Jane Austen Society of North America:

The Jane Austen Society of North America "brings scholars and enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals together on equal terms to study and celebrate the genius of Jane Austen." In additon to their literary journal, Persuasions, and their annual conferences, there are numerous regional groups that hold meetings. A printable membership form is available online.

A "loosely bound society of people who have an interest in Jane Austen studies" and draws members primarily from University settings. This group publishes The Austen Quarterly.

Jane Austen Society (UK):

This society was founded in 1940 with the "purpose of raising funds to preserve the Cottage in the village of Chawton". It administers the Memorial Trust --which owns and maintains Austen's house at Chawton. A printable membership form is available online.

JASA has a full calendar of events including the Annual Conference and publishes a twice yearly journal called Sensibilities. A printable membership form is available online.

Guide to the Jane Austen Collection at Goucher College

Baltimore's Goucher College has an extensive Jane Austen collection that may be visited by appointment.

Books

~ Biographies ~

Park Honan. Jane Austen: Her Life. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.) -- Long considered to be the definitive biography on Jane Austen.

David Nokes. Jane Austen: A Life. (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997.) -- This particular biography distinguishes itself from the others by beginning with a chapter entitled "Family Secrets" which discusses the life history of Jane Austen's flamboyant cousin Eliza Hancock.

Claire Tomalin. Jane Austen: A Life. (New York: Knopf, 1997.) -- Tomalin focuses on each of Austen's novels in turn, suggesting possible autobiographical connections.

Oliver MacDonagh. Jane Austen: Real and Imagined Worlds. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.) -- Looks at a quarter century of English history (1792-1817) through Jane Austen's novels.

Nigel Nicholson. The World of Jane Austen. (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1991.) -- An excellent photographic collection that includes pictures of her family's homes and other buildings that would have been familiar to her.

Daniel Pool. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew. (Touchstone Books, 1994.) -- A collection of interesting facts that serve to better illuminate historical details in Jane Austen's novels.

A good companion to this book is Kristine Hughes' The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England: From 1811-1901. (Cincinnati, Oh.: Writer's Digest Books, 1998.)

Republic of Pemberley's Bibliography :

A collection of Jane Austen related books reviewed by posters to the RoP.

Literary Companion

Barbara's voluminous page also on the Republic of Pemberley.

Tourist Sites

Jane Austen Centre in Bath:

Located on Gay Street in Bath, the Centre provides books and leaflets on Jane Austen's life and arranges walking tours of notable places in Bath.

Jane Austen's Bath:

Sponsored by the Bath Tourism Bureau, this site provides information on the city of Bath as Jane Austen knew it and even gives a route map for walking tours.

Hampshire -- Home of Jane Austen

A comprensive site that details what to visit in in Jane Austen's hbome county, including Chawton and the 'Jane Austen House' and Wincherster Cathedral. There's even a form which can be used to request a free brochure.