Celebrating Jane Austen’s Big 25-oh!
As the last of our guests take off their dancing shoes and bid farewell to Bath after a six day party celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary, the programme’s Creative Director – and Austen expert – Dr Gabrielle Malcolm looks back at the festivities.
Autumn is a special time in Bath. The colours of the changing leaves complement the colours of the buildings. Even when the sky is grey and cloudy, every so often the lowering sun breaks through and makes the city sparkle.
What a time it was to have the second of our 250th anniversary celebrations for Jane Austen.
This year has certainly been busy and offered many milestones. Speakers on Austen are in demand. So much so, that Professor John Mullan and I had to fly back into the UK on the first day of the festivities and go direct from the airport to Bath. We had both been on the programme at the JASNA celebrations for US Austenites in Baltimore, Maryland.
Undaunted, if a little jetlagged, John kicked off the celebrations with his usual gusto. He kept the audience enthralled with his in-depth knowledge of Austen, his detailed research into her life and works and his off-the-cuff remarks about characters and real-life influences. Professor Mullan’s energy when discussing Austen does justice to the author’s own wit and entertaining qualities.
Professor Jennie Batchelor came along the next day, with her long-time collaborator Alison Larkin, expert needlewoman. Jennie’s talk took us on a journey along Austen’s bookshelf and her avid consumption of popular magazines and journals and how these impacted on her storytelling. It is fascinating to realise that, as a girl, Austen was inspired not only by classic literature – Shakespeare and the writings of Samuel Johnson – but also the sensational tales of intrigue and horror published in popular magazines.
Alison then conducted workshops that explored Jane Austen’s embroidery basket. Guests battled the intricacy of the fine needlework designs and produced some great results. While not everyone is considering taking embroidery up as a hobby, they certainly appreciate the demands of domestic arts placed on late-18th century girls! Jennie was also able to announce the publication of a new collection of essays she has edited: Encounters with Jane Austen: Celebrating 250 Years (Supernova Books). Contributors to this anthology include Bridgerton author, Julia Quinn.
Gambling, feasting and dancing. Those were also the themes of the week in October. Professor Leigh Wetherall Dixon delivered a riveting analogy for visitors – that the games beloved by Austen’s characters reflect their nature. Lydia Bennet’s eagerness for ‘lottery fish’ that she always tries to win at card nights, demonstrates her love of risk and game-playing that result in terrible consequences for her family.
Visitors were enthralled and appalled in equal measure by the content of Sarah Jane Downing’s descriptions of Beauty and Cosmetics in the Time of Jane Austen (Amberley Books, 2025). Tapping into her research, we discovered the price paid by ostriches, mice, hares and bears for the cosmetics and wig industries of the 18th and 19th centuries. That a hare’s footpad was just the right texture and size to apply rouge to a lady’s (or gentleman’s) cheek was news to everyone assembled. Guests got the chance to view and handle genuine Regency and 19th century artifacts such as powder shakers, curling irons and bear-grease pots from Sarah Jane’s collection.
More encounters with Regency reality were experienced with the dance workshop and afternoon tea. Visitors wowed one another with their accomplishments and wardrobe. When it came to the celebration dinner there was high fashion on display, from Imperial-inspired gowns to gauzy, sprigged dresses worthy of any Bennet sister.
Gill Hornby returned to Bath, from her home at the site of the Kintbury parsonage so beloved of the Austen family, to talk about her social history novels. She offers an insight into Jane’s wide circle of friends and relationships, exploding the myth that the author led a sheltered life. Gill continues to explore Austen’s life and works in her writing, with new titles and adaptations coming up, and in her capacity as new president of the Jane Austen Society (UK).
Regular Strictly Jane Austen contributors, Theresa Roche and Dr Moira Rudolf welcomed visitors with their characteristic flair and fascinating insights. Theresa was on hand to entertain and inform guests with her detailed knowledge of the Regency period’s manners and etiquette. Moira, our resident architectural historian, gave everyone a visual and physical tour into all the nooks and crannies of Bath life and times across the ages.
At Strictly Jane Austen tours we aim to give guests a chance to walk in the footsteps of the real people and inhabit the actual places that inspired the writer’s thoughts and creativity. This is never more evident than when considering Austen’s relationship with her father, the Reverend George Austen. With Zoe Wheddon, author of ‘Jane Austen Daddy’s Girl: The Life and Influence of the Revd. George Austen’ (Pen & Sword History, 2025), guests were allowed to witness the powerful bond between father and daughter. We discovered George’s motives for moving his family to Bath and what kind of life he constructed for his daughters. He was a man who looked forward to a future of equality and opportunity for his female offspring, and also one who recognized his youngest daughter’s brilliance.
With new friendships forged and luggage bulging with keepsakes and lots and lots of books, we have said goodbye to another week of speakers, guests and exciting adventures in Bath. You can join us next year – in April or October 2026 – for another series of residencies with Strictly Jane Austen. If you can’t wait that long, you can come along in December to commemorate Austen’s birth month with some festive celebrations.
