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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
What Is She Reading?
By Elaine Rooker Jack
Who she is: Bonny Wise, 51, lives in Floyds Knobs, Ind. with her
husband and high-school age son. She has a grown daughter who
lives in Corydon. Bonny has a culinary degree, has been a caterer,
and once owned a tea room. Now she is the part-time marketing
coordinator for Locust Grove.
When she isn’t reading, she’s: making costumes for herself or
interpreters at the historic home, knitting, or doing needlework.
Kinds of books she loves: She once read only non-fiction, but
recently she’s discovered historical fiction.
How she came to found the local chapter of the Jane Austen Society
of North America (JANSA): Bonny fell in love with the work of Jane
Austen through the movies based on Pride and Prejudice and Sense
and Sensibility. She found out that the closest chapter of JASNA was
in Indianapolis, so she joined the national organization with the
intention of forming a chapter for Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
The group had its first meeting in July of 2007, with 36 people in
attendance. The membership began with 55 people and is growing
by two or three new members each month.
What happens at JASNA meetings? Some months they read and
discuss a book by Jane Austen. Sometimes they have guest
speakers, and often they learn about the time period about which
Austen wrote. “We’ve had a program about charades, about
carriages, and last month we had a discussion of “what Jane read.”
The group meets at Locust Grove and enjoys tea after the programs.
Something she’s learned about the popularity of Jane Austen’s
books: “There are 40 sequels and spinoffs written about Pride and
Prejudice! People are picking up and fleshing out those stories.”
Bonny pointed out that Austen’s books have been popular since the
early 1800s.
People who want to learn about Jane Austen and the Jane Austen
Festival: Jane Austen for Dummies by Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray. Or
hear Ray present her talk, “Jane Austen for Smarties” during the
Jane Austen Festival at Locust Grove on Saturday, July 12, and
Sunday, July 13, at Locust Grove, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regency
Emporium featuring new and antiquarian books, fabric, patterns,
sewing, accoutrements, jewelry, bonnets and reticules. There
is a $6 admission charge, and some events have additional charges
— such as the teas, hat classes, and chamber music concerts.
Reservations for those are recommended. Call for more information:
502.897.9845 or visit www.locustgrove.org.
Her recommendations:
• Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
• Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley (Pride &
Prejudice Continues) by Linda Berdoll
• Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda
Berdoll
Why she loves Jane Austen’s work:“I love the romance and the real-
ness of the stories. I’m interested in history, and her books are a
glimpse into people’s lives at that time. I like the gentility of the time;
people treated each other differently then. They were more civil. And
I love the clothes.”
By Elaine Rooker Jack
Who she is: Bonny Wise, 51, lives in Floyds Knobs, Ind. with her
husband and high-school age son. She has a grown daughter who
lives in Corydon. Bonny has a culinary degree, has been a caterer,
and once owned a tea room. Now she is the part-time marketing
coordinator for Locust Grove.
When she isn’t reading, she’s: making costumes for herself or
interpreters at the historic home, knitting, or doing needlework.
Kinds of books she loves: She once read only non-fiction, but
recently she’s discovered historical fiction.
How she came to found the local chapter of the Jane Austen Society
of North America (JANSA): Bonny fell in love with the work of Jane
Austen through the movies based on Pride and Prejudice and Sense
and Sensibility. She found out that the closest chapter of JASNA was
in Indianapolis, so she joined the national organization with the
intention of forming a chapter for Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
The group had its first meeting in July of 2007, with 36 people in
attendance. The membership began with 55 people and is growing
by two or three new members each month.
What happens at JASNA meetings? Some months they read and
discuss a book by Jane Austen. Sometimes they have guest
speakers, and often they learn about the time period about which
Austen wrote. “We’ve had a program about charades, about
carriages, and last month we had a discussion of “what Jane read.”
The group meets at Locust Grove and enjoys tea after the programs.
Something she’s learned about the popularity of Jane Austen’s
books: “There are 40 sequels and spinoffs written about Pride and
Prejudice! People are picking up and fleshing out those stories.”
Bonny pointed out that Austen’s books have been popular since the
early 1800s.
People who want to learn about Jane Austen and the Jane Austen
Festival: Jane Austen for Dummies by Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray. Or
hear Ray present her talk, “Jane Austen for Smarties” during the
Jane Austen Festival at Locust Grove on Saturday, July 12, and
Sunday, July 13, at Locust Grove, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regency
Emporium featuring new and antiquarian books, fabric, patterns,
sewing, accoutrements, jewelry, bonnets and reticules. There
is a $6 admission charge, and some events have additional charges
— such as the teas, hat classes, and chamber music concerts.
Reservations for those are recommended. Call for more information:
502.897.9845 or visit www.locustgrove.org.
Her recommendations:
• Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
• Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley (Pride &
Prejudice Continues) by Linda Berdoll
• Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda
Berdoll
Why she loves Jane Austen’s work:“I love the romance and the real-
ness of the stories. I’m interested in history, and her books are a
glimpse into people’s lives at that time. I like the gentility of the time;
people treated each other differently then. They were more civil. And
I love the clothes.”