2012
04/30/2012 - THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION’S HOT PINK PARTYNEW
04/26/2012 - Grand St. Settlement's Taste of the Lower East Side
04/02/2012 - 2012 Skating with the Stars Gala
04/02/2012 - Strokes of Genius to benefit Autism Spectrum Disorders
03/29/2012 - The American Classical Orchestra 2012 Spring Gala Concert & Benefit
03/24/2012 - United States launch of the Seol Won Foundation
03/21/2012 - Kick-off event for The Perlman Music Program’s May 3rd Spring Benefit
03/16/2012 - Asia WeekNY kick-off reception at the Morgan Museum & Library
03/10/2012 - Toby and Itzhak Perlman and The Perlman Music Program hosted by Jim and Kristy Clark in Palm Beach
03/08/2012 - National Committee on American Foreign Policy Hosts the 2012 Gala Awards Dinner
03/06/2012 - 2nd Annual Fountain House Associates Spring Breakfast
03/05/2012 - School of American Ballet's Winter Ball 2012
03/03/2012 - AMIT NewGen Wine Tasting
03/01/2012 - American Cancer Society Honors Grace Hightower De Niro, Diane Reidy-Lagunes MD, Emily Sonnenblick MD
03/01/2012 - New York School of Interior Design Kick-off Reception
02/25/2012 - GiGi’s PLAYHOUSE NYC, Down Syndrome Awareness Centers, opened its doors for the first time
02/25/2012 - CARON LIGHTS UP MAR-A-LAGO WITH “AFTER DARK” GALA
02/19/2012 - Blitz Build 2012
02/07/2012 - 2012 Annual High School Counselor’s Breakfast
02/06/2012 - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s ® (BCRF) annual Hot Pink Luncheon and Symposium
02/04/2012 - The 2012 Hope Gala
02/03/2012 - North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee Presents Checks to Local Food Banks
02/03/2012 - American Cancer Society’s 54th Annual Black and White Gala
02/02/2012 - Cut 25 Flagship opening - an event to benefit Project Paz
01/29/2012 - KiDS of NYU Langone Foundation hosted its 6th annual KiDS Play to Win!
01/28/2012 - Girls Bite Out for the North Texas Food Bank
01/26/2012 - French Heritage Society’s New York ChapterKicked Off its 2012 Cultural Season
01/26/2012 - Annual Event to benefit The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School
01/26/2012 - 2012 Plates for Pediatrics Benefit
01/24/2012 - New York Philharmonic Chinese New Year Gala
01/20/2012 - 2012 Wishmaker's Ball
01/20/2012 - Silence! Silent Art Forms
01/19/2012 - UJA-Federation of New York Generosity Signature Event
01/19/2012 - JDRF Central Jersey Chapter Events
01/17/2012 - TIFFANY & CO. HOSTS CARON SUPPORTERS TO SPECIAL PREVIEW OF 2012 TIFFANY LEATHER COLLECTION
01/16/2012 - 2nd Annual San Diego Breast Cancer Fundraiser
01/13/2012 - "Cycle Without Limits" Specialized Bike Program
01/12/2012 - Salvatore Ferragamo Hosts and Evening of Shopping to Benefit the Paradise Fund in Support of St. Jud
01/12/2012 - JDRF Central Jersey Chapter Walk to Cure Diabetes Awards Party
01/09/2012 - Museum of American Finance 2012 Gala
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Dancing with Darcy Regency Ball at Jane Austen's Chawton House
07/03/2009 - By Chawton House

Dancing with Darcy Regency Ball at Jane Austen's Chawton House

Exactly two hundred years since Jane Austen came to live in Chawton, ‘Dancing with Darcy’ a truly authentic Regency Ball was held at Chawton House.

A stone’s throw from the cottage where she lived and worked, Chawton House or the ‘Great House’ which belonged to her brother Edward Austen Knight, was the scene of numerous Austen family gatherings.

Guests in full Regency dress were received by Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (actors David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie who played Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in a BBC production of Pride and Prejudice) together with host Lady Ayrshire (alias Sandy Lerner, Chairman of Chawton House Library).

It was a lovely summer’s evening and many of the guests swept up to the house in a horse drawn landau. The house had been decorated with vast flower arrangements in stone urns by Julie Johnson of Chawton with a stunning colour scheme of pale blue and clotted cream. 150 metres of pale blue organza were used to create swags and bows topped by tall, waving ostrich feathers and the rooms were lit by candlelight using tall silver candelabra.

During the daylight hours before dinner, guests were able to wander through the grounds sipping champagne and admiring the scenery. The Great Hall having been turned into a ballroom for the evening, Green Ginger played for the traditional dances of the period. Dance Master, Ellis Rogers, had given a workshop in the village hall during the afternoon which everyone attended and as there were 12 ‘professional’ Regency dancers present to help and encourage guests, the dance floor was always full. Jane Austen herself would have felt quite at home that night due to the period atmosphere in the house.

Cyrille Pannier, Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, is an expert in eighteenth-century food and he spent many hours studying the Library’s recipe books and creating an incredible dinner which was served in the dining room by liveried servants. The first course included nettle and potato soup, crayfish and sweetbread vol au vent, pickled ox tongue, fried marrow and mushrooms and saddle of mutton. There was then more dancing and the second course which had boiled cod with beans and bacon, white pudding in their skin, Scotch collops and roast turkey.

Several of the guests had come from the United States and everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion. A silhouette cutter entertained the guests and there was a special exhibition of some of the Library’s precious eighteenth century books together with a Jane Austen manuscript of a short play that she wrote for the family. Some of Edward Austen Knight’s dinner service and silver were on googldisplay and also a silk suit that had belonged to him. Upstairs, card games could be played in the ladies withdrawing room.

The deserts were served on Edward’s dining room table and included sweet meats and jelly, raspberry tart and bread & butter pudding. In addition to claret and port to drink, there were traditional silver urns serving tea after dinner and home made mead and punch.

At 1.30am the guests departed down the drive which was brightly lit by burning oil lamps.

As well as being a truly memorable night for all those involved, the event helped raise money for the Chawton House Library Educational Programme. This project is committed to developing learning initiatives centered on the collection of early women’s writing, the estate’s walled garden, and the magnificently restored Elizabethan Manor. It is also focused on the re-erection of an 18th century barn which will serve as an educational centre for school, university and public visits.

Photos: Michel Focard


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