Posts by Juli McLoone

Over the course of the eighteenth century, the time and contents of meals gradually shifted. By the turn of the 19th century, dinner had become detached from its earlier noontime association and might be eaten anytime from mid-afternoon to as late as six or seven o’clock in the evening. However, lunch had not yet become a commonly established sit-down meal. Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary of 1755 defines “lunch” or “luncheon” as “as much food as one’s hand can hold,” in other words, a sort of snack that might be eaten anytime between meals.

During this final month of the exhibit The Life and Times of Lizzy Bennet (November, 20, 2017 - March 30, 2018), a series of “Dining with Jane Austen” posts will explore mealtimes in Georgian England and look at some of the recipes that might have been enjoyed by Austen or her characters. In this first installment, we’ll take a look at breakfast.

Join Nicola's Books and the Ann Arbor District Library for a conversation between author Kathleen Flynn and U-M Residential College Creative Writing Director Laura Thomas on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Downtown Library's Multi-Purpose Room. Flynn and Thomas will discuss Flynn's debut novel, The Jane Austen Project, in which two researchers from the future are sent back in time to meet Jane and recover a suspected unpublished novel.

Have you visited The Life and Times of Lizzy Bennet? Has the exhibit only whetted your appetite for more Jane Austen? If so, read on! In Feburary and early March, Nicola's Books will be hosting three Jane Austen Book Club events on February 7th, February 21st, and March 7th. The first two events are highlighted in this blog post. Stay tuned for more news of the March event.

Sewing and needlework were strongly associated with femininity in Georgian England and provide a window into gender roles of the time period.

Join Ann Arbor District Library for an evening of embroidery and Austen on Tuesday January 23, 2018 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm in the Downtown Library's Secret Lab. There will be a short presentation on needlework in the Austen era and a demonstration of embroidery styles and stitches. Each attendee will create their own needlework keepsake—a personalized, monogrammed handkerchief—with plenty of guidance to get those stitches started.

Join us for "Accustomed Circuits: Jane Austen and Romantic Transport," a lecture by Miranda Burgess of the University of British Columbia, on Friday, January 19th, 4:00-5:30pm in the Hatcher Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, the Nineteenth-Century Forum and the University of Michigan Library are excited to offer a one-day interdisciplinary conference on Friday, January 19, 2018, exploring movement, mapping, and margins within the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Attendance is free, but we ask that participants register by January 10, 2018, as space for some sessions is limited. A complimentary lunch will be served for those who register.

Please join us on Wednesday, December 13th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library (Westgate Branch - West Side Room) for Lights, Camera, Austen: The screen adaptations of Jane Austen.

As Juli McLoone and Sigrid Cordell prepared for The Life and Times of Lizzy Bennet (Nov. 20, 2017-March 30, 2018), a number of Jane Austen's novels were identified as being in need of conservation treatment. These included a two-volume, 1838 edition of The Novels of Jane Austen. These two volumes presented some condition concerns which Cathleen A. Baker Fellow Clara Huisman treated under the supervision of Conservation Librarian/Conservator Marieka Kaye.