The Metro Kansas City Region has adapted to the new normal of Zoom meetings this summer and early fall, starting with three events in August: a discussion of These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer, followed by a Pride and Prejudice pub trivia game (with team Rational Creatures eking out a victory over the Meryton Mavens) and a spirited and insightful discussion of Volume the First of the juvenilia in preparation for the AGM. September brought a long-awaited talk by our own Ted Benditt on Jane Austen and Crime (postponed due to the pandemic—but therefore available to people from all over the U.S. as well as Tijuana, Dublin, Galway, England, and British Columbia). Thanks to Ted for bringing us fascinating information about so many facets of Regency society and law, from marriage laws to hunting rights and the evolution of the concept of a suspect being innocent until proven guilty. (Who knew that “unlawful commerce between men and women in hackney coaches” was such a problem?) We rounded out September with a second discussion of the juvenilia, focusing on Volume the Second and featuring a video production of Austen’s play, “The Mystery” directed by Jenny Rytting and Christie Kennard.
In October, we hosted Elizabeth Steele of the Eastern Pennsylvania region. Her talk, entitled “Re-Reading Jane Austen,” ruminated on the benefits of rereading Austen’s works with a plan in mind, punctuated with examples from her own encounters with Austen, from college to her current book club. “We are in a literary society,” she reminded us. “It doesn’t get any better than that. We get to encourage each other to do what we love best.” November brought astrologer Elisabeth Grace to our Zoom space. In “Jane Austen: Horoscope of a Lady,” Grace presented and interpreted Austen’s birth chart. Noting that astrology is a useful tool for expressing the human experience in space and time, we explored the planetary positions on important dates in Austen’s life (such as the date of Harris Bigg-Wither’s proposal and Austen’s acceptance then rejection of the offer) and concluded with a few observations about how a horoscope can continue to be relevant with respect to a person’s fame or legacy, even 200 years after her death. In December, we convened for our annual Birthday Tea and were entertained by a talk by Kim Wilson, RC of the Wisconsin region: “One Very Superior Party: In Which Mrs. Elton Shews the Inhabitants of Highbury ‘How Everything Ought to Be Arranged.’” Wilson is at work on a book about Regency entertaining and regaled us with tips on how we can bring Austen’s era into our twenty-first century lives, from invitations to card games to recipes. We also previewed the design for our new website (www.jasnakc.org): look for that to debut in the new year.