Austen Film Series in the Welty Garden
Austenland, the 2013 movie starring Kerri Russell, will be the third and final installment in this year’s Austen in the Welty Garden film series on Friday, October 19. The romantic comedy is based on a 2007 novel by Shannon Hale about a single, young woman obsessed with Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice who travels to the Austen-themed park of the work’s title.
“No writer has inspired more passion and devotion from her readers than Jane Austen,” said Carolyn Brown, state coordinator of the Jane Austen Society of North America. “While Austenland pokes gentle fun at some of the more extreme fans, it also manages to examine some of the same themes of class and privilege that both Austen and Eudora Welty did in their fiction.”
The Eudora Welty House and Garden and JASNA-MS are partnering with Crossroads Film Society on the series, which is free of charge thanks to a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council. For Austenland the grounds will open at 5 p.m., the program will begin at 6 p.m., and the movie will start at dark—about 6:30 p.m. No reservations are necessary. In the event of inclement weather, the films will be shown across the street in the Student Center at Belhaven University.
“Bring a chair or blanket and enjoy these adaptations of the works of one of Welty’s favorite writers,” said Bridget Edwards, director of the Eudora Welty House and Garden.
For more information on the film series email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com or call 601-353-7762.
The Eudora Welty House and Garden interprets the life of the internationally acclaimed author. Tours are by reservation Tuesday through Friday and the second Saturday of each month. The house is located at 1119 Pinehurst Street in Jackson and is operated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.