Dinner Program and Annual Business Meeting | Lynne M. Thomas on “Making Mr. Darcy: Cultural Context for the Regency Gentleman”

So should we regard Mr. Darcy with pride or with prejudice? Caxtonian Lynne Thomas will help us answer that question as she sets the cultural context for one of the central characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel. Today, many people first encounter Austen’s characters through film or television where the portrayal of a proper Regency gentleman needs only an actor with good costuming and a posh “received pronunciation” accent. To be a gentleman in Austen’s Regency society, however, was a different matter as shown in Lynne’s curated exhibit “Making Mr. Darcy” at the University of Illinois. The exhibit illuminates how Regency gentlemen were educated, dressed, occupied themselves in work and leisure, participated in politics, and managed their love lives, and it provides us a richer context for appreciating Mr. Darcy and Austen’s other gentlemen, both admirable and troublesome. Lynne is the Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor and Head, Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

This meeting will also be the annual Caxton Club business meeting and election of officers. Please plan to attend.

May Dinner: Union League Club, 65 West Jackson. The evening will follow this order: Social gathering 5-6 pm; program at 6 pm; dinner immediately to follow. Program is free and open to the public. Beverages available for $6-$12. Three-course dinner: $63.00. Reservations are required for either the program only or the dinner/program combination. Reservations must be received no later than NOON, Monday, May 13. Payment will be required for dinner reservations cancelled after that time and for no-shows. To reserve call 312-255-3710 or e-mail caxtonclub@newberry.org.