The ball in honour of the Prices in

The Regency period is hands-down the era that mastered the art of lavish celebrations. And there’s no better way to get a glimpse into the world of balls and ballgowns than through the work of the queen of the Regency novel herself, Jane Austen.

The Mansfield Park ball includes all the defining elements of its time. The class system comes to the fore when the wealthy Bertrams host a ball for their poor relatives, Fanny and William Price. Expertly blending satire with sentiment, Austen emphasises Fanny’s uncertainties about her attire as a debutante, highlights conniving Aunt Norris’s attempts at monopolising party planning and pokes gentle fun at the apprehensions of young men engaging dance partners. But as she succinctly puts it, “despite everything, the ball was delightful”. Simply put, this isWoodstock in space. Douglas Adams’ comic sci-fi series hosts, as the author puts it,