By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On December 16th, 1775 the world was changed forever as one of the most famous and influential authors of all time, Jane Austen, was born and started a legacy in her life that would change romance novels forever. Now, literature fans all over the world joined together to celebrate her 250th birthday, including those at Medfield Public Library who got together to have a small, but fun, birthday party for the late author.
Once guests started walking in, they were greeted with nametags for themselves and a question; what Jane Austen protagonist do you most identify with? The options were Mary and Elixabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice,” Marianne and Elinor Dashwood from “Sense and Sensibility,” Emma Woodhouse of “Emma,” Fanny Price from “Mansfield Park,” Catherine Moreland from “Northanger Abbey,” and Anne Elliot from “Persuasion,”. Each had a small profile written about them, and it was fun to see the different guests reading them over and picking between the protagonists. It also showed how different the protagonists of all Austen’s novels and novellas can be.
After characters were picked, everyone gathered around the table for a tea party! With paper cups and plates resembling China pieces, and adorable ones at that, it felt that bit more special. Snacks were provided, macarons of different flavors, almond cookies from Brothers, and many different teas to chose from, people grabbed a bit of everything. But they didn’t forget to save room, as the librarian brought out a cake for us to enjoy! A Boston cream cake with candles atop it saying 250 was shared happily before everyone settled in.
While having discussions with other guests about their favorite Austen works, adaptations, and actors (notably did they prefer Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy), everyone had a chance to color in Austen and Regency era-themed coloring pages! With scenes from Austen’s works, quotes along with them, everyone got to work with colored pencils making their own scenes.
That’s not all! Thanks to a Jane Austen themed puzzle book, guests got to chose between crossword puzzles of quotes, working class jobs, and even general trivia to test their Austen knowledge. They split into teams to try and tackle the tough questions, and those who came out on top got to pick from a few Austen themed prize bags! Some went home with new physical book copies, movies, and fun Austen-adjacent books like advice from her characters.
Everyone went home with full stomachs from good treats, a list of contemporary works based on Austen’s novels, and brightness in their eyes from enjoying an event to celebrate one of their favorite authors.
