The train from London to Bath takes less than 90 minutes—and whisks you 300 years back in time. The UNESCO World Heritage city’s honey-hued crescents and colonnades immediately make you feel as if you’ve stepped onto a period drama set. (Indeed, Bridgerton, three adaptations of Persuasion, and The Duchess were all filmed here.)
Jane Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806, when the town was already losing its sheen as a fashionable spa resort. She didn’t write much during her years there, but the city became her muse: all six novels reference Bath, and two—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion—are set amid its social whirl.
“She definitely was inspired by Bath,” says Gabrielle Malcom, PhD, creative director of events at Strictly Jane Austen Tours and the author of two books about Austen. “The city was known for its social life and as a marriage market. And also as a place where people really did get ruined quite quickly.” Gossip pages relished the spectacle. “It was a bit like the reality television of its day,” Malcom notes, “that kind of schadenfreude that people take in seeing the downfall of people who are fashionable and successful.”
Today, Bath is the epicenter of Austen fandom, with a 10-day Jane Austen Festival each September. This year, from September 12 to 21, expect sold-out promenades, balls, and bonneted fanfare culminating in the world’s largest Regency costume parade. And for her 250th birthday in December, the city is leaning all the way in: exhibitions, dances, and a birthday ball.
The best way to experience Bath through Austen’s eyes? On foot—with a few 21st-century flourishes. Over the summer, I retraced her steps: sipping tea, promenading through pleasure gardens, and climbing the same hills she once walked.
Step into Austenland
Photo: Getty Images
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