Lucy Worsley

Book Club Report: The Austen Girls, Lucy Worsley

An update from our thirty-first Book Club meeting! On Saturday, September 11th, our final Book Club meeting of the year, we were so very fortunate to be joined by renowned author and historian, Lucy Worsley, to discuss her book, The Austen Girls.   The session was small, which meant that we were able to have thorough in-depth conversations with Ms. Worsley about The Austen Girls and the process of writing it, and also about her vast knowledge about life in the Georgian era in England. Participants came prepared with many questions and Ms. Worsley was lively and thorough in her responses. Our Q and A session lasted for the entirety of the book club. What was most notable and interesting to me about the Austen Girls was the immersive detail about daily life which was woven into the fabric of the narrative about two young girls, Jane Austen’s real-life nieces, Fanny and Anna, at the cusp of being “presented to society” with the expectation that they would find husbands. The book covers many weighty and important themes spanning feminism to the criminal justice system, but in doing so, we get what feels like a true window into life during this time, with each scene opening at one character or another’s breakfast table, or sitting room, or library, etc. Our discussion with Ms. Worsley shed further light on the daily experiences of her protagonist with her vast knowledge of the historical record and the very documents that inspired the novel. For instance, Ms. Worsley told us of a series of letters she’s read from Jane Austen to Fanny and Anna sharing her advice about their various marriage prospects, urging them to “avoid this one, he seems a bit shady” or, instead, “maybe look into this one…” What better fodder for a novel!! Ms. Worsley was as generous with her questions for Book Club participants as she was with her answers, prompting engaging discussions about the types of historical fiction participants have read or would perhaps like to write about. Finally, she shared her plans for her next piece of historical fiction which we all look forward to reading. I hope everyone enjoys a warm and festive holiday season and we look forward to welcoming you to our next session of Book Club meetings beginning on January 29th, 2022. I have truly enjoyed leading the Book Club for the past year and half, but I will be stepping away from this role in order to focus my time on my primary role at Stone Soup as the director of the Refugee Project. I’m so excited for you all to meet Maya Mahony, who will be taking over as Book Club facilitator in January. Maya is a graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and she specializes in Young Adult fiction. I’m sure she will bring so much knowledge to the table as Book Club facilitator and I hope you’ll all join her! Maya’s first Book Club session will cover Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis.   Our Next Book (to be discussed on January 29, 2022): Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Saturday Newsletter: December 4, 2021

Winter Wonderland | iPhone 8 Elodie Weinzierl, 11 (Waban, MA), published in Stone Soup December 2021 A note from Caleb Fall 2021 Workshop Reading Don’t forget: Saturday December 11, at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, we will be hosting our end of term event in which our students read aloud some of the incredible work they’ve written this fall. Please come and support our students by signing up, here! Book Club Also on Saturday December 11, but at 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern (the event will end before we begin the workshop reading), Book Club will be hosting Lucy Worsley, author of The Austen Girls. Don’t miss out on a terrific opportunity to speak with a published author, and sign up, here!  Happy December! Start the month off right by curling up with Anya Geist’s new book Born on the First of Two (you can read an excerpt here), now available for purchase in the Stone Soup store. I’m so excited to share with you the most recent development of another Stone Soup author, Abhi Sukhdial, whose timely novel Three Days Till EOC was the winner of our 2019 Book Contest. After Three Days Till EOC was honored by the Green Earth Book Awards, Abhi made a video in which he speaks passionately and candidly about the need for climate action, celebrates the impact of Stone Soup Magazine, encourages everyone to write from the heart, and promotes and reads from his novel Three Days Till EOC. As Abhi feels that finding Stone Soup was like finding “heaven,” we too could not feel more blessed to have worked with Abhi since he first began submitting to us as a fourth-grader, and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes in the future. Congratulations, Abhi! Now, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of outstanding works of art from the December issue: Elodie Weinzierl’s Winter Wonderland, the issue’s cover image, and Sean Tenzin O’Connor’s “A Beautiful Wood.” Winter Wonderland is the perfect photograph to represent the December issue, as it features a snowy tree arched over a white hammock, inviting Stone Soup’s readers to relax amidst the wintery landscape of the issue’s content. “A Beautiful Wood,” meanwhile, is an ingenious representation of the December issue’s wintery landscape. In “A Beautiful Wood,” Sean—just five years old—leads us on a journey that ends “at the bottom,” in a place that “may seem that it’s not cold,” where the poem’s central image is revealed: “A Chord of Pine Trees in the Night.” The poem reminds me of Wallace Stevens’s “The Snow Man,” mainly in that I believe one must have “a mind of winter” to follow the thread of the poem and truly see with their own eyes the “Chord of Pine Trees in the Night” rather than just imagine them. So, this weekend I’d like you to create an artwork that celebrates the themes of winter as you understand them. This may be more of a literal interpretation, as in Elodie’s photograph, or it may be more figurative, as in Sean’s poem. Regardless, the artwork should embody winter. Try reading “The Snow Man” for further inspiration. As always, if you’re happy with what you’ve written or created, we would love for you to share and submit it to us via Submittable! Till next time, Other News Book Club On Saturday December 11, at 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern, Book Club will be hosting Lucy Worsley, author of The Austen Girls. Don’t miss out on a terrific opportunity to speak with a published author and sign up, here!  Fall 2021 Workshop Reading Also on Saturday December 11, at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, we will be hosting our end of term event in which our students read aloud some of the incredible work they’ve written this fall. Please come and support our students by signing up, here! Highlights from the past week online Eleanor Dagan, 13, wrote a powerful poem about how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped long-standing traditions. From Stone Soup December 2021 A Beautiful Wood By Sean Tenzin O’Connor, 5 (Bishop, CA) In the light of the lamp Many rocks Sitting aside Resting in place In the dark The shadows cast Lights and lamps Throughout the night Hanging down Towards the book The poems written With many hooks Continue reading “A Beautiful Wood” here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.

Saturday Newsletter: November 27, 2021

A Beautiful Abundance of Birds | Sophia Swanson, 11 (Novato, CA), published in Stone Soup November 2021 A note from Emma I’m so excited that in just a few days, Anya Geist’s novel, Born on the First of Two, which I selected as “editor’s choice” in our 2020 Book Contest, will be published! You can preorder it here, and you’ll be able to read the first few chapters in our December issue. As I read through the entries for last year’s contest, I knew I was in trouble. The pandemic has been a grim season for our country and the world, but those early lockdowns clearly created a pocket of time and space for so many of you to sit and work on a sustained creative project. I immediately knew I couldn’t pick just one winner and even choosing the two was incredibly difficult. But reading Anya’s novel simply sucked me into another world. It literally takes place in another world—a fantastical one with a land in the clouds, mysterious prophecies, special powers, and time travel—but its story also is a world. I was so invested in the characters that I remember spending some nights awake with my then-infant daughter, poring over my iPad to find out what was going to happen next. It is a gripping and moving fantasy adventure novel that I am so thrilled to share with you all. Please support Stone Soup and Anya by buying her wonderful book!  From the many contributions she’s made to the magazine, to her work with us as an intern (which included co-teaching a summer workshop!), and finally, her book, Anya has been an integral part of the Stone Soup family and truly a valuable member of our team. Anya, we are so proud of everything you have accomplished; it has been a pleasure seeing you grow and progress as a writer, artist, thinker, and so much more! Lastly, I’d like to provide a second, gentle reminder that our annual open house is on Tuesday, November 30 at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST. Everyone on our team will be sharing a few words, and we hope to hear from many of you about what Stone Soup has meant to you. We look forward to seeing you! I hope you had a warm, festive Thanksgiving holiday. Emma Other News Book Club On Saturday December 11, at 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern, Book Club will be hosting Lucy Worsley, author of The Austen Girls. Don’t miss out on a terrific opportunity to speak with a published author and sign up, here!  Fall 2021 Workshop Reading Also on Saturday December 11, at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, we will be hosting our end of term event in which our students read aloud some of the incredible work they’ve written this fall. Please come and support our students by signing up, here! Highlights from the past week online Special Features Sabrina Guo introduced the Crossing Borders Pen-Pal Program, Direct Aid for Migrants via El Pueblo Nola, the establishment of Girl Pride Chapters like Girl Pride Samburu, the Ambassadors Scholarship Program, which supports girl’s scholarly endeavors, and asked that we join her foundation—Girl Pride International—in their next endeavors, all in conjunction with the Stone Soup Refugee Project! From Stone Soup November 2021 China is Left Behind By Alisa Zou, 12 (Concord, MA) I can’t stop myself From looking out there. Like something is Controlling my eyes, Pulling my head towards The airplane window Again and again Seeing America Below us. Ladies and gentlemen, Please go back to your seats and Fasten your safety belts. Thank you. Continue reading here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.