Happy Birthday Jane!

Today would have been Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and I love how much everyone is celebrating! Jane Austen House had the most beautiful wreath that they posted a picture of on Instagram. Emma Thompson spoke about Sense And Sensibility with the BBC. And this weekend some of my friends and I attended a high tea to celebrate Jane Austen through my favorite local bookstore, Main Street Books. They had great trivia, a fun book of Jane Austen wisdom for every day of the year, and the blueberry scones were delicious!

I sometimes think celebrating “would have been” birthdays are a little bit strange. Obviously those people are no longer alive but I think the reason they’re worth celebrating is because that person still has such a significant impact. Jane Austen was the original romance novel author for me. I had read the slow burn of Anne and Gilbert, Percy and Annabeth, and Harry and Ginny. But Jane Austen presented romances that had heroines with oodles of self confidence, loveable families that also drove each other crazy, and the concept of a brooding suitor. But she didn’t reduce men to that, she gave them depth and intrigue while focusing the story on a woman and her agency, independence, depth of knowledge, and more.

At the high tea over the weekend, there was a photography booth and they had a cut out of Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy. I said something about Matthew McFadden and the photographer said it wasn’t her choice but she had gotten lots of feedback about his absence! I had a good laugh at that. Heated discussions about Firth vs. McFadden are something I always enjoy and I love to hear people’s reasoning.

I recently got the opportunity to see Austen’s Pride, an amazing original musical that is the story of Pride And Prejudice but with Jane Austen’s life as the framing narrative. It was so clever, funny, and beautiful. It’s no longer on tour but I’m anxiously awaiting the day it goes to Broadway. I’ll be there for sure! But not in regency dress, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of wearing a corset for fun.

All the different variations and adaptations of Austen’s work display her staying power as an author and that readers can relate to her characters. But what I also love is that it really shows how everyone reads a story differently. The basics are the same but people all have a different experience. Some people have the major ick about Mr. Collins or find Emma a little irritating. And yet, we all find common ground in our love for Austen’s work. Some of my favorite Instagram accounts are about Jane Austen and always give me a good laugh - I’ll tag them in my Instagram post!

I can only hope that for the next 250 years and more people will fall in love with Jane Austen, her characters, and enjoy all she has to offer. Wherever she may be, I hope she’s enjoying a glass of madeira!