Friends Book Club and No Rules Book Club are combining to offer a program that highlights the work of Jane Austen.
“All About Austen” will be at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Bradford Area Public Library. The book clubs are looking forward to participants discussing their favorite Jane Austen novels and adaptations.
For the 200th anniversary of Austen’s death, it only seems fitting to celebrate her life and legacy. While several of her works were well known during her lifetime, her work did not achieve international success until the 1920s when scholars recognized her works as masterpieces. Her most famous novels are: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion (1818). Austen often referred to Pride and Prejudice as her “darling child.”
Her last two novels were published by her brother Henry after her death. Over 200 years later, her works remain very popular. Several current novels and series of novels are based upon her works and life. There are several film and TV adaptations of Emma, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. The successful movie and later TV series, Clueless is based on Emma. The influence of her work continues long after her death.
In addition to the “All About Austen” program, the Bradford Area Public Library has a display of both Austen’s works and the current works that are influenced by her writings.
