common,
or inquire at any service desk about print, audio
and eBook availability through the Library.
Thursday, September 14, 7 PM
Sensibility and Sense: How the 18th Century Meets the 19th
in Jane Austen's Novels with Dr. Mark Schenker
The novels of Jane Austen (1775-1817) were published between 1811 and
1818—four during her lifetime and two posthumously. But all are set in the
closing years of the 18th century and in the opening years of the 19th. In her
fiction’s witty presentation and critique of the British landed gentry at the turn
of the century, it may be seen as providing a bridge between the novel of
sensibility, which Austen satirized as excessively sentimental, and the literary
realism that was to form the hallmark of the 19th-century novel.
Dr. Mark J. Schenker has been at Yale College since 1990. He is currently a
senior associate dean of the College and dean of academic affairs.
Sunday, September 24, 2 PM
ARTalk: The World of Jane Austen Through Paintings
of the Period with Patricia Carr
With the aid of beautiful slides, including many of
paintings of the time, Carr will help us enter Jane
Austen’s world and learn a little more about what life
was like for the country gentry. Patricia Carr was
born and studied in England. For the past thirteen
years she has worked as a docent at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington,
CT and she also gives guided tours at the Yale Center for British Art. She
will lead a Jane Austen-themed tour there on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 PM.
Thursday, October 12, 7 PM
Fashion in Fiction: Jane Austen's Regency Novels
with Kandie Carle
Clothing speaks volumes in Jane Austen's Regency
novels. Join us for a delightful show-and-tell on the
clothing of Regency England as reflected in Jane Austen's
fiction. The program includes dressing "Elizabeth Bennet”
and “Mr. Darcy,” and readings from Miss Austen's letters
and novels.
While dressed in authentic Regency attire, Kandie
Carle will give a detailed overview of the clothing of the Regency Era (early
1800s) for both gentlemen and ladies. Then Ms. Carle will share excerpts
from Austen's personal letters as well as passages from some of the novels,
highlighting Miss Austen's use of clothing and fashion to define character and
class, enhance story line and develop plot points.
Teens through adults will enjoy discovering just how important fashion was
200 years ago!
Lectures
Tuesday, September 26, 1 PM and 7 PM
Film Screening: Emma (1996, PG, 120 mins.)
This delightfully fun and lighthearted comedy is based
on Jane Austen's classic novel.
Monday, October 9, 3:30 to 5:30 PM
Teen Film Screening: Clueless (1995, PG13,
97 mins.)
Teens join us for the screening of the cult classic
Clueless, a modern day retelling of Jane
Austen's Emma, starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd.
This is a drop-in program and registration is not necessary. Snacks will be
provided.
Tuesday, October 10, 1 PM and 7 PM
Film Screening: Sense and Sensibility (1995,
PG, 135 mins.)
Emma Thompson stars in the captivating romance based
on Jane Austen's classic novel of two sisters' search for
love in strict Georgian society. Also featuring Kate
Winslett and Hugh Grant.
Saturday, November 4, 1 PM
Book to Movie Film Screening and
Discussion: Pride and Prejudice led by
Mark Edwards (2005, PG, 128 mins.)
Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, Matthew
Macfadyen and Talulah Riley, will be screened with a
discussion to follow led by author and teacher Mark
Edwards.
Mark Edwards teaches media studies at Sacred Heart University. He also
teaches an Art of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing course for the
M.F.A. program at Lesley University.
Tuesday, November 7, 3:30 to 5:30 PM
Teen Film Screening: Austenland (2013,
PG13, 97 mins.)
Teens join us for the screening of the film Austenland
starring Keri Russel.
This is a drop-in program and registration is not
necessary. Snacks will be provided.
Movies
Tuesday, September 5, 7 PM
Nonfictioneers Book Discussion: Jane
Austen's England: Daily Life in the
Georgian and Regency Periods by Leslie
and Roy Adkins
Jane Austen’s England explores the customs and
culture of the real England of her everyday existence
depicted in her classic novels.
Wednesday, September 27, 10 AM & 7 PM
AM Book Discussion: Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen, led by Mary Rindfleisch
Clergyman’s daughter Catherine Morland loves the
suspense and romance of the popular Gothic novels of
the day and expects to find similar excitement when
she is invited to visit some new friends at the
forbidding Northanger Abbey, their family estate.
Austen adds a satirical send-up of the Gothic sensibility to her usual keen
observation of human frailties.
Thursday, October 12, 3 PM @ Founders Hall, 193
Danbury Road, Ridgefield, CT
Founders Hall Book Discussion: Emma
by Jane Austen, led by Mary Rindfleisch
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris
and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was
first published in December 1815. As in her other
novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of
genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England;
she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her
characters. Open to members of Founders Hall only.
Tuesday, October 17, 10 AM & 7 PM
Critics' Circle Book Group Discussion: Sense and
Sensibility by Jane Austen, led by Dorothy Pawlowski
Marianne Dashwood falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John
Willoughby and ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive
behavior leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor is
struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment. Through their
parallel experiences of love - and its threatened loss - the sisters learn that
sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a
society where status and money govern the rules of love.
Book Discussions