Prepare to be amazed as we link Dracula and Dorian Gray to Jane Austen. True. Our Classics Book Club readers are enjoying catching up with Thomas Hardy novels and some gothic horror by revisiting Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Did you know that Bram Stoker attended dinner parties hosted by Oscar Wilde's mother Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde at the family's chicly bohemian salon. And guess which star from the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is to star is a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray? Yes that's the Austen connection – would you believe Colin Firth? as Lord Henry alongside Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray(pictured). Sounds all good so far.

And the next Classics Book Club meetings are:

Blayney Library on Tuesday 22 September from 11am - 12 noon to talk about Under the Greenwood Tree and Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Orange Daytime Group on Thursday 24 September 12.30pm - 1.30pm to discuss Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Orange Evening Group on Thursday 24 September 5.30pm - 7pm to discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Cowra Library on Tuesday 29 September from 12.30pm - 1.30pm to talk about Bram Stoker and Dracula.

PS. If you want to see a combined storyline with Frankenstein and Dracula then check out the film Van Helsing – stars Richard Roxburgh, Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsdale – great for the special effects and Brides of Dracula.

As our Classics Book Club readers know – classic horror fiction is a hot topic. So tune into Monsters and Bloodsuckers on ABC 1 on Tuesday 8 September at 10pm. Jennifer Byrne presents a series of individual treats for lovers of books and writing. It features discussions with leading authors and investigations into the popularity of writing genres such as crime, sex and romance and fantasy.

Jennifer and her guests explore the very darkest of literary worlds including Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

For the Monsters And Bloodsuckers special, Jennifer has summoned a quorum of dark souls to lead us through this murky world:

Catherine Jinks is the author of more than thirty books in most genres and for all ages - including The Reformed Vampire Support Group. She's currently up to her neck (ahem) in werewolf research for her next book...

Will Elliott's first novel, The Pilo Family Circus, picked up many major horror awards and was shortlisted for the 2007 International Horror Guild Award where he was up against fellow horror-meisters, including Stephen King. His latest book, Strange Places, is a memoir in which both werewolves and vampires have walk-on roles.

Leigh Blackmore is an academic, editor and contributor to such blood-drenched journals as The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine, Terror Australis and The Encyclopedia of Supernatural Fiction - to name just a few.

Tara Moss writes best-selling crime novels and reads in even darker places, counting Dracula and Frankenstein among her favourite gothic ghouls.

Some authors have captured the imaginations of generatons. Find out more about the lives and works of these authors as we read some classic literature. What made them so popular? What do we really think about them? What do the classics reveal about human nature? So far the Classics Book Club groups have read Jane Austen and works by the Brontes. Next the Classics Book Club will read a different author and novel each month. Come along to the introductory meetings to find out all about it and help decide what to read first!

Introductory meetings for new and continuing members will be held at:

Blayney Library on Tuesday 19 May from 11am - 12 noon.

Please note the Orange and Cowra groups take a break in May and return in June.

Orange City Library on Thursday 18 June 12.30pm - 1.30pm or 5.30pm (for early birds) 6pm - 7pm.

Cowra Library on Tuesday 23 June from 12.30pm - 1.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to come along.

It is funny how this topic crops up in every discussion of our Classics Book Club talks on Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. In Wuthering Heights Heathcliff disappears for a time and upon his return is dressed as quite the gentleman, knows how to gamble and is still obsessed with Cathy. So where did he go? What happened to him? Theories abound and range from a trip to the West Indies, an excursion to Australia to search for gold, certainly ill-gotten gains, maybe he fell in with a band of gypsies - a reference to his mysterious past perhaps, or he stole away on a ship for sure! In a few minutes each of the discussion groups came up with several ideas but wait for it... there is a book called Heathcliff: The Return to Wuthering Heights by Lin Haire-Sargeant and Emily Bronte. Let us know what you think? Is it a good story? Believable? Or do you prefer the Classics not be tampered with and Heathcliff's past left to our own imaginations. Pictured is Timothy Dalton as Healthcliff from the 1970 movie Wuthering Heights(Image: AIP Ronald Grant Archive).

Just when you thought our love affair with Jane Austen was all over along comes this TV gem. On Sunday (8th March and 15th) at 8.30pm be watching ABC TV for Lost in Austen. Jemima Rooper (The Black Dahlia) plays a young woman who finds herself swept away to the land of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It also features Alex Kingston (ER), Hugh Bonneville (Notting Hill), Lindsay Duncan (Rome) and new Bond girl Gemma Arterton (St. Trinians; Quantum Of Solace). It is the story of a thoroughly modern heroine who threatens to ruin one of the world's greatest literary love stories. Bored bank worker Amanda Price becomes lost in her favourite Jane Austen book after finding a portal in her bathroom and swaps places with its heroine Elizabeth Bennet. Of course she encounters the Bennet family and Mr Darcy. As the plot thickens she must restore the love story to its rightful conclusion. There are some wonderful locations and great characters. At least it sounds more tasteful than this new title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Graheme-Smith.

Dedicated Pageturners and some Classics book club members braved the sudden change of cold weather and blustering winds to dine in Robertson Park for Slow Summer Read. Actually the wind was turning the pages for us. There was tasty morsels of picnic food including a delicious eggplant ratatouille, yummy green lentil salad, wrapped vine leaves, savoury fetta and sun dried tomato muffins and refreshments. Music by Ben McGarity was terrific but the weather managed to win out and we retired earlier than planned. But we still managed to chat about books and here are some of the suggested Holiday Reading titles:

Robber Bride Book by Margaret Attwood "Interesting structure. Four very well drawn characters. Elegant language."

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley "Interesting concept, liked the way it was written, short train of thought chapters. Ended too soon and too long in the middle."

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirosky "Many people had talked about this, it's certainly worth reading even it the subject and author's experiences are tragic.

Books by Fred Vargas "Mysteries written by a French female, wonderful eccentric characters and glimpses of Paris."

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler "The book introduced me to Ursula Le Guin and I was not interested in Science fiction until now. Also interested in reading other authors mentioned plus I love Jane Austen so it was good to hear and see (watched the DVD) people talk about her books.

Hotel Albatross by Debra Adelaide "A look at Orange from behind the scenes of The Hotel Canobolas. Some great character portraits, dramas in the hotel with staff and patrons and enjoyed reading about places near Orange – Ophir, Blayney, Millthorpe and recognised a few characters too."

Other authors included Eva Ibbotson, Lillian Bradshaw and Helen Hollick.

And the next Pageturners meeting will be on Wednesday 11 March, upstairs in Orange City Library from 5.30pm – 7pm to discuss The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. This comment on the book comes from JennyReadingblog: "The title of this book is very apt. It hits you in the face with a sharp sting that seems to linger for days afterwards." Well put.

Lively conversations abound in our Classics Book Club meetings especially while we have been discussing the Brontes and here are some comments on Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – a classic tale of heartache and mystery:

"it is about passion and obsessive love"

" the narration is good, really enjoyed it"

"Catherine had a good life and she wanted everything to herself"

"How could anyone love Heathcliff?"

"I call it "withering depths" and hated it at high school and still can't get past the first 20 pages". As you can see there is lots to talk about.

The next round of Classic Book Club meetings catch up with Charlotte Bronte on Tuesday 17 February at Blayney to discuss Vilette, Thursday 19 February Orange Day group to talk about The Professor, the Evening Group chat about Jane Eyre and the Cowra Day Group meet on Tuesday 24 February to discuss The Professor.

Come along to our Slow Summer Read, Robertson Park, Orange on Thursday 12 February from 6.30pm. Be inspired to bring along your favourite Summer Read, your own picnic and relax in this central park for a lazy literary evening. Orange City Library's Pageturners book discussion group will be there talking about holiday reading, as well as participants in the Summer Reading Club. Enjoy music, refreshments and catching up with friends over your favourite Summer Read. We hope to see people lazing about in the park reading - parents reading to children, children reading with parents, friends and family. Everyone welcome.

The Classics Book Club resumes next week to talk about Brontes: January meetings will be held at the Blayney branch on Tuesday 20 January from 11am to 12 noon to discuss Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. Orange day group meet on Thursday 22 January from 12.30pm – 1.30pm to talk about Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The Orange evening group meet on Thursday 22 January from 5.30pm for early birds or 6pm – 7pm to chat about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and Cowra meet on Tuesday 27 January from 12.30pm to 1.30pm to talk about Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Elizabeth Gaskill wrote about this Bronte sisters' portrait by Branwell (he painted himself out but you can see him in faintly in the middle) in her biography of Charlotte Bronte: "there could be no doubt about Branwell's talent for drawing. I have seen an oil painting of his, done I know not when . . . It was a group of his sisters, life size, three-quarters' length; not much better than sign-painting, as to manipulation; but the likenesses were, I should think, admirable. I could only judge of the fidelity with which the other two were depicted, from the striking resemblance which Charlotte, upholding the great frame of canvas, and consequently standing right behind it, bore to her own representation, though it must have been ten years and more since the portraits were taken. The picture was divided, almost in the middle, by a great pillar. On the side of the column which was lighted by the sun, stood Charlotte, in the womanly dress of that day of jigot sleeves and large collars. On the deeply shadowed side, was Emily, and Anne's gentle face resting on her shoulder. Emily's countenance struck me as full of power; Charlotte's of solicitude; Anne's of tenderness. The two younger seemed hardly to have attained their full growth, though Emily was taller than Charlotte; they had cropped hair, and a more girlish dress. I remember looking on those two sad, earnest, shadowed faces, and wondering whether I could trace the mysterious expression which is said to foretell an early death. I had some fond superstitious hope that the column divided their fates from hers, who stood apart in the canvas, as in life she survived. . . . They were good likenesses, however badly executed."

The November meetings of the Classics Book Club will be held as follows: Blayney on Tuesday 18 November from 11am to 12 noon to discuss The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Orange day group meeting on Thursday 20 November from 12.30pm – 1.30pm to discuss the Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Orange evening group meeting from 5.30pm (earlybirds), 6pm – 7pm to talk about The Professor by Charlotte Bronte. Cowra meeting on Tuesday 25 November from 12.30pm to 1.30pm to talk about Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. New members are always welcome and there will be a break in December with meetings resuming in January.