Winter:

February 25th, 3 pm ET

"Narratives of Naval Wives: Fanny Austen in Fact and Jane Austen in Fiction"

When Fanny Palmer married Jane Austen’s younger naval brother Charles in 1807, she was
thrust into a demanding life within the world of the British navy. This talk will provide a vividly
personal account of what Fanny was able to share with Jane about her life as a naval wife,
information which was arguably both contextual and catalytic for Austen’s creation of her the
fictional naval wives in Persuasion.

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                            Sheila Johnson Kindred taught for many years in the Philosophy Department of St Mary’s
                            University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She has lectured on aspects of Jane Austen’s family
                            and fiction in Canada, United States, Bermuda, Australia and England, and published fifteen
articles on Austen related topics. She is the author of the prize winning book, Jane Austen’s
Transatlantic Sister: The Life and Letters of Fanny Palmer Austen (2017,2018). Sheila blogs on
her website Jane Austen’s Naval World at sheilajohnsonkindred.com.

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Spring:

TBA

Summer:

Saturday, July 22nd, 3 pm ET

Virtual Talk by Kathryn Duncan:

"Neither Sense nor Sensibility: A Buddhist Reading"

Though Jane Austen was unfamiliar with Buddhism, her novels share Buddhism’s understanding of human nature and how the stories we tell ourselves create suffering. Through a TED-talk style presentation that includes visuals and discussion, we will explore how Marianne and Elinor are trapped by societal concepts that prevent them from understanding true love as defined by Buddhism: equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and joy. Instead, “love” in the novel is attachment to concepts and material goods, leading to division and suffering. While Austen provides the happy ending, the characters of Sense and Sensibility fail to find true happiness. 

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