COLUSA, CA (MPG) – The 2025 Virginia Yerxa Community Read ended on April 5, following more than a week of captivating activities aimed at enhancing the understanding and appreciation of Jane Austen’s second novel, Pride and Prejudice.
The classic 1813 work has endured the test of time, as has the annual literary event that honors the late Virgina Yerxa, a significant figure in the Colusa literary community.
The 2025 book-in-common activities at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Saturday included musical and theatrical performances, arts and crafts, and a delightful experience of high tea and scones reminiscent of the 18th-century British high society, which serves as the backdrop for the novel.
One of the highlights was a scholarly presentation on the novel by Professor Elizabeth Miller from the University of California.
“When you are an English professor, as I am, people always ask ‘what is your favorite novel?’ which is a very difficult question,” said Miller. I often mention my favorites: Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch by George Eliot, and The Lord of the Rings, all of which I love. But in truth, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite novel. I read it for the first time when I was 14 years old and turned around and read it again as soon as I had finished it.”
Donations and the involvement of several organizations support the Virginia Yerxa Community Read each year, which began as a tribute to Yerxa, a literacy advocate in the community.
“We are deeply grateful for the continued support of our community,” said Stacey Costello, a member of the VYCR Committee who spent most of the summer considering literacy selections before selecting and planning activities around the book.
Jane Austen, born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England, is considered one of the most important novelists in English literature. Known for her keen observations of social manners and her sharp wit, Austen’s works explored the complexities of love, marriage, and social class in the early 19th century.
The novel follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, a strong-willed and intelligent young woman navigating the societal pressures of Regency-era England.
Costello said the 2025 Virginia Yerxa Community Read is a City of Colusa Community SAKE grant recipient, but the organization also partnered with the Colusa County Arts Council, who hosted two events this year, including the Live Lit performances at Salmon Bend Arts Studio and Family Day fabric art class.
The Colusa County Garden Club also hosted an event, bringing fine China teacups and spring flowers from their gardens to make floral arrangements.
“I thought it was all quite lovely,” said Clara Dragoo, 12. “I loved the professor’s talk because it really took the book to more depth.”
Making silhouettes, painting small teacups, binge watching a film adaption of the novel, Family Story time at the Colusa County Library, were other Austen-themed events held on Virginia Yerxa Day or leading up the event.
Hazel Kingsley, 7, said the library event in which Ms. Gaby read, A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice.
“As the teacher was examining the book, you got to look at the pictures, which ties the book and story together,” Kingsley said.
Hollis Costello, 9, said the fabric art class was her favorite.
“We got to make Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet,” she said.
Cynthia White, St. Stephens’s organist performed the music from the film adaptation of the novel, although Austen learned to play music at age nine on a rented pianoforte, a small square piano that was popular in the regency era.
“One of the things that I was so fascinated with is how her personal life bled into her novels,” White said. “I mean it was staggering, some of the comparisons.”
Megan Meagher and Clark Green, two performers from the Acting Company of Yuba City, brought to life the two most beloved characters in the book in a short act from their Pride and Prejudice production, which ran for a limited time in February and March.
Austen began writing at a youthful age and published her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, in 1811.
Her books remain popular to this day.
Since its inception, the Virginia Yerxa Community Read celebration has connected a group of diverse people each year, who come together to discover, explore, or renew a common interest.
The first Virginia Yerxa Community Read was held in 2010 celebrating The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Later selections included masterpieces like The Grapes of Wrath, Moby Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Watership Down.
Saturday’s event celebrated the 250th anniversary of the beloved author’s birth in 1775.
Organizers said the committee chooses books they believe call to mind Virginia Yerxa’s generous spirit, love of community, and sense of adventure.
This year’s VYCR event was dedicated to committee member Peggy Townzen, who died in January.
Townzen actively participated in various community organizations, including the Colusa Garden Club, the Colusa County Friends of the Library, and the First Presbyterian Church of Colusa.