Annual General Meeting
Winchester England
October 9-13 2003
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Coordinators
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Theme:
"Homecoming, The Importance of Home and Family in Jane Austen's Life
and Works".
To celebrate the 25th
Anniversary of our founding, JASNA members journeyed to England in October 2003
to experience, first hand, Jane Austen’s beloved country. They explored the significance of home
and family in Jane Austen’s works and life with distinguished Austen
scholars even as they traced her footsteps at the cherished locales from which
she drew inspiration.
Winchester, which wears its history so gracefully, was the ideal choice for
the conference headquarters. We
agree with the travel writer who said, “There are few places in England where
the past has survived to delight the present quite so well.”
Close to Chawton, and well served by commuter rail from London,
Winchester served as a felicitous
home base and staging area for our pilgrimage.
On Saturday there was a special daylong excursion to Chawton with its rich
Austenian treasures, but before we visited the village where our favorite
author spent the last eight, happy years of her life, we heard
the bells ring at Steventon and toured The Vyne.
We also honored Jane Austen’s memory with appropriate
pomp and circumstance in the magnificent 12th
Century Winchester Cathedral.
ALL PHOTOS © JASNA
Adrian Harvey - Photographer
Harvey Hellering - AGM2003 Photography coordinator
