This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.
“One cannot have too large a party.” —Mr. Weston, Emma, volume 3, chapter 6
Happy Birthday all year long, dear Jane!
On Austen’s birthday, Dec. 16, we visited a few of the many events for Jane Austen’s 250th birthday this year. Here are a few more that my friends have attended:
July: Jane Austen Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio
(Reported by Christel Ford)
The yearly Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky moved to Cincinnati, Ohio this year. The venue was the Heritage Village Museum, where sessions were held in historic buildings. The Post Office had examples of period letters, with docents answering questions about mail service of the period and letters.
Many attendees wore beautiful period clothing. A tent village offered many types of shops. Dresses, hats, fabric and sundries were for sale.
Many Janeites traveled up to New York City to see the fantastic exhibition hosted by the Morgan Library for Jane’s 250th birthday. A group from our Georgia region visited together on the opening weekend. Renata Dennis said the exhibit was jam-packed with fascinating materials. She enjoyed seeing everyday objects like letters, maps, a ledge of expenditures, and a reproduction of Jane’s pelisse. The exhibit addressed different aspects of Jane’s life, her family, life in England at that time, and her relationships. It also included her books in different languages and adaptations.
Some highlights were silhouettes of Jane’s parents, some of her music manuscripts, letters, and literary manuscripts, her turquoise ring, first editions of Emma and Mansfield Park, early illustrations of Sense and Sensibility, and much more.
The exhibition website says:
“A Lively Mind immerses viewers in the inspiring story of Jane Austen’s authorship and her gradual rise to international fame. Iconic artifacts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, England join manuscripts, books, and artworks from the Morgan, as well as from a dozen institutional and private collections, to present compelling new perspectives on Austen’s literary achievement, her personal style, and her global legacy.”
Harewood House, Leeds, England: Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter
(Reported by Lori Mulligan Davis)
In 2025, Harewood House celebrated the 250th birthdays of two national icons, Jane Austen and painter J.M.W. Turner. They never met in life, but they mingle daily in wallets, with Turner on the £20 and Austen on the £10 banknote. Working with the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York, Harewood House Trust exhibited artworks and artifacts on topics of interest to Austen and Turner, including domestic tourism of country houses, the rising importance of sociability, the rage for the picturesque landscape, and the results of empire and slavery. Many first-time guests coming for Austen or Turner were equally glad to experience one of the finest of England’s great estates.
Many, many more events around the world celebrated Jane Austen’s 250th birthday this year. I hope you got to attend some of them! Tell us about your favorites!
“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 250th 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.
A sample of Jenny Batchelor’s beautiful Austen-period embroidery. She taught two workshops and gave a plenary talk on Transatlantic Domestic Arts at JASP 2025.
September: Jane Austen Festival in Bath
Soldiers lead 2,000 people in Regency dress who promenaded through Bath for the 2025 Jane Austen Festival.
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.
Fire dancer at the Bath Pleasure Garden during the 2025 Jane Austen Festival.
“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.”
A gentleman dressed as Mr. Collins, at “Sew Chatty,” where people brought their sewing projects and socialized, as Austen and her characters socialize over their “work,” their sewing.
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.
In the Bath Guild Hall, the Jane Austen Dancers prepare to show the intricacies of assemblies, public and private, in Austen’s time.
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.”
Stephen Herring led special tours of Bath Abbey highlighting memorials to people connected to the Austen family. His wife Jackie Herring wrote Jane Austen’s Bath Abbey, giving us those people’s stories.
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?).
950 attendees at the 2025 JASNA AGM in Baltimore listen raptly.
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!
At the final brunch, John Mullan tells the 2025 JASNA AGM about “Austen’s Choice of Words,” ranging from her use of exclamation marks to her pioneering use of new words.
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! 😊
Susannah Harker tells us about playing Jane Bennet.
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.
Caroline Knight shows Knight family treasures in an AGM pop-up museum.
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.)
Mackenzie Sholtz teaches a group how to make Regency pin holders.
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.
All these events included great shopping arcades. Here are just a few of my favorite acquisitions: an amber cross on a ribbon (like Fanny Price’s) from JASP; a Jane Austen Lego set (40766) from the Festival Fayre in Bath; and an Austen calendar (with dates identified by things that happened in Austen’s life or novels) from the AGM (Wisconsin region does these every year). The 250 pin is also from the AGM.
Happy Birthday, dear Jane!
What have you been doing to celebrate Jane’s 250th 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.
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!)
“My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.”—Anne Elliot, Persuasion
This year I enjoyed plenty of “good company” at the yearly Jane Austen Festival in Bath. Every September, Janeites gather from around the world to enjoy a wide range of events.
Program cover for the Jane Austen Festival, 2024, in Bath.
After a few pre-Festival events, the 2024 Jane Austen Festival officially kicked off with a Grand Regency Costumed Promenade on Saturday morning. Organizers were expecting 1100 people in full Regency dress. We walked through Bath, from the Holbourne Museum at Sydney Gardens (near one of the Austen’s homes in Bath) all the way up to the Assembly Rooms (the “Upper Rooms” in Austen’s time).
Soldiers and musicians led the parade. The promenaders, including men and women, boys and girls, swept up the wide streets. The weather was cool and sunny, unlike the first time I attended the Festival, when it was rainy and I ended up with a muddy petticoat, like Elizabeth Bennet!
More than a thousand people in Regency dress promenade the streets of Bath at the Jane Austen Festival.
The promenade ended at the Festival Fayre in the Assembly Rooms. All kinds of Regency goods were on offer, from the wonderful Jane Austen’s Regency World Magazine to gloves, bonnets, socks, dresses, jewelry, and much more.
I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to the Netherfield Ball that evening. A dance workshop prepared us in the afternoon. It was quite a treat to get to dance in the Assembly Rooms! (Outside of Festival dates, the Rooms are now closed most of the time, since the Fashion Museum moved out, but tours are offered occasionally.)
If you’ve never tried Regency dancing, the basics are not too difficult. The dance workshop gave good preparation, and the caller walked us through each dance before we danced it. You switch partners often, and ladies often dance with ladies, since gentlemen are always scarce. We all occasionally make mistakes, laugh about them, and keep dancing. This is true of all the Austen dances I’ve been to, in England and America.
This year’s Festival included three balls: one for experienced dancers on the first Friday, the Netherfield Ball I attended on the first Saturday, and a Northanger Abbey Gothic Soiree on the second Saturday, plus many dance workshops and demonstrations. Lots of dancing!
A mini-promenade rounded out the festival on the final Sunday, for those who missed the main promenade.
Ladies and gentlemen lined up for a country dance at the Netherfield Ball in the Bath Assembly Rooms. Jane Austen Festival, 2024.
Many wonderful events were offered. I could only attend a small fraction of them. Here are the types of events. I’ll tell you about a few of the ones I got to participate in, then list others to give you a taste.
Tours
Though I know Bath fairly well, I signed up for an interesting tour called “Romantic chic lit or radical writer.” The guide took us around to Austen-related sites in Bath, speculating about Austen’s more radical leanings and challenges in her life.
Other tours offered, for those who wanted to see more of Bath and its surroundings: theatrical walking tour with dramatic entertainment; minibus tour to Hampshire to see places Jane Austen lived; variety of walking tours of Bath; canal cruise; minibus tour to “Meryton” and “Longbourn”; Jane Austen’s Bath homes; ghost walk; “Beastly Bath,” focusing on disagreeable aspects of the city in Austen’s time; walking tour to nearby Weston; twilight tour of the delightful No. 1 Royal Crescent, set up as an eighteenth century home; Gothic novel tour; and tour of Parade House in Trowbridge.
Workshops
I enjoyed “Singing with Jane Austen.” We learned and sang together songs from Austen’s time. Some were silly children’s songs, others songs from Austen’s music teacher.
Other workshops offered, for those who like hands-on activities: dancing, croquet, silhouette embroidery, building Northanger Abbey (drawing gothic buildings), fencing, bonnet and turban making, fabric dyeing, parasol making, Regency games, reticule making, Regency hand sewing, and making a spencer.
Musical Events
At a lovely concert in the Assembly Rooms, we got to hear music from Austen’s own collection, played on the harp and pianoforte. What a treat that was, especially hearing a harp like the one Mary Crawford enchanted Edmund with.
One of my favorite events was a demonstration of popular dances throughout Austen’s lifetime. The Jane Austen Dancers, in “Dancing in the Footsteps of Jane Austen,” danced them all for us, from the minuet to the waltz. They even showed us the “reel” that Mr. Darcy challenged Elizabeth to enjoy.
Gillian Dooley also spoke on Jane Austen and Music, playing and singing some of the songs. I missed that one, but I look forward to hearing her at the JASNA AGM.
Concert at the Assembly Rooms with Lisa Timbs – Square Piano, Annemarie Rhys Jones – Harp, and Verity Joy – Soprano.
Jane Austen Dancers, demonstrating dances of Jane Austen’s time chronologically, at St. Swithin’s Church.
Church
The “Regency Church Service” at Bath Abbey on the first Sunday included Regency church music, and many of us dressed in Regency clothes to attend. Evensong that afternoon was another chance to enjoy a lovely worship service sung by a choir of young people and adults.
Talks
I had the privilege of talking about the church in “Why Mr. Collins: The Church and Clergy in Austen’s England.” The wonderful venue was St. Swithin’s Church: the church where Austen’s parents were married, where William Wilberforce got married, and where Austen’s father is buried, as well as Fanny Burney. It’s also mentioned in Northanger Abbey as Walcot Church, since it is the parish church of Walcot.
Later in the week, I enjoyed hearing Lizzie Dunford of the Jane Austen House talk about Jane Austen and classic fairytales.
John Mullan also gave two fascinating talks, one on dancing in the novels, and one on dialogue in the novels. He shed light on many relevant quotes from the novels.
I learned more about Regency health and taking the waters at the new Bath Medical Museum. This museum is tiny and has limited opening hours, but includes helpful information and exhibits.
Other talks, for those who like me who love to learn all they can about Jane Austen’s world, covered: fashion; Jane Austen and London; the Assembly Rooms: “Romance, Rows, and Riots”; social rules about love, courtship, and marriage; movie locations; “Race for an Heir,” the royal family in Austen’s time; Austen’s life; and the theatre.
Demonstrations
I loved “Stargazing at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy with the Bath Astronomers.” We got to explore this delightful museum, early home of William and Caroline Herschel. William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus from his backyard at this building. His sister Caroline, the first professional woman astronomer, discovered a number of comets. Once it got dark, we trooped outside where we saw the space station pass overhead, watched stars, and learned about heavenly bodies from astronomers. We were all sorry to leave when the next group arrived.
In another demonstration, “a whole campful of soldiers” was set up to demonstrate drills and marching. Talks on soldiers’ wives and on dueling gave more insight into soldiers’ lives.
The militia lining up for the Promenade at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. His Majesty’s 33rd Regiment of Foot graced us with their presence.
Accessories
I appreciate people who collect Regency items and are willing to show them to us, explain them, and even let us handle them. Two of my favorite talks were on “Rummaging through the Reticule,” showing examples of the many items a Regency lady might carry in her reticule, and “Stand and Deliver! Desirable Dress Accessories in the Georgian Age,” showing items a Regency gentleman might carry, and which a highwayman might steal. I wasn’t able to attend “The Etiquette of Dining,” but it included demonstrations with period “silver, porcelain, and domestic items.”
Mark Wallis displays men’s accessories that a highwayman might have taken. Jane Austen Festival, Bath, 2024.
Discussions
It was great fun throughout the Festival to meet with other people passionate about Jane Austen and discuss her works and life together. At “Sew Chatty,” we brought our current sewing projects so we could sew together and chat, as women in Austen’s day did. “Book clubs” also met to discuss Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Our group had a lively discussion of Mansfield Park, touching on the characters of Fanny Price, Mary Crawford, Mrs. Price, and others. We wondered whether or not Fanny has a flaw to overcome and grows as a character during the novel. (What do you think?)
Ladies sewing and chatting together at “Sew Chatty” in the Coppa Club at the Bath Townhouse.
Food was shared, of course, at Regency breakfasts, a Sunday afternoon picnic, and high teas at “Highbury” (in the Jane Austen Centre Regency Tea Room). Other participants went on their own to enjoy tea or a meal at the Pump Room.
Other events included a Regency hair salon, a murder mystery with the audience as detectives, and several shows, including “Lady Susan.” Visitors also of course enjoyed the Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent, and other sights around Bath.
Overall I think a great time was had by all. Kudos to Georgia Delve, the Festival Director (and one of the Jane Austen Dancers), and her wonderful team who organized it all and kept everyone in the right places!
The Jane Austen Festival is a delightful opportunity to connect with other Janeites, learn, and have fun. Next year’s Festival will be Sept. 12-21. Since 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, special celebrations will be held and a large crowd is expected, so book your accommodations early. (I use booking.com; no doubt there are other good options.) If you’re planning to go, I recommend that you become a Festival Friend, for £35, to get first priority on booking popular events like balls; those tickets sell out quickly.
Regency dress is required for certain events—balls and promenades—but optional for others. For most events, some people dressed up, others didn’t. I was impressed that many people wore their Regency clothes around Bath all week long. I wasn’t quite that dedicated, myself. I did get great ideas for new outfits, though.
If you attended the Festival this year or in previous years, please tell us what your favorite events were.
Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England is now available! By JAW contributor Brenda S. Cox. See Review. Available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.
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The Obituary of Charlotte Collins by Andrew Capes
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