Janeites unite: Austen festival in Bath celebrates 250th anniversary of author’s birth

The annual festival, now the largest and longest-running of its kind, first took place in 2001 and has since grown to a 10-day programme drawing thousands of visitors from around the world“One cannot have too large a party,” writes Jane Austen in Emma. But could she ever have predicted that more than 200 years later, balls held in her honour would be selling out in 15 minutes?This year, the largest and longest-running Jane Austen festival, held in Bath, brings together more than 3,000 fans, or Janeites as they prefer to be called, to celebrate the life and legacy of the beloved author. From balls and cream teas to festival fayres and dance lessons, for 10 days the city transforms into a living homage to Austen’s world. But what keeps modern audiences so captivated by this imagined past?A group of re-enactors enjoy afternoon tea at the Bath Bun Continue reading...

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