Happily, so too does the Jane Austen Centre, the organisation behind the annual festival dedicated to the writer, which has been running since 2001. Now, twenty-two years on, what began as a relatively humble weekend to mark the wit, wisdom and writing of Jane Austen has expanded and morphed into a ten-day affair, drawing over 3,500 people from around the world.
The programme is packed full of delights for ardent admirers of Austen. These are the highlights. For full listings and to buy tickets, visit the festival website here.
Carriages To Meryton & Longbourn
Friday 8 September
If you are amongst those who came of age in the mid-nineties and were turned on to the sheer delight of Jane Austen via the Andrew Davies take on Pride And Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, then this tour is very much mandatory. Leaving from outside the Jane Austen Centre, you will start with an Austen tour of Bath, after which you will be whisked off to the village of Luckington to visit the St Mary with St Ethelbert Church and walk in the footsteps of the 1995 cast. Next up, it’s Lacock, the extraordinary village unbothered by modernity and the passage of time, and also the stand-in for Meryton and Highbury. Tickets: £58
Draw Back The Curtain
Friday 8 September
At 4pm, Jane Tapley, special events organiser at the Theatre Royal, will take to the stage to discuss theatre in the Georgian era and its influence on Austen’s novels. Tickets: £12
Grand Regency Costumed Promenade
Saturday 9 September
Kicking off at 11am, this spectacular annual event sees more than 400 people parade around the elegant streets of Bath in full Regency dress and marks the official opening of the festival. Tickets: £15 (free for under-16s with a participating adult).
Austen’s Lost & Found – Theatrical Walking Tour
Saturday 9 September
Join The Natural Theatre Company, which returns for its one-hour immersive walking tours following the sell-out success of Austen Undone. Nonsensical and fun, it’s the perfect way to make Austen come to life in the most unstuffy of ways. Tickets: £19.
In Pursuit Of Jane Austen: Driver Guided Tour To Hampshire
Sunday 10 September
As her fans will know, Jane Austen loved Bath and lived there from 1801 to 1806, taking afternoon tea at the Pump Room and attending balls at the Assembly Rooms. But the majority of her writing was, in fact, done at Chawton, her home in Hampshire. This minibus tour, which leaves from the Jane Austen Centre at 8.15am, takes you on a tour through her life, from her birthplace at Steventon through to Chawton and her final resting place in Winchester. Tickets: £95
A Very Private Public Breakfast
Sunday 10 September
Hungry from promenading in full Regency dress? Head straight for the Very Private Public Breakfast, where you can sample the delights of an 18th-century public breakfast just as Jane Austen did in Bath. Think bread rolls, cake, tea and coffee. Tickets: £16
Austen Authors Symposium
Sunday 10 September
This event in Waterstones’ Event Room promises to be a joy for the literary set, with Austen-inspired authors, from Lynn Shepherd to Felicity George discussing her towering influence on their work. Free.
Regency Picnic
Sunday 10 September
There is no finer spot for a picnic than on the lawn at the Royal Crescent, the most resplendent example of Regency architecture anywhere in the world. Make like Emma, pack a feast and delight in this most pleasant of pastimes in the company of fellow Austen lovers. From midday until 3pm. Free.
As Danced By Jane Austen – Regency Dance Workshop
Monday 11 September
Join the Jane Austen Dancers at St Swithin's Church to try out the waltzes that were an integral part of her life in Bath – and featured prominently in so many of her books. Tickets: £18
Jane Austen’s Ball
Monday 11 September
Join the Jane Austen Dancers at St Swithin's Church at 3pm for a comprehensive journey through the Regency ballroom, featuring figures from history and characters from Austen’s book. There is a chance to join in at the end, so do be sure to pay attention. Tickets: £19
Regency Games Night
Monday 11 September
What was the Jane Austen social whirl without a good game or two? Sharpen your cup & ball, and spillikins skills at the Abbey Hotel on North Parade, and allow John White of Select Society to demonstrate the joys of other Regency delights, such as whist and hazard. A cocktail or mocktail is included in the entry fee. Tickets: £19.
Croquet Game
Tuesday 12 September
The chance to play croquet – or ‘Pall-Mall’ as they called it in Austen’s day – should never be passed up. The Bath Croquet Club invites Austen revellers for a gentle game on its lawns, followed by post-match refreshments in the pavilion. (Is there a nicer sentence in the English language than that last?) Tickets: £16
Embroider Like Jane Austen
Wednesday 13 September
Every Jane Austen heroine was adept with a needle. Now, as embroidery comes back into vogue, you can learn the same techniques as used in the Regency era at Percy Community Centre. All materials, along with refreshments, will be provided and beginners are welcome. There will also be a short talk entitled ‘Stitching In The Time Of Jane Austen.’ Tickets: £60
Ladies On Parade
Wednesday 13 September
If dressing up in Regency costume is your number one draw to the festival, don’t miss this opportunity to don an empire line frock and parade at one of the finest Georgian buildings in the land in the company of like-minded Austen fans. Escorted by Mr Darcy (swoon), paraders will hop on a train for the short ride to the magnificent Parade House in Trowbridge. Transport, a guided tour, a champagne afternoon tea, Regency games and a talk on the language of the fan is included in the ticket price. Tickets: £105
Murder At Northanger Abbey
Wednesday 13 September
Kicking off at noon, this three-hour investigation is led by the Moonstone Theatre Company, and poses questions such as ‘Did General Tilney murder his wife? Why did Catherine turn down her suitor? And what exactly has happened to John Thorpe?’ Search for clues – with a scheduled break for a two-course lunch to reward your efforts, of course. Tickets: £50
Interactive Fashion - A Unique Recreation from Dr Lindsay Holmes
Thursday 14 September
Join Dr Lindsay Holmes, costume designer and author, for an interactive 18th-century Georgian dress presentation. As they explain, ‘This recreation of the garment worn by The Honourable Mary Graham has been painstakingly recreated stitch by stitch and embedded with sound spots, through which actors recreate the story of her life. Listen as Lindsay leads you though the tragic life history of this consumptive woman, and explore the parallels with Jane Austen’s own life.’ Tickets: £13
Courtship With Kim Hicks
Friday 15 September
Actor Kim Hicks returns to the Theatre Royal Bath with her one-woman Austen-themed show, with renditions of well-known passages and less well-known extracts alike. Tickets: £17.50
Singing With Jane Austen Workshop
Friday 15 September
Ever wondered about the songs Austen might have known or sung along to? Even if the answer to that is a brutally honest ‘no’, now we think of it, we must know more. The Regency Rum Bluffers will lead rousing renditons of Regency favourites in Bathwick and we recommend singing along with gusto. Tickets: £25
Jane Austen’s Monster With John Mullan
Saturday 16 September
Jane Austen was a master when it came to drawing characters that we love to loathe. John Mullan will deliver a talk at The Mission Theatre on the delight we take in her most ghastly creations, from Lady Catherine de Bourgh to Mrs Elton. Tickets: £16
Inspiration & Perspiration – The Natural Theatre Company
Saturday 16 September
And it’s back to The Mission Theatre we go for this fun and fully improvised show in which the players must help Jane Austen with her writer’s block and to find new characters to progress the storyline of her new novel. Edge-of-seat silliness. Tickets: £24
Mini Promenade
Sunday 17 September
If you can’t quite bear to hang up your empire line frock breeches for another year, join a last stroll at midday, leaving from the Royal Crescent and winding up at the Bath Abbey. Until the next time… Free.
By Nancy Alsop
September 2023
