Wit & Wisdom - Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen Day 2

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Ball Dance Workshop • A chance to practice the ball dances under the guidance of Laura Mé Smith so that you will shine on the dance floor! 1:30 - 2:30 pm What P&P Readers of 1813 Thought Was Normal - Carol Roberts, JASNA Victoria • Carol will share legal and historical facts about life in 1813 which weren't in Pride & Prejudice that readers of the time would know, but readers now don't, which colour our current reading experience differently than theirs. She will focus on characters and situations from the novel as examples, including Wickham's absconding with the two young ladies, Lady Catherine's pontifications at Rosings, and Mr. Darcy's times alone with Elizabeth. 2:30 - 3:30 pm Write On: The How and Why of Writing Jane Austen Fan Fiction - Samantha Adkins, JASNA Victoria • I am not at all in a humour for writing: I must write on till I am. ~ from Jane Austen’s letters to Cassandra, 26 October, 1813 Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) seems to be pouring from every bookshop, Jane Austen website and blog. Should you try your hand at the pastime? And if so, how should you go about it? Join Samantha Adkins, author of Expectations: A Continuation of Pride and Prejudice, Suspiciously Reserved, A Twist on Jane Austen’s Emma, Banff Springs Abbey, and The Jane Austen Contest as she discusses the reasons for and against writing JAFF. Once you’ve made up your mind, she will offer a few tips to those who are currently writing or would like to write an Austen-inspired piece in the future. 3:30 - 4:30 pm The Witty Woman: Jane Austen's Dilemma - Lona Manning, JASNA Vancouver • The heroine in Jane Austen's satirical Plan of a Novel is "perfectly good, with much tenderness and sentiment, and not the least Wit." In Austen's time, many people such as Hannah More advised that women should not be witty. Clearly, Austen is laughing at this idea in her parody which recapitulates some of the formulaic tropes of the sentimental novel. But Austen just happened to be an incredibly gifted wit. How did this social disapproval of wit affect her personally? This talk will give examples of the strictures against wittiness prevalent at the time. As well, we'll look at witty women in Austen's novels, Austen's correspondence and some of the prayers she wrote. We’ll leave time for audience reflections about Austen and her reaction to a society that discouraged wittiness in women. 7:30 - 10:30 pm Regency Ball • Put on your finery and your dancing slippers and enjoy the pleasures of the ball at the White Eagle Hall, led by our lovely Dance Mistress, Laura Mé Smith, with inspiring music by The Dancehall Players! Regency attire encouraged & admired, but not required!