“You Can Get a Parasol at Whitby’s:”

Circulating Libraries  in Jane Austen’s Time

illustrated talk by Claire Bellanti

via ZOOM

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

You Can Get a Parasol at Whitby’s: Circulating Libraries in Jane Austen’s Time is an illustrated talk about an 18th century social institution that was central to Jane Austen in her own life and in her fiction, the Circulating Library. JASNA President Claire Bellanti will present a brief history of the circulating library, the development of the novel, publishing in the period, and the interactions between women and the novel. The talk includes citations from Austen’s novels and letters to explain the importance of the circulating library and other forms of sharing books in Regency England.

Claire Bellanti is the President of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). She holds an MA in European History from UNLV and an MBA from UCLA. Retired from a 35-year career as a library professional at UCLA, she specialized in public services and preservation storage facilities. In addition to lectures and articles in the area of her professional interests, Ms. Bellanti has lectured and written on the Sadleir Collection of 19th Century Literature, 19th Century Silver Fork novels, and publishing Jane Austen in the 19th Century, using materials located in the UCLA Library Special Collections Department. A member of JASNA since 1987, she has actively participated in local JASNA activities and served as JASNA’s Vice -President for Regions from 2010-2013. Although it can be difficult fitting more in alongside Jane Austen, her other interests include 19th European literature and history (with an emphasis on Great Britain and Russia), quilting, knitting, and gardening.

You can follow Claire on Twitter.