Jane Austen Day at Manor Mill

with the Jane Austen Society of North America, Maryland Region

Saturday, May 18, 12:00 -6:00 PM

Join the Jane Austen Society of North America, Maryland Region and Manor Mill for an afternoon of scholarship and fun! The event begins at 12:00 pm with informative presentations on Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility, sessions on her life, and the world she lived in. There will be period crafts and a Regency market place.

Adult day passes are $35 per person before April 18th. After April 18th, adult day passes will be $45 per person. Day passes for attendees under 18 are $15 per person.

*Special add-ons can be purchased upon check in such as: custom regency-style portraits or a photo op with a historical carriage!

Presented by the Jane Austen Society of North America and Manor Mill. Proceeds all going to Manor Mill’s Water Wheel Restoration Project.

We have some exciting add-on activities for Jane Austen Day 2024.
Purchase an add-on activity below!

Silhouettes by Hand
$25 each
Available 2:15 - 3:45pm

Silhouettes are classic, romantic, quaint, charming - and are still part of our culture after hundreds of years. Don't miss your chance for an iconic hand-made, traditionally made portrait to remember Jane Austen Day 2024! Your artist is an internationally respected artisan and researcher, Lauren Muney.
(Only 20 spots!)

Historic Carriage Photo
$10 per person or group
Available 1:00 - 6:00pm

What's a better way to remember Jane Austen Day 2024 than with a photo in a beautiful historic carriage? Local photographer Bo Willse will be taking photos throughout the day and send you several edited digital images to your email and you may print and share them as you see fit!

Regency Style Hairdo
$45 each
Available 2:00 - 3:00pm

Recreate a Regency hairstyle to perfect your Jane Austen “look”. Using modern techniques stylist Anna Vogel will create the perfect 1811 hairstyle for your hair — be it is long, medium or short. BYO ribbons, feathers, or string of pearls for that extra fancy look.
(Only 1 spot left!)

Jane Austen Tote Bag

Remember a fantastic day with a beautiful and practical keepsake! This eco-friendly jute tote bag is a perfect size for carrying all of your belongings big and small. We are only printing a small amount of these, so pre-order now to secure your purchase and receive your bag during check-in!

11.75"H x 11.75"W x 7.5"D.

$18 each

Schedule of Events:

12:00pm

  • Welcoming Ceremony

    • Video by Jane Austen House

    • Dueling demo

1:00pm

  • “A Mother Would Have Always Been Present”: Good and Bad Mothers in Sense and Sensibility with Karen Sagun (Classroom)

  • Learning “Wise Mind” with the Dashwood Sisters with Dara G. Friedman-Wheeler (2nd Floor)

  • From Blindness to Sight with Fiona Clare Altschuler (3rd floor)

  • The Musical Life of Jane Austen with Kevin Paton-Cole (Loft)

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

2:00pm

  • Cuppa Love Traveling Tea Truck

    • Hot and cold teas and assorted sweet breads (gluten free)

    • A $5 voucher is included with the purchase of your ticket! Voucher’s will be handed out when you check in at the beginning of Jane Austen Day.

  • “Every heart has it’s secret sorrow: Grieving in Sense and Sensibility with a nod to Long Fellow” with LaShawn Erica King (classroom)

  • “Nurturing a Strong Self in Sense and Sensibility” with Juliette Wells (2nd Floor)

  • What References to Willoughby’s “Hunters” say about his Character with Amanda Halla (Loft)

  • Silhouettes by Hand - add-on activity

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

  • Regency style hairdo - add-on activity

3:00pm

  • Learning “Wise Mind” with the Dashwood Sisters with Dara G. Friedman-Wheeler (2nd floor)

  • From Blindness to Sight with Fiona Clare Altschuler (3rd floor)

  • A Breach of Promise of Marriage with Jesse Hellman (classroom)

  • "What's Love Got To Do With It?” with Carol Pippen (Loft)

  • Silhouettes by Hand - add-on activity

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

4:00pm

  • “Nurturing a Strong Self in Sense and Sensibility” with Juliette Wells (2nd floor)

  • “A Mother Would Have Always Been Present”: Good and Bad Mothers in Sense and Sensibility with Karen Sagun (Loft)

  • What's the big ta-doo: hairstyles in the Regency Era with Rita Baker-Schmidt and Anna Vogel (Classroom)

  • "What's Love Got To Do With It?” with Carol Pippen (3rd floor)

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

5:00pm

  • “Every heart has it’s secret sorrow: Grieving in Sense and Sensibility with a nod to Long Fellow” with LeShawn Erica King (Classroom)

  • What's the big ta-doo: hairstyles in the Regency Era with Rita Baker-Schmidt and Anna Vogel (Loft)

  • What References to Willoughby’s “Hunters” say about his Character with Amanda Halla (3rd Floor)

  • Food Truck - Moe Slice of Life (pizza)

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

6:00pm

  • Historic carriage photo - add-on activity

6:45 - 8:30pm

  • Film

1:00 - 6:00pm

  • Details to come

    • Make-and-take crafts

    • Market Place shopping

    • Add-on activities such as watercolor portraits and carriage photos

    • Movie in The Loft at 6:30pm

The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) is dedicated to the enjoyment and appreciation of Jane Austen and her writing. The non-profit organization has over 5,000 members nation who come in all ages and sizes and from diverse walks of life.  JASNA Maryland meets 2 or 3 times a year in person and several times a year over zoom to discuss everything from what Jane grew in her garden to the latest scholarly book on Austen's writings. For more information on JASNA go to https://jasnamd.org/

Thank you to our volunteers!

Rita Baker-Schmidt
”What’s the big ta-do: Hair Styles in the Regency Era”

“Mr. Hall was very punctual yesterday & curled me out at a great rate. I thought it looked hideous, and longed for a hug cap instead, but my companions silenced me by their admiration.“ (Le Faye, Letters 15 - 16 September, 1813) Jane Austen’s fashion sense and wit are apparent in her letters and novels. Learn how hair trends changed during Austen’s lifetime and how to perfect your own Regency “Do” in this fun and informative talk. 

Juliette Wells
"Nurturing a Strong Self in Sense and Sensibility"

How does Sense and Sensibility speak to us today, as twenty-first-century readers of varied ages and backgrounds? What practical coping strategies can we find in how Elinor Dashwood manages stressful interactions and family relationships? You'll leave this presentation with fresh insight into Austen's first published novel as well as inspiration for cultivating beneficial habits in your own life.

Jesse Hellman
A Breach of Promise of Marriage

Edward Farrars has been engaged to Lucy Steele for four years. Although he is in love with Elinor we learn he has not terminated that engagement. The subject of Breach of Promise of Marriage and its legal consequences was of importance in the 19th century. In addition to discussing it we will watch Gilbert and Sullivan's 1875 operetta (30 minutes long) Trial By Jury, which tells of Angelina's suit against Edwin, who broke their engagement, and its consequence in Court. 

Carol Pippen, Ph.D.
 "What's Love Got To Do With It?”

Despite the focus of readers on the love lives of the Dashwood sisters in Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's focus is embedded in the economic situation that the sisters face.

Karen Sagun
"A Mother Would Have Always Been Present": Good and Bad Mothers in Sense and Sensibility

Karen will compare and contrast the depiction of mothers (and mother figures) in Sense and Sensibility, and how they are pivotal to the plot of the novel, as well as what we know of Jane Austen relationship to her own mother, Cassandra Leigh Austen. A short discussion audience members will follow.

LeShawn Erica King
"Every heart has its secret sorrow: Grieving in "Sense and Sensibility" with a nod to Longfellow”

One of my recent accomplishments is becoming a grief counselor and creating a sanctuary for the grieving. This allowed me to grieve the loss of my mother but it also exposed me to the sorrow of others and methods for addressing grief. With my new perspective, I turned my eye to "Sense and Sensibility" and what I saw were so many varieties of grief, both public and secret. It is the secret sorrow which gives the novel a timeless appeal and brings the characters to life. Join me in an analysis of these secret sorrows which may "make a man seem cold, when he is only sad."

Amanda Halla
What References to Willoughby’s “Hunters” say about his Character

The modern reader of Sense and Sensibility might not recognize that references to Willoughy’s “hunters” meant that he was a regular foxhunter. How did Jane Austen’s contemporaries understand her references? What did this compact phrasing communicate about his character and style of living? How much exposure did Jane Austen have to the sport? This talk will help us to understand Willoughby’s character, style of life and what exactly was on the line if he did not inherit or marry more money than he had at the time of his bachelorhood.

Dara G Friedman-Wheeler
Learning "Wise Mind" with the Dashwood Sisters

For much of Sense and Sensibility, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood beautifully illustrate the concepts of Reasonable Mind and Emotion Mind from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). As the novel proceeds and they learn from each other, they model for us how to embody the DBT concept of Wise Mind, combining both reason and emotion in their decision-making, allowing them to lead lives consistent with their values and to maximize their happiness.

Kevin Paton-Cole
The Musical Life of Jane Austen 

This musical presentation will focus on the music during Jane’s lifetime and her journey with music. Featuring some piano music from Jane Austeen’s piano book.

Fiona Clare Altschuler
From Blindness to Sight

In Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen explores a question that man has asked since the beginning: Can we see the world as it truly is? For millennia, writers, artists, and theologians have explored the themes of blindness and sight, appearance and reality. From Jesus's miracles curing the blind in the New Testament, to the Red Crosse Knight blinded by false Duessa's beauty in The Faerie Queene; From the prophet Teresias being blinded by the goddess Hera in Greek Mythology, to the myriad of disguises found in Shakespeare's plays. Jane Austen carries on this tradition in her tale of Elinor, who sees both herself and others in a clear and unprejudiced light, while Marianne is repeatedly deceived by herself and others. What can we learn from these characters about what keeps us from seeing the world, other people, and ourselves clearly?