The Jane Austen Society of the Netherlands: Dancing and Reading Our Way Back to Austen

At the start of 2009, precisely on January 1, we launched the Jane Austen Club on HYVES, a Dutch social media network site that competed here with Facebook. On this page we shared our happy memories of some Jane Austen Balls we attended in 2006 in the Netherlands, illustrated by lovely pictures. Overwhelmed by the positive responses and requests to join in, the group grew, and we began organizing monthly Regency dance workshops in Amsterdam and Austen-themed dances at wonderful historic locations. We danced away many splendid evenings at the impressive Castle Zeist, Castle Cannenburch, and City Palace Geelvinck. Joining our Dutch entourage were guests from Belgium, France, Spain, Sweden, and Germany. Since April 2009, hundreds of men and women have learned and enjoyed the music and dancing from Jane Austen's era. What would Jane, who loved music and dancing herself, think of all these Dutch people having fun with reels, longways, and cotillions, dressed in their most beautiful Regency attire?

In 2010, we officially became the Jane Austen Society of the Netherlands, as a nonprofit foundation, with approval from the Jane Austen Society UK. With the wider goal of stimulating the knowledge and appreciation of Jane Austen, we increased our activities and events. Literary workshops followed, in which we discuss all of Austen's work, one at a time, guided by Dr. Paul Franssen from the University of Utrecht. Many people attend these joyful, explorative, and interactive meetings. We have been honored to host international Jane Austen experts such as Dr. Janine Barchas, Hazel Jones, Susannah Fullerton, Sandy Lerner, and Tim Bullamore. For the anniversary celebration of Pride and Prejudice in 2013, we requested a new and special rose in honor of Jane Austen, now officially known as "Pride of Jane." On the big day itself, we gave interviews on BBC World and Dutch radio about Jane Austen and our Society. We held a special memorial service in the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam on July 18, 2017, the day that marked Jane's death two hundred years earlier.

Another privilege and a lot of fun is bringing Jane Austen to the public with dances held at historic locations, as well as supporting students who ask for help with their studies or essays on Jane Austen.

The Future of Jane Austen

In ten years of immersing ourselves in the world of Jane Austen, we did notice something peculiar: Jane Austen attracts more women than men. How extraordinary and how unfounded! Jane Austen did not write only for women.

Something has happened in the past decades that gave Jane Austen this girly, romantic, and chick-lit imago. It may have been the way her books are marketed or the emphasis on the love stories in movie and television adaptations. To be sure there is romance in Austen's work, but there's much more under the surface of plot, and we strive to explore the deeper levels and meanings, sharing our findings with as many as we can.

Whatever the cause or causes may be for this chick-lit imago, our goal has been, and will continue to be, to reclaim Jane Austen for everyone. We aim to highlight her genius, her wicked wit, her understanding and insight into universal human nature, her satire, her archetypes, and her social criticism. Boosting the stature she deserves and challenging the romantic stereotype is the through-line that you will find in all our activities, performed with joy and humor, now and in the future.