L - Statue outside the Jane Austen Centre; R - Me in Bath (standing in front of what my friend & I *thought* was the Royal Mile… it wasn’t, LOL!)
In early November I went on a school outing with some friends (and made a few along the way). We spent the day exploring Stonehenge (a post on that to come soon!) and Bath. The trip was really just organized transportation, so we had free reign to do what we wanted in the hours we were at each location. After visiting Bath Abbey and walking around the beautiful downtown markets, I left my friends to go on a solo adventure to the Jane Austen Centre.
A little bit about the Centre, from their website:
Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath’s many famous residents and visitors. She paid two long visits here towards the end of the eighteenth century, and from 1801 to 1806 Bath was her home.
The Centre at 40 Gay Street in Bath houses a permanent exhibition which tells the story of Jane’s experience in the city between 1801 and 1806 and the effect that living here had on her and her writing.
Needless to say, I was excited! It felt very special that I was able to visit this beautiful city and experience the Jane Austen Centre in the bicentennial year of Pride & Prejudice! So away I went!
L - Greeter at the Jane Austen Centre; R - Jane Austen family tree. Upon arriving at the Centre, you are welcomed by the greeter who stands outside. Martin, the greeter, was so into his role! He kindly posed for a photo before I entered the building. Inside, I purchased my ticket, and looked around the gift shop while waiting for my tour to start.
The tour began with a 20 minute live performance given by a woman dressed in period clothing. She told the group of us that had gathered all about Jane Austen’s life, her writings, and the time she spent in Bath. I found it very interesting, as I hadn’t know a lot about her life (although… I may have learned this all in my first year English course and forgotten it). Some things I learned were:
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Jane Austen is commonly understood as living a life similar to the Bennett family, but the fact was that her family was rather well off as part of the landed gentry. However, they did experience periods of financial instability, especially after her father died.
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Her success largely comes from her family’s support - her father encouraged her to read and along with her brothers, aided in her education. Her brother Henry was also a financer and helped put up the funds to publish her books.
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While women’s works were being celebrated at the time that she was publishing, Jane Austen preferred to write her works in anonymity, and her name was not put to her work until after her death. However, she would entertain guests by pulling out Pride & Prejudice and reading bits to them, all the while critiquing the writing along with them, never letting on that she was the author! This was my favourite tidbit I picked up!
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Jane Austen was very close with her sister, Cassandra. They wrote letters to each other daily!
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A sketch done by her sister is the only image we have conclusively of Jane. -
Jane likely had a lover, Tom Lefroy, but his family sent him away, effectively ending their relationship.
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She received one proposal of marriage in her life, from Harris Bigg-Wither. Jane initially accepted, but had a change of heart and the next morning, she declined his proposal.
Learning about her life, she sounded like a fascinating women, and it really made me respect her and her books much more! From the performance, we were led downstairs and allowed to view the permanent exhibit, which shows you what life was like during Jane Austen’s time in Bath. It was an interesting exhibit, with costumes recreated and you could also view some of her letters that have survived the years.
Top: A soldier (I believe) against the backdrop of the Royal Crescent; Top L - About the assembly rooms & entertainment in Bath; Top R - Novels & letters about Bath, such as Persuasion; Bottom L- Recreation of what Jane’s room in Bath might have looked like; Bottom R - Jane Austen adaptations
At the end of the exhibit there was a room that had photos from the various adaptations of Jane Austen’s work. It was neat to read letters from the actors, and see the signed photographs!
Oh & to commemorate my trip I bought a beautiful hand stitched bookmark with the most perfect quote for a bookworm:
