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JASNA





The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) brings scholars and enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals together on equal terms to study and celebrate the genius of Jane Austen. Founded in 1979 by Joan Austen-Leigh, Henry G. Burke (1902-1989) and J. David Grey (1935-1993), JASNA has grown to more than 3,700 members. Many of us gather for our annual conferences, held in various parts of the United States and Canada; many more take part in the meetings of our numerous regional groups.

We are a serious but not a stuffy group. Major libraries and educational institutions recognize our literary journal, Persuasions, as an important source for Jane Austen studies, and our meetings include presentations of scholarly papers. Equally important, however, are lessons in 18th- and 19th-century card games and dancing, and fanciful debates over favorite characters or possible dinner conversations between Elizabeth Bennet and Henry Tilney. Our inquiries delve into Jane Austen's life, her writings, and the era that gave shape to both. We may examine architecture, manners, humor, the military, religion, money, law, romance, friendship, family patterns, education, or dress. Jane Austen's interests were unlimited, and so are ours.

The Jane Austen Society of North America