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Personally, I love a good book, however, to me a love of literature is brought about through interpretation – and this can certainly be achieved though reading and analysing novels, especially through the works of the renowned author Jane Austen. Her writing is notably skilful due to her entertaining satirical devices and cleverly constructed pragmatics.

 

Recently as part of our AS English Literature course, we have been studying Emma, one of Austen’s most brilliant of novels. We were told that we were going to Bath to visit the ‘Jane Austen Centre’ and ‘The Fashion Museum’, both allowing us to appreciate in more depth the context of the novel. Not only was this going to be a brilliant opportunity to see the beautiful city of Bath, but it was also a chance to allow the historic world in which we had all been immersed to come alive.

 

9.00am and we were off. Our journey back in time was to commence. The first aspect on the agenda was a walking tour of Bath, with our host Dickon. A charming fellow, with buckets of enthusiasm relating to the city and its relevance to Jane Austen’s life. We saw the Roman Baths, the amazing abbey and the great archways and magnificent stone buildings, primarily displayed in areas such as ‘The Crescent’. We followed Dickon around the city in a snake-like fashion and enjoyed hearing his fascinating tales linked to the different parts of the city – for instance the way in which ladies were transported to balls – having to sit in uncomfortable wooden boxes whilst being pulled along by rather strong men. Or the way in which men and women would distract the guards in the Bath houses to be able to communicate with one another – defying the strict regulations. The most captivating part of Dickon’s tour came about underneath a simple archway. He began to quote lines from Northanger abbey, relating to the story of one woman believing she would gain the attention of a good looking male. As he read, we began to realise that the street names he was quoting were the very ones around us and that the archway underneath which we were stood was mentioned. Jane Austen herself had been standing where we were presently – it was almost magical, the past and the present were beginning to merge!

 

Bath had its season; it was all about the latest fashions, the glamour, and the luxury. Women would do their hair specially, men would be dressed finely and well-groomed. There was truly a hierarchy within the city ranging from servants, maids and mere peasants to the upper classes and royals.

 

As the tour drew to a close we approached the ‘Jane Austen Centre’. This was a museum set out in a period house format. Each room almost made you feel as though you were entering Jane’s world, of quiet, amiable writing and the civility of the times. The house contained true wonders: clothes, Jane’s letters, photographs, texts, videos and much, much more. It was here that we all began to feel the excitement of the times. We were given a brief talk on the life of the Austen family; this was extremely helpful as it reinforced just how she would have lived and how this may have affected her writing. We took photos, spent time talking and posing with different mannequins and explored the gift shop. One or two entered into the spirit with suave and romantic role play, “Wot you doing tonight darlin’?” as they addressed the mannequins! Quite apt for such an era!

 

Next was ‘The Fashion Museum’. We entered and were all slightly open-mouthed at the brilliant red velvet carpets, high ceilings and magnificent chandeliers that reflected the light. We instantly joined the queue and walked towards the clothes, prepared with our handy microphone guides. As we viewed the different eras we could feel ourselves almost travelling though time, seeing the outfits and envisaging how people would have looked. The most entertaining part was when some of the students began to dress up in corsets and huge underskirts – especially when many of the male participants found it somewhat difficult to wear their corsets successfully in the correct place!

 

The day ended on a high, with shopping galore in the City. We all came back having thoroughly enjoyed our day and I’m sure we’ll all agree that Jane Austen novels are still current and will forever remain timeless!