Uncommon Content: Jane Austen at 250

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Jane Austen at 250

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, which means that her 250th birthday is still a full half a year away. But why wait to celebrate?

Jane Austen's novels grace a towels, available here

That's the attitude of a number of laces that have are observing her birthday already in various ways. I got to see two of them in one day on a trip into Manhattan today. One was the Morgan Library & Museum exhibit, "A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250," which was just set on June 6 and will run until September 14, 2025.

Joan Hassal's illustrations of Jane Austen's novels published between 1957 and 1963: "Miss Crawford's Harp," "The saunter around Woodstone," "Ann[sic] Elliot and Captain Wentworth," "Captain Benedick runs for help," "Willoughby carries in Marianne," "Elinor meets Miss Steele in Kensington Gardens"

These illustrations are among the many items that enriched the Jane Austen collection at the Morgan thanks to the donation of an extensive collection amassed by Alberta and Henry Gershon Burke (who changed his last name from the more Jewish-sounding Berkowitz). The exhibit also shows something the Burkes purchased but were pressured not to take out of England -- a lock of Jane Austen's hair that Alberta Burke gifted to the he Jane Austen Society in Chawton.

Alberta willed her her extensive collection to Goucher College and the Morgan. The former was given the books and correspondence, while the latter received Austen letters and manuscripts upon her death in 1975. In 1979, Henry Burke, along with Joan Austen-Leigh and J. David Grey founded The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA).

Pride and Prejudice Off-Broadway

Extending the celebration of Jane Austen, we took in the adaptation of her most popular novel in a much-cut version played by one actor and two actresses taking on multiple roles each to heighten the comedy and showcase teh adeptness of the depictions of character. In truth, the tickets were purchased before we planned the stop at the Morgan for the morning before the matinee. If you want to catch this version in NYC, you'll have to get your tickets within the month. The play's run is limited to just 5 weeks and so ends at the end of June.

This is a fun version of the novel with clever choreography and use of accessories to enable the three people on stage to represent all the Bennets, the Gardiners, Darcy, Wickham, Charlotte Lucas, Mr. Collins, Bingley, his sister, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Darcy's housekeeper, though it had to cut out several characters (not just the Hursts the way most productions do) and some key dialog.

One cut particularly disappointed me: the elimination of the discussion of accomplished women. As you can see from this blog post, it's one that I consider key to the Elizabeth's character and an important life-lesson to push back when you are held to an impossible standard.

If you want to mark the novelist's 250th birthday, there's no better way to do it than with a the Jane Austen products for sale here. I can assure you that you'll find better pricing at the Zazzle store than you would in the Morgan gift shop. I checked myself.