SOMETHING about Jane
SHARON STEPHENSON VISITS THE HISTORIC ENGLISH CITY OF BATH
Cards on the table – I’ve never really liked Jane Austen. I’ve read her novels Emma and Pride and Prejudice (and seen two of the five film adaptations), but the 18th-century British author has never really been my cup of green tea.
But when I visited the graceful Georgian city of
Bath, I finally understood why Austen is beloved the world over (particularly by her more fanatical fans, who call themselves “Janeites”).
Jane Austen is Bath’s most famous former resident and, as my visit coincided with the 200th anniversary of her death, it would have been rude not to detour to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. A permanent exhibition, it contains everything you ever wanted to know about the acclaimed writer.
Are you aware the author only spent five years in Bath (1801-1806)? But even though, Jane mentions the city in all her books, including Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, which were largely set here.
And although Bath remains in love with Jane, the author couldn’t say the same about the city that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 2007.
“Jane wasn’t thrilled when her father retired from his ministry and moved the family to Bath,” says our guide Maeve. “The five years she was here were marred by poverty and sorrow, including her father’s death. She couldn’t wait to leave.”
Our museum tour starts with a presentation by one of the centre’s costumed guides, before we wander through the townhouse that features detailed letters Jane wrote to her sister Cassandra, examples of how she spent her leisure time (dancing and playing cards), and a replica of the only known portrait of the author (the original is in London’s National Portrait Gallery).
There’s also the chance to dress up in replica period costume and pretend we’re Jane, although what she would have made of our giggly selfies is anyone’s guess.
The tourist office offers a free audio tour, In the Footsteps of Jane Austen, which allows visitors to wander the streets that the novelist walked down, from Sydney Place, where she lived at Number 4, to the gracious Royal Crescent, a perfect arch of stone houses overlooking Royal Victoria Park. Exactly 250 years after they were built, this row of 30 houses is still prime real estate, judging by the Porsches parked outside. No 1 Royal Crescent has been preserved as a museum, which provides insight into what these homes would have looked like back in the day.
Sadly, our timing isn’t right for Bath’s annual Jane Austen Festival, a 10-day extravaganza that takes place in September and features everything from parades to fancy balls. So instead, we visit the city’s Roman Baths, where the ancient Romans, Celts and Saxons wallowed in the warm waters, which have been bubbling up from the ground for around 3000 years.
The site is now reserved for tourists rather than bathers, which is probably just as well, given the state of the dirty green water! But the museum features the remnants of steam rooms, baths and some of the original Roman plumbing and heating systems. Particularly fascinating are exhibits showing how the Romans used the springs not only to cure leprosy and other ills, but also as a centre for worship, and a place to conduct business.
While Jane may not have been a fan of communal baths, had she been around 200 years later, like us I’m sure she would have fallen for Bath’s considerable charms.