Special to the Post

With Mr. Darcy’s top hat and cane by the door, guests arrived last week for a talk about the current adaption of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” by Jennifer Hubbard for the Lee Street theatre.

The setting was perfect — the front parlor of the Rowan Museum’s 1815 Utzman-Chambers House, a stately Federal structure built just two years after the novel was published in 1813 and two years before Austen’s death in 1817.

Almost 60 people filled the parlor and spilled into the hall and other rooms. So many came, in fact, that there were not enough chairs in the house.

Hubbard’s inspiration for adapting the play was the subject of the talk and it was simple.

Though Austen was fairly unknown in her lifetime, 200 years later nearly everyone has heard of her. She’s not just a writer; she’s a brand, an industry and a cultural touchstone.

For some, she’s also a way of life, and indeed, she has taught us much: how to love and to be loved, how to parent, how to deliver our humor, and, of course, how to write a timeless novel. 

Austen slyly used her stories about everyday women — flawed but armed with strong moral compasses and the desire to improve themselves — to deliver biting social criticism that still rings true.

St. Thomas Players’ “Pride and Prejudice” will be showing tonight through Saturday and July 27-29.

Information and tickets can be found at www.leestreet.org.