Are you a fan of Jane Austen or of great literature in general? Then don’t miss the unique opportunity to study Austen’s novels this fall at the Central Library branch of the Sacramento Public Library in downtown Sacramento.

Grab a copy of “Emma,” download the study questions from the library’s website, and join in the fun this Sunday.

The wildly popular 12-part series How Austentatious! began in June and continues through November.

Each month, presenters discuss one of Austen’s novels over the span of two meetings. Remaining for the fall are “Mansfield Park” in September, “Northanger Abbey” in October, and “Persuasion” in November.

The series will conclude with a birthday tea in honor of Austen on Dec. 12. Registration is not necessary for the series but is required for the tea.

Friends of the Central Library is the sole sponsor of How Austentatious! Most of the presenters and all the discussion leaders have donated their services.

Although the series is not being promoted as academic, “people do refer to this as ‘the Jane Austen course,’” Librarian and How Austentatious! organizer Stephenee Borelli said. “I think the quality of it is worthy of a classroom.”

Borelli said she knew How Austentatious! would be popular but still was surprised when 225 people overflowed West Meeting Room at the Central Library for the series-opening presentation on “Sense and Sensibility.”

Attendance at subsequent meetings has ranged from 150 to 200 people. Recognizing the need for a larger meeting space, the library made available the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria for some of the remaining sessions in the series.

How Austentatious! is part lecture and part book discussion.

“I simply created a series of programs that I would want to be a part of as a participant,” Borelli said. “Something that is fun and informative at the same time. Almost like an annotated edition of a classic. A program that would answer the questions one might have as they read.”

Former California State University, Sacramento, Professor David Bell introduces each book. Borelli took Bell’s graduate course on Austen in 2007 while pursuing her masters degree in English at Sac State. Bell retired in May after 37 years teaching in the English department.

Bell and other Austen aficionados give presentations in the first half of each two-hour meeting. The audience is broken into smaller 15-person discussion groups for the second hour. Several of Bell’s former students are serving as leaders of the discussion groups.

Library patron and How Austentatious! participant Steve Barclift said he has appreciated the context the series provides on life in the 18th century.

“Most of us are not familiar with the setting or the kind of lives that these people led,” he said. Presentations on income and inheritance and modes of transportation, for example, exposed the differences between the lifestyles of Austen’s characters and ours, Barclift added.

Needlework expert Vima de Marchi Micheli gave a presentation on lace and embroidery.

Other presentations have included two talks by Rachel Dodge on etiquette and locales in Austen’s novels. Like Borelli, Dodge took Bell’s Austen course and earned a masters in English at Sac State.

Presentation topics also have afforded participants opportunities to literally step into the shoes of Austen characters.

Former Lawrence Livermore physicist Ed Ratcliffe’s talk on carriages was followed by the chance to actually ride in one. How Austentatious! also offered a lesson in English Contra dancing.

Contributing to the popularity of the program may be the ease of accessing program materials from the library’s website, including podcasts of each presentation as well as Bell’s study guides for each novel.

Interested individuals also may subscribe to a monthly e-mail featuring books and websites related to the Austen title currently being discussed in the series.

Borelli first pitched the idea for How Austentatious! to her supervisors two years ago, but at that time the library deemed the program too time-intensive.

She received a green light on the project and approached Bell to garner his involvement in it in June 2009, the same month Austen fan Rivkah Sass was hired as the new director of the Sacramento Public Library.

Sass previously worked at the Omaha Public Library, which held an annual birthday tea in honor of Austen.

Apart from the novels, film and television productions may be credited with attracting some modern Austen fans.

Barclift had not read any of Austen’s novels before attending his first session of How Austentatious! He and his wife own a copy of the movie “Sense and Sensibility” and have watched it four or five times, though.

An indicator of the age of series attendees, Bell said he thought most How Austentatious! participants “were Austen readers before the movies came out.”

The recent tide of screen adaptations of the novel began with the movie “Sense and Sensibility” in 1995 featuring Emma Thompson, followed by the BBC TV miniseries “Pride and Prejudice” in 1996.

“That was enormously popular because so many of the ladies thought Colin Firth was particularly sexy,” Bell said.

Borelli acknowledged the romantic appeal of the novels to readers.

“It’s escapism,” she said. “I hope that I can also take it seriously.”

Although the popularity of Austen may be due in part to readers enthralled by the happy endings in the novels, there is more meat to the books than courtship.

“That was the convention: that [the books] would end happily,” Bell said. “The important thing to keep in mind is that there is a lot of variety in Austen’s novels. No two novels are the same. There are very few good marriages portrayed in the novels….If the heroines learn anything in surveying the marriages around them, it’s they’ve got to be very careful in choosing their partners.”

Bell attributed Austen’s enduring popularity to her mastery as a writer.

“It’s a wonderful combination of her greatness in developing characters and constructing plot that is so enthralling, along with a style that is accessible to modern readers.”

The willingness of guest speakers to donate their time was a testament to their enthusiasm for Austen. “These are professionals that are very passionate about their topic. We’re lucky to have them,” Borelli said.

“I love teaching Austen, talking about Austen. It’s just the greatest pleasure for me,” Bell said.

“I just really enjoy being able to provide this to people,” Borelli said.

Borelli is an amateur costumer and gave a presentation on textiles at the first meeting discussing “Emma” earlier this month.

She has been hand-stitching Regency-period outfits for the How Austentatious! fashion show on Oct. 24, one week before Halloween. Attendees are invited to come in period costume. “It is sure to be a blast,” Borelli said.

Borelli sad she’s “kind of geeking out about it.” She and her husband will model her creations at the fashion show.

“People don’t want [the series] to end and are just really happy to be a part of this,” Borelli said.

She said she hopes the popularity of the program incites library users to find more library programs of interest to them.

“The Sacramento Public Library system has so many wonderful programs to offer in addition to this.”

Borelli has surveyed How Austentatious! participants to determine desired topics for future programs. Possible subjects have included Mark Twain, Dickens, the Bronte sisters, and even James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

Another possibility is Diana Gabaldon, author of the “Outlander” series. The seven-book series is set in 18th- and 20th-century Scotland. “Outlander,” the first book in the series, is nearly 900 pages long.

“Part Romance, part time-travel fiction, part historical fiction, it is not scholarly. It is pure fun,” Borelli said. “I would call that one 'How Outlandish!'”