Ten wonderful days of celebrating all things Austen in the beautiful city of Bath

Friday 27th June, 2025

June 2025, Jane Austen Festival Newsletter

To our dear fellow Austen-lovers, near and far,

Firstly, we are delighted to announce a project that we had fantastic fun working on… the Jane Austen Character Trail through Bath! We pondered, mused and ruminated on the characters our fellow Austen fans would most like to hunt down through the streets of Bath, as well as the perfect quote for each. 

Twenty-six characters and their quotes can now be spotted around the streets that Jane Austen walked; to find them, collect a booklet from the Bath BID Office on York Street, the Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street or follow along online.

The trail is running from June to September 2025, so whether you are a regular visitor to Bath, or will just be with us for the 10 days of the Jane Austen Festival, the trail is something which can be dipped in and out of at your leisure, or used to fill in a quiet moment between events.

The trail is free and we’re very grateful to our partners who made it happen: the lovely people at Bath BID and Wylde Jewellers (...who also donated one of their limited edition Jane Austen pendants as a prize!), as well as all the businesses graciously hosting an Austen character over the summer!

The limited edition Jane Austen pendants are on sale now. 

They make the perfect addition to your 2025 Jane Austen Festival wardrobe, a great present for an Austen fan who already has way too many books, or a lovely 2025 keepsake to remember all the fun you had celebrating Austen’s 250th anniversary!

Secondly, reports of an alarming nature may have reached you that “everything is sold out”- however, dear friends, remember that such reports are not always true! We have many events still on sale, so if you haven’t yet made plans to celebrate Austen’s 250th birthday with us in Bath this year, you are still very welcome!

You can find and book all these events on our 2025 programme.

Pride and Prejudice 

We know that for a lot of Austen fans, Pride and Prejudice is their all-time favourite novel!

You’ll have to move with all the swiftness and rapidity of Lady Catherine racing to Longbourn to prevent the shades of Pemberley being polluted, but we still have tickets available for the following events:

• Pride and Prejudice in Words and Music (featuring music by Karl Davis from the 1995 BBC adaptation!)- Monday 15th September
• Potted Pride and Prejudice- Tuesday 16th September

Music

For all those Marianne Dashwoods out there who love music, we have plenty of events to choose from:

• The Regency Rumbluffers will be leading a singing workshop on Thursday 18th September considering “Desert Island Austen”. Which music from her own collection would Austen take with her? As always, no previous singing experience is needed and the songs will be taught by ear, so there is no need to be able to read music.
  
• On Monday 15th September, you can listen to Sense and Musicality in Bath Abbey.
  
• Wednesday 17th September sees long-time friend of the Jane Austen Festival Louise Geller perform her Almost Austen musical comedy in the Mission Theatre. 

Costume

If you’ve long been an admirer of breeches and bonnets, we have talks and lectures aplenty for you to find out more, or even have a go at making your own…

• Ladies of Leisure with Lucy Adlington of History Wardrobe on Sunday 14th September. Lucy will be speaking on pleasures and pastimes in Jane Austen’s era, from ambling in the shrubbery to enchanting embroidery, showcasing marvellous original fashions for sport and dancing, and the odd reading from Austen’s novels.
  
• Janette Haslam- Ladies Period Costumier on Monday 15th September. Janette will be explaining the process of costuming for film, theatre, television and musicals, including a wide range of Regency costumes. Janette created costumes for Dangerous Liaisons; Interview with a Vampire; Wuthering Heights; Frankenstein; Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and many more!
  
• Dye and Colour in Regency Life on Wednesday 17th September. Dr. Lindsey Holmes will be discussing colours as described in fashion journals of Austen’s times, as well as how such colours were created and worn.
  
• From Pattern to Promenade dress-making workshop on Thursday 18th September. Join seamstress and dressmaking tutor Anna Vickery for a 2-hour workshop on getting started using paper garment making patterns for Regency costumes. Suitable for beginners, so no excuses for finally taking the plunge and starting your first Regency costume!
  
• Curl Hairpiece Workshop- Tuesday 16th September. Join us for a workshop on constructing your own clip-in curls to complete your Regency hairstyle. Perfect for anyone fed up of singeing their fringe!

There are many other Austen-inspired activities going on in Bath during the Festival. We've listed some of them on our new Other Austen Activities in Bath page, including a section of free things for all those Sir Walter Elliots wanting to retrench in Bath!

To all the excellent readers who made it this far, our thanks for your attention! We hope you’ve spotted an event that takes your fancy and we very much hope you enjoy putting your excellent Austen knowledge to good use for the characters trail around Bath.

With our best wishes for your health and happiness,

The Jane Austen Festival Team
Bath, UK