What to see and do at the Jane Austen Festival 2018 in Bath
Posted on: 21 Aug 2018As the festival celebrates its 18th year in the city, this fantastic 10-day event will celebrate once again the literary works and life of Jane Austen through a range of exciting activities, talks, workshops, walks, and more.
This year, the festival will be celebrating Austen's novel Persuasion. With an array of literary-themed events happening every single day, we've picked out some of this year's festival highlights.
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Reading Persuasion, the novel
In the spirit of this year’s festival theme, daily reading of Persuasion will take place between 2 – 3:30 pm in Waterstones bookshop on Milsom Street. The book was published together with Northanger Abbey in December 1817 and distributed in early 1818. Many places in Bath are referenced in the novel; including Union Street, Bond Street and, Camden Crescent.
Where’s Jane? With Rebecca Smith
Writing certainly runs in this family. The author of Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas, The Jane Austen Writer’s Club and now the brilliant picture book Where’s Jane, is Rebecca Smith - who also happens to be Austen’s great-great-great-great-great-niece! Join Rebecca for an exclusive book reading at Guildhall’s Brunswick Room. Entry is free!
When: September 15, 4 - 4:45 pm
Where: Brunswick Room, Guildhall, High Street, Bath BA1 5AW
A Very Private Public Breakfast
Kick off a day at the Festival with a very private public breakfast. Sample the delights of an 18th Century public breakfast just as Jane Austen did in Sydney Gardens. Choose from cakes, fruit, teas and, bread in a typical Regency Bath house, accompanied by a talk from Jane Tapley, the Special Events Organiser at Theatre Royal Bath.
When: September 15, 9:00 am - 10:30 am, September 16, 10:00 am - 11:30 am, September 22, 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Where: Kinwarton, 3 Upper Camden Place, (part of) Camden Rd, BA1 5HX
Tickets: £12
Jane Austen’s Persuasion: A musical drama
Chamber Opera Tours is bringing its original musical adaptation with an interval to the festival this year, having toured the UK and North America in the past five years. Expect music from Jane Austen’s manuscripts, fully staged performance with chamber orchestra, beautiful Regency costumes, projected scenery, and world-champion Irish dancers!
When: September 19, 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm, September 20, 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Where: The Mission Theatre, 32 Corn Street, BA1 1UF
Tickets: £18
Exclusive Twilight Tours of No. 1 Royal Crescent
Bring some of the iconic moments from Austen’s literature to life with candlelit guided tours around this elegant Georgian home. Costumed guides will also shed light on stories of this building. Come along dressed Georgian style if you like, and enjoy nibbles with bubbly.
When: September 21, 6:30 pm - 9:15 pm
Where: 1 Royal Crescent, Bath BA1 2LR
Tickets: £30
For more information and festival listings, visit their website. The Jane Austen Festival will take place in Bath between 14th - 23rd September 2018.
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