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Sydney Morning Herald

Jane Austen Society of Australia is preparing to celebrate the author's 250th anniversary

'One cannot have too large a party,' Mr Weston tells Emma Woodhouse in Emma , and Jane Austen societies around the world are certainly taking his dictum to heart. That's because this year marks the 250th anniversary of the novelist's birth and fans everywhere, it seems, are preparing bonnets, balls and book-fests in the run-up to December 16. A Regency costume parade in the UK's Bath, part of the city's annual Jane Austen Festival. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Although Austen's books were popular during her lifetime and have proved even more so since her death, no one thought to create a Jane Austen society until 1940. This was when Englishwoman Dorothy Darnell – horrified at the thought of the cottage in Chawton, Hampshire, where Austen had lived from 1809 until shortly before her death in 1817 at age 41, might be destroyed – established a society to raise funds to preserve it. Societies have since proliferated like blushes at a Regency ball, and there are now groups dedicated to the author in at least 18 countries, including Pakistan, Japan, Brazil, Italy and Australia, where more than 1000 people are members. Historian Susannah Fullerton, a passionate Austen devotee who has written four books about the author, describes her as a 'genius' whose work has never dated, adding, 'She knew what made people tick.' She's president of the Sydney-based Jane Austen Society of Australia (JASA), the largest literary society in the country. Its members debate aspects of Austen's novels, hear guest speakers and socialise over afternoon tea. There's no aspect of the author's life and work that isn't worthy of discussion, she says: 'At one event, we had an amazing chat about Jane Austen's use of dashes in her fiction!' The Jane Austen Society of Melbourne assembles every two months at the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria in Ashburton. At a recent meeting, one member gave a presentation about her Austen-flavoured visit to the UK. The other attendees – 24 women and one man – listened attentively. Later, over tea and cake, conversation turned to the dilemma of finding the perfect costume for 'Jane Fest' – the society's end-of-year event, featuring a talk and special afternoon tea – followed by discussion of the latest Austen-themed books and screen adaptations (such as the new BBC production Miss Austen , based on the bestselling 2020 novel by Gill Hornby and starring Keeley Hawes and Patsy Ferran). Photographs from small- and big-screen adaptations filled the room, including that image of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy emerging from the lake at Pemberley in the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries (still the finest adaptation of Austen's most popular novel, everyone agreed). Loading Meanwhile, JASA is planning a special service at St James' Church on Sydney's King Street on August 3 and a weekend conference in Canberra at the end of October, which will include presentations by local and international experts. In the UK, the year began with a Pride and Prejudice festival at Chawton, with Austen's other novels celebrated during the year. Bath, a setting for many of them, will host its annual September festival. So what would Austen herself make of all this fuss? The author never sought recognition for her work, with four of her novels published anonymously in her lifetime. Given her own love of reading, though, perhaps it's safe to assume she would've been chuffed. For as she says, through much-loved Austen beau Henry Tilney in her fifth novel, Northanger Abbey : 'The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.' To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.