I'm presenting an essay at the Canadian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Annual Conference at Memorial University in Newfoundland this October. The essay is titled, "Sterne's Darling Maid: Charting the Influence of Laurence Sterne on Jane Austen". I went to the CSECS/NEASECS Conference in Ottawa last year, which was great, and I am very excited to attend this year's conference because Pat Rogers is scheduled to be a plenary speaker, who I met at BSECS 2008. He's worked on Sterne in the past. WATCH OUT NEWFOUNDLAND! Anyway, now I am revising, revising, revising the essay, which is good. I think people only listen in conferences about 60% of the time anyway; it's a lot to retain in a short time, plus some people are naturally boring.
Just a little update regarding this website managed by Ken Roberts. He has been collecting queries and evidence regarding Sterne and Austen, and I noticed that his website lacked a few helpful articles and references. Thus, I sent an email to him, and received a reply soon after, and shortly after that, I appeared on his website! It is an offshoot of the Republic of Pemberley, dedicated to Austania, and features links of independent scholars with various areas of interest in Austen. This is the only dedicated page to these two literary figures and I contributed to it! Anyway, I also sent the reference to Sterne in Northanger Abbey, but am featured regarding article by Park Honan. There was another helpful article by Celia A. Easton but I don't think the proprietor of the website could get that article. I had a hard time finding it myself. So, I am excited about this little inclusion on a website directly related to my interests now.
Some of the oldest buildings in Canada are here in Nova Scotia, bested only by Quebec, with homes and chapels dating to the 1600s (Maison des Jésuites-de-Sillery, for instance, from 1637). Few of them still stand, however. But, here in Nova Scotia, we have St. Paul's Church. Built in 1750, it was the first Anglican church in North America, and the oldest standing structure in Halifax. Founded by the proclamation of George II, the church was designed in palladian style by James Gibbs, based on the design of St. Peter's Church in London (circa 1728). Some of the interior features include original pine and oak support beams brought in from Maine, a crypt containing the remains of 20 congregants, and two fonts, one presented by the Bishop of Newfoundland in the 17th century, and one from the 18th. The external timber was cut and shipped from Boston. It remains an attractive tourist site, located in Parade Square, and has an active congregation and service schedule. It survived the Halifax Explosion (1917). The founding of St. Paul's followed the founding of Halifax in 1749.
