Bringing Austen to Life: Bonnets, Balls, and Bad Boys
- Madee Coats
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Hello all! I spent the weekend of September 19th - 21st in Bath, with my fellow housemates and Jane Austen class members and had the TIME OF MY LIFE! I am new to the works of Austen (I know… please forgive me). Still, I have spent a good part of my life wanting to understand the appeal and lore behind her novels and other works, considering she is globally renowned and recognized for her writing genius.
Almost immediately following our arrival, we made our way up to The Jane Austen Centre to begin our tour. As we queued, we realized, in passing, that Adrian Lukis, the actor who played Mr. George Wickham, in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, was casually walking by. We all said hello, and Dr. Bontempo chatted with him until it was our time to tour. Once inside, we were greeted by the center’s Lizzie Bennett, who showed us to the viewing room to explain what we could expect from the center’s lectures and exhibits.
You will never believe this, but just then, the room opened up to reveal another room, and we were all met with a greeting from none other than The Jane Austen Centre’s very own MR. GEORGE WICKHAM. Like my professor with Adrian Lukis outside, I was now pleasantly surprised by the charms of Mr. Wickham and made sure to grab a photo with him before we left. What can I say? I am a sucker for a man with manners and an accent, and when he offered me his arm, I felt I must take it. Once again, I know nothing of Pride and Prejudice yet as I am still working on my first introduction to Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey; however, this experience was in favor of Mr. Wickham. Throughout the rest of the
weekend, my friends would joke around with me about the encounter – and you know what? I didn't mind at all – if only I could find a man to look at me like that in real life!
Aside from our visit to the Jane Austen Centre, one of my favorite takeaways from our trip to Bath was seeing Emma at the theater. I have always been drawn to live entertainment, especially in the form of plays and musicals. Something about being present and being able to feel the emotion in a room just really gets to me.
I have not yet read Emma; however, from start to finish, I was entranced by the show and the sequence of events that unfolded. We had attended a lecture by a visiting scholar a few hours before seeing the show, and he mentioned that Emma was unlike the other heroines Austen had created in her novels, so I was very intrigued to understand why. I'm not going to lie, I did not enjoy her very much at first. Her meddling with Harriet's relationship with Robert irritated me, and her lack of understanding of the romantic aspect of a relationship bothered me. However, understanding the period makes a lot more sense as to why you have to factor in more than just love. I was so locked into the show that my theater etiquette went out the window, but I felt a lot better after Dr Bontempo explained that Janeites love sharing their love of Jane Austen with others.
Needless to say, I think I had those around me pretty entertained with my reactions, especially when it came to the epic proclamations of love between all of the characters, but especially between Emma and Mr Knightley. By the end, I was in tears and completely obsessed, while the show did have some inconsistencies with the book, from what I hear, the basis of the story has completely overtaken my interests, and since making it back to Oxford, I have bought the other five novels aside from Northanger Abbey and am anxious to read them. I am now a Janeite in training!
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