Ventura Jane Austen Book Group

10/18/2021

For those who don't know the Regency Era very well, the stereotype is all skin-tight buckskin and heaving bosoms. When this book was first published, however, The New York Times, in its review, reminds us that, 'These were the years that saw an exhausted, impoverished Britain at war both internally (workers’ riots, Highland clearances, troubles in Ireland) and externally, thanks to many ruinous years of battling against Napoleon and almost three years of war against the United States.' Goodness....

For those who don’t know the Regency Era very well, the stereotype is all skin-tight buckskin and heaving bosoms. When this book was first published, however, The New York Times, in its revie…

09/20/2021

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...... It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known". Comprising arguably the most famous first and last sentences in one novel, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two…...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…… It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever k…

08/21/2021

This past April, we read (ok, re-read) the original 'light, bright and sparkling' Pride & Prejudice. But can this classic be adapted for other times and other cultures? Our Reading Group selection for this month transports us from Hampshire to San Francisco, and fast forwards us to the present day. This P&P version centers on an Indian American family. It also flips the Bennet/Darcy social status....

This past April, we read (ok, re-read) the original ‘light, bright and sparkling’ Pride & Prejudice. But can this classic be adapted for other times and other cultures? Our Reading …

05/17/2021

We've all read all Jane Austen's novels. Chances are we’ve also read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. But weren't there any other women writing in Britain for those one hundred years of the 1800s?. In Not Just Jane, Shelley DeWees weaves history, biography, and critical analysis into a narrative of Britain's mostly forgotten, female literary heritage. Focusing on the creative contributions and personal stories of seven astonishing women, the author assembles a riveting, intimate, and ruthlessly unromanticized portrait of female life, and the literary landscape, during this era....

We’ve all read all Jane Austen’s novels. Chances are we’ve also read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. But weren’t there any other women writing in Britain for those one hundr…

04/19/2021

Which Miss Austen are we talking about? Jane Austen? The Jane Austen we think we know? Or Jane's devoted sister, Cassandra? This novel opens in 1840, decades after Jane's death. Jane's devoted sister Cassandra visits a family member's house to surreptitiously sift through correspondence and destroy any that might be injurious to her beloved sister's memory. Through a series of flashbacks, we are privy to events in the extended Austen family and their interesting family dynamics....

Which Miss Austen are we talking about? Jane Austen? The Jane Austen we think we know? Or Jane’s devoted sister, Cassandra? This novel opens in 1840, decades after Jane’s death. Jane& #8…

04/14/2021

For many Janeites, this is the gateway drug that started it all! It's not a question of if you've read Pride & Prejudice, but how many times. On April 17th, the Ventura Jane Austen Book Group visits this treasured work once again. What new insights have you gained with this new reading? Join us at 10:30 am, PST to share your thoughts and appreciate the comments of other like-minded folks. Go to our WordPress site to request the Zoom meeting link if you don't have it already.

03/22/2021

“The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade…or anything that would form a contrast, and bring the reader with increased delight to the playfulness and epigrammatism of the general style.” Jane Austen 2021 is the year that we discuss aspects of Pride & Prejudice. Last month we looked at the goings-on of the Bennet family from Mary's point of view....

“The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade…or anything that would form a contrast, and bring the reader with increased delight to the playfulness and epigrammatism of …

03/19/2021

She isn't beautiful like her sister Jane. She isn't witty like her sister Lizzie. She isn't lively like her sisters Kitty and Lydia. Can Mary be the heroine of a novel? The Ventura Jane Austen Book Group meets via Zoom at 10:30 a.m. PST this Saturday, March 20th to discuss The Other Bennet Sister, by Janice Hadlow.

See our Wordpress page to get more details and to request a link to our Zoom meeting.

02/21/2021

Stuck between the beautiful pair of Jane & Lizzy and the fun-loving pair of Kitty & Lydia, Mary is the plain and awkward one, the sister who continually 'delights us long enough' throughout Pride & Prejudice. But what has made Mary the way she is, and can she overcome the sad plight of the middle sister? 2021 is the year our Group will be reading Jane Austen's…...

Stuck between the beautiful pair of Jane & Lizzy and the fun-loving pair of Kitty & Lydia, Mary is the plain and awkward one, the sister who continually ‘delights us long enough& #8217…

02/18/2021

Want a little sci-fi with your Jane Austen? Just a reminder that our book group will be discussing The Jane Austen Project this Saturday morning, February 20th at 10:30 a.m., PST.

Check out our WordPress site for more details, and to get the Zoom link.

01/16/2021

Jane Austen began writing what she would title The Watsons in 1803. Two years, 80 pages and 7,500 words later, she abandoned this project. Legions of fans and historians have speculated on the book's possible endings, or even whether The Watsons was actually an intended novella. Wouldn't you love to know what Jane Austen had planned? This question is the jumping off point for February's book, 'The Jane Austen Project'....

Reading Group member Linda loved this book so much that she lobbied for it two years in row.

01/03/2021

Flying Colours, by C.S. Forester Flying Colours, by C.S. Forester Saturday, January 8th, 10:30 a.m. Meeting via ZOOM The Ventura Jane Austen Reading Group bids a not so fond farewell to 2020 and welcomes 2021 with our favorite Regency nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. For several years now, our reading group has been following this sailor's career progression with the series of books by C.S....

Flying Colours, by C.S. Forester Flying Colours, by C.S. Forester Saturday, January 8th, 10:30 a.m. Meeting via ZOOM The Ventura Jane Austen Reading Group bids a not so fond farewell to 2020 and we…