Bringing Austen to Life: Recap of a Very Austen Weekend in Bath
- Lauren Sims
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Dear fellow Heroines and Heroes,
I entered your world this past weekend with one simple question: Why the devoted love for this author? After spending 3 days in Bath, which marked the end of the two-week-long Jane Austen festival hosted annually, I am happy to report I left with about 87 more questions. Despite departing the train station with more questions than answers, I still learned so much along the way, and I’m excited to share it with you all!
One thing that became abundantly clear to me is that no matter whether you try or not, Jane Austen as a person will never be removed from her work. Every character appears to be a nod to someone in her life, every setting a place she once might have traveled through, and every passionate monologue delivered by a main heroine, one she would have given herself. There are few more passionate about drawing out biographical connections to her novels than the fandom I met this past weekend. So no wonder I was able to meet individuals from not only England who had traveled for the festival but also admirers from the States back home, the Outback, and the City of Lights. The city of Bath becomes the perfect place to situate yourself not only as an Austen character (the city is the main setting and plot point in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion) but also within the life of Austen (she resided in Bath for five years).
The first thing that hit me upon exiting the train station was the idea that this is, in fact, a proper city. There was no reason for me to be surprised by all the people bustling around me, other than the fact that I had created a fanciful concept of what Bath should look and act like based on a period piece. Elegant dresses were replaced by athleisure, dainty purses by travel backpacks, and delicate, slow walks replaced by hastened steps, persuaded by the urgency of a modern world. As we paraded forward, I observed narrow streets and battered sidewalks made even more dangerous when coupled with construction scaffolding holding up the centuries-old buildings. Then I turned a corner and saw my first couple of the weekend, dawning Regency period fashion, or at least a close modern replica. I had expected to see people in costume, but after my first in-person encounter, I began to wonder what they wanted to get out of this weekend. I had a similar question when watching other tourists peer into historic buildings such as the pump room. Were these individuals imagining themselves in a different time, a better time perhaps filled with proper social constructs and dances every evening? Or were their iPhones in hand and sneakered feet a strict reminder of the present day we do live in?
I can, of course, not answer for others, but at least for me, my time in Bath drew me closer to an author I respected. Perhaps not by replicating the world she had lived in, but at least by inviting me to appreciate some of the magic of a city filled with grassy parks, a multitude of abbeys, and a castle overlooking the city. I can also happily agree with Catherine Morland, of Northanger Abbey, that I “caught the last view of Bath without any regret” (Austen).
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