Fans across Britain are honoring the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, briefly reviving the Regency era that shaped the novelist and the works that transformed English literature and remain cherished worldwide.
In Bath, Somerset, where Austen once lived, more than 2,000 people in bonnets and tailcoats joined the Jane Austen Festival’s Regency Costumed Promenade, a Guinness World Record holder for the largest gathering of individuals in Regency-period clothing. The 10-day festival, held from Sept. 12 to 21, featured balls, concerts, and historic walks, immersing visitors in the world of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility.”
Celebrations also reached Chawton, Hampshire, where Austen spent her final years. At her former home, now a museum, fans danced the quadrille in the garden and viewed the small table where she wrote. “This feels like a Jane Austen Comic-Con,” said Amy Chagnon, a teacher from San Diego, wearing a gray gown with a lace parasol.
Austen’s enduring appeal lies in her exploration of women’s voices and emotions, said Lizzie Dunford, director of Jane Austen’s House. “That’s why people today can read these novels and say, ‘This woman is speaking to me.’”