Jane Austen's BATH

Chris Morley walks in the gentle author's footsteps

- Chris Morley

This year is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth (16 December), sparking countrywide celebrations. In Bath, where Jane lived for five years, the line-up of events includes an Austen Festival and Regency Parade (12-21 September), and three themed balls. What better time, then, to hotfoot it to this grand metropolis, its neoclassical architecture so complete, it’s Britain’s only city to be crowned a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Stepping out

To get a sense of Jane’s world, I traced her steps accompanied by Theresa, a costumed guide who's every inch the romantic heroine in a red velvet cloak and ribboned bonnet (strictlyjane austen.com). Passing through colonnaded avenues, we stop at the Theatre Royal, a former casino where ‘gamesters’ lost fortunes. ‘Bath was the Las Vegas of the 18th century,’ explains Theresa. High society flocked here to make merry - all great material for Jane, whose novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were set here.

Pleasure Gardens