Jane Austen's World

By Brenda S. Cox

“One cannot have too large a party. A large party secures its own amusement.”–Emma

2025 has been a full year of celebrating Jane Austen’s 250^th birthday. Janeites around the country are having a wide range of parties for Jane this month. Here in Atlanta, our group held a fantastic one day conference in September, besides our December birthday party which included a dance demonstration. Some of our public libraries have had special Austen events throughout the year, ranging from a pre-release screening of Miss Austen, to film versions including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the Laurence Olivier Pride and Prejudice, to special talks by authors and fashion experts. They also gave out free copies of Austen’s novels to library visitors.

I had the privilege of attending three major Austen events this year.

June: JASP

In June the Jane Austen Summer Program explored Sensibility and Domesticity with great discussions, lots of dancing, and a display of early editions of Austen’s novels and contemporary books she would have read. I posted about that in July.

September: Jane Austen Festival in Bath

In September, I had the privilege of speaking at Bath Abbey during the Jane Austen Festival. This was the biggest one yet. The Promenade through Bath in Regency dress sold out at 2,000 wristbands almost immediately. Eight balls, eight dance workshops (some focused on specific types of dance, like waltzes or cotillions), and two assemblies (with dancing) also sold out rapidly. (At hefty prices—balls cost from £65 to £135 per ticket!) We enjoyed plays and musical programs in the evenings. The Theatre Royal (which Austen attended) showed a delightful version of Emma. Many ladies and gentlemen strolled around Bath in Regency dress all ten days of the Festival. A “pleasure garden” was recreated one evening, with appropriate foods and drinks, entertainers, and even fireworks at the end.

“Book clubs” discussed each of the novels. Hands-on activities gave opportunities to make bonnets, reticules, hairpieces, hussifs (sewing kits), dresses, visiting cards, or parasols; to stargaze, fence, shoot with bows and arrows, or play croquet, whist, and other Regency games; or to sing Austen’s favorite songs, write letters with a quill, bind books, or dye fabric with plants and flowers. Minibus tours took attendees to Meryton, Longbourn, Chawton, Steventon, and Winchester. Walking tours around Bath featured various themes including “What about the Workers?” and “Life and Death in Georgian England.”

Of course I loved the talks by Austen authors and experts. In “Assembly and Diversity in Jane Austen’s Bath” I learned that the Upper Assembly Rooms were established, by subscription, to be open to everyone, not just exclusively for the upper classes—the most inclusive venue in Georgian Britain, according to Dr. Tim Moore. At “Dye and Colour in Regency Life,” I learned that green was a difficult color to create, and they used copper arsenic for it, surrounding people with poison! Every talk I attended brought fascinating new knowledge.

On the first Sunday, I was glad I arrived early for the free Regency Church Service in Bath Abbey. It was so full they had to turn people away at the doors. I had had the privilege of giving the staff some guidance on what a Regency service would have been like, and was delighted at the beautiful service. (The clergymen even used some material from my book, Fashionable Goodness!) Later that week I had a lovely discussion in the Abbey with those who attended my talk on Hannah More, whom Jane Austen’s friends were “reading with delight.”

October: JASNA AGM

For Janeites in America, the JASNA AGM is always a highlight of the year. This one was the biggest ever, with 950 in-person attendees in Baltimore and about 225 on livestream. Our plenary speakers were all superb: Paula Byrne (The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things), Juliette Wells (A New Jane Austen: How Americans Brought Us the World’s Greatest Novelist), Vanessa Riley (Island Queen and other Regency fiction based on real women of color); and John Mullan (What Matters in Jane Austen?).

A panel of well-known authors discussed Austen’s genius (Janine Barchas, Inger Brodey, Collins Hemingway, and Devoney Looser). And, as always, a fantastic lineup of breakout sessions, special sessions, workshops, tours, and dancing gave us many challenging choices, since we couldn’t do everything!

I loved hearing Susannah Harker, a special guest, talk about her role as Jane Bennet in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Did you know that she was pregnant all during filming, so they had to film her very carefully to not show that? Or, have you ever noticed that Darcy rides a black horse at the beginning of the movie, and a white horse later on? I had to rewatch the movie to confirm this; what a sacrifice! 😊

A special offering this year were pop-up museums. We got to see some of the artefacts discovered in an archaeological dig at Steventon (as well as a talk on how they are developing a virtual version of the Steventon rectory). Caroline Knight brought treasures from the Knight family. Candice Hern shared some of her lovely items that would have been carried in a reticule. Alden O’Brien shared garments of the time. And much more.

As one example of a special session, Dan Macey talked about the variety of smells of the time, most of which were bad (think tanneries, chamber pots, slaughter houses, poor hygiene, tallow candles, mutton . . .). But at the end we all got to smell a perfume used at the time, still produced by a perfumer from the 1700s (DR Harris & Co.)

I got to participate in a “pecha kucha,” a Japanese presentation style that has become very popular worldwide. Three of us had ten minutes each to give the headlines of a talk (20 seconds per slide). I spoke on Hannah More, Nili Olay spoke on LM Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), and Joy Prevost spoke on AI imaging trying to capture Austen’s genius. People seemed to enjoy these quick talks, and asked great questions at the end. Regular breakout sessions explored topics ranging from philosophy to headgear and shoes to Jane Austen’s “Genius of Place.” (Did you know Austen consulted atlases to find appropriate place names for her fiction, such as situating Highbury in an area with many towns ending in -bury? Hazel Jones told us all about this; she will be one of the keynote speakers next year.)

Next year’s AGM will be in Tuscon, on the “Bath Novels,” Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

What have you been doing to celebrate Jane’s 250^th birthday? Let us know in the comments. In a few days I will share a few more events that my friends have attended this year.

If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for the Austen-lovers you know, check out these options.

All photos ©Brenda S. Cox, 2025; please request permission for re-use.

I was not able to track down everyone in all these photos. If you were at one of these large events and you object to your photo appearing here, please contact me through my website and I will take the photo down immediately. (Or if you want your name added to the photo description!)

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.