Satisfaction Will Be Demanded
Several Alert Janeites sent us a link to an article in the Telegraph in which a rather gentlemanly duel of words is going on between two Austen tourism venues–Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton and the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.
Jane Austen Festival director David Lassman opens with a genteel bit of trash talk.
“I think of Bath as Jane Austen’s true home and people who come here year after year from all over the world certainly recognise it as such,” said David Lassman, festival director until 2007 and a leading authority on the novelist.
We suspect a true “leading authority on the novelist” would never make such a claim, but never mind. Tom Carpenter of Jane Austen’s House delivers a smart slap across the cheek with a white glove:
“The festival is huge fun and there is nothing wrong with having it there. Good luck to Bath. They are a commercial business and Jane Austen appears to be more marketable than the Romans.”
To which we can only say: OH SNAP.
We’ve been to both places and enjoyed each one thoroughly. Of course Jane Austen didn’t really like living in Bath (and the tourism workers are happy to remind one of it, whether smugly or apologetically) but it’s still an amazing place for Jane Austen fans to experience. You can’t help but walk up busy Milsom Street, look up and see “Edgar Buildings” carved overhead, without smiling and remembering Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe chasing to very good-looking young men; one can’t follow Anne Elliot’s footsteps in the “toilsome walk” up to Camden Place without imagining how Sir Walter and Miss Elliot would have felt at having all of Bath spread at their feet; one cannot enter the Octagon Room at the Assembly Rooms without thinking of Anne and Captain Wentworth’s encounter there, or walk the Gravel Walk (even with a snarky tour guide opining, “It should be more properly called the Tarmac Walk”) without realizing, hey, this really isn’t the way to Camden Place–and getting a whole new perspective on that scene in Persuasion. It’s a playground for Janeites. We love the city and would, quite frankly, happily live there.
But Chawton is something else. Every room of the house, the garden, the outer buildings, one remembers: You’re at Jane Austen’s House. Things mentioned in her letters are right there. The coverlet Jane pieced with her sister and mother; the china that Jane helped Edward Austen and his daughter Fanny choose at Wedgwood; the “topaze” crosses that Charles Austen purchased for his sisters; the table where she worked; the room in which she slept; the floors where she walked; they’re all there. This is the place that Jane Austen loved, and the place that she lived, and one feels her presence there more than anywhere in Bath–even at 4 Sydney Place.
As much as we love Bath, we would have to say: if you have to pick one Jane Austen place to see, pick Chawton. (And try to sneak in a trip to see the church in Steventon, too.) As the signs say, Hampshire is Jane Austen country.
Thanks to Alert Janeites Cheree, Lisa, and Baja Janeite for the link!
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Sigh… at the moment I would be happy with a chance to see either.
Well said, Mags! As much as I liked strolling around Bath – the Jane Austen Centre is a huge disappointment (at least as a “museum” … the gift shop is quite impressive, I remember …). Chawton really was THE Jane Austen experience for me too.
Whew! I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembered that she didn’t care much for Bath. And she didn’t hesitate to extend that feeling into her characters who ended up there (Anne Eliot, anyone? Catherine and Mrs Allen in the crowded Upper Rooms?). The Jane Austen Festival fellow seemed to skip over that bit.
And speaking of visiting these places, I would love some advice on the best ways/companies to arrange visits and tours as we are finally in better financial means to get our travel groove on. There may be previous posts on this, perhaps? Any pointing of the way would be much appreciated. Our aim is to occasionally visit the homesteads of writers to remind ourselves that They Were Real People, Too.
Hi Cate–
You can get to Chawton from London via public transportation–train to Alton and then walk, bus (which apparently only runs twice a day or something) or taxi to Chawton. It’s about a mile, but there are highways with no pavements, so it’s not the easiest walk. Hidden Britain Tours will pick you up (possibly in Alton, definitely in Basingstoke) and take you around to Steventon and the other places in that area that Jane would have known and visited. I haven’t tried them but I’ve heard good things from those who have.
Bath is really easy to get to from London. If you check the railway sites ahead of time, you can get a great deal on tickets. The only thing is that you have to travel off-peak and book a particular date and time–you don’t really have any flexibility–and you have to book way in advance to get the cheap prices. I would suggest spending at least two or three days in Bath. Out of Bath, Mad Max Tours will take you to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock Village, and Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. I see now they also have a half-day tour to Stonehenge and Lacock only. Lacock was Meryton in P&P95, Highbury in Emma97TV, Cranford in Cranford, and Hogsmead in the Harry Potter movies. My friend Kathleen is convinced that Jane Austen had Lacock Abbey in mind when she wrote Northanger Abbey (it being a former abbey converted to a private dwelling, and not located that far from Bath). I can vouch for Mad Max personally–a nice small group and a good tour.
If you get a chance to check out Portsmouth (an easy train ride from London), you can see the Victory (Admiral Nelson’s flagship) and the ruins of the Marine Corps Chapel where Fanny Price would have worshiped–and then walk along the ramparts as her family did on a Sunday. We were amused to come across a hair salon owned by one Andrew Price–good to see that the Prices are still in Portsmouth.
I haven’t been to Lyme Regis–but someday! Someday!
Thanks for the information, very helpful. I also came across this tour – http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/BRI09/196 that starts in Bath. I’ve heard good things about these tours, too, although it looks pricey.
I would also like to see Lyme someday.
Rick is awesome. I used his book extensively on my trip! I’ve heard good things about his tour, too…someday I’d like to take his Ireland tour. The Scandinavia one looks good, too.
I really want to go to Chawton, but it’s so difficult to get there, and sadly I have yet to travel to England with anyone who would care to join my for an expensive day trip to Chawton… well some day. I’ve been to Bath several times though (since my sister lives there). I have to agree with Julia I was disappointed in the Jane Austen Centre. I know there is a reason it’s called a centre and not a museum, but still. Their Jane Austen walking tour was great though. I went on the half day tour with Mad Max and I have to say that if you really want to see Lacock (which is an amazing village) the half day tour is not the way to go about it. We had ½ an hour and we had to follow the guide around, there was no time to visit some of the cute shops, or just to stop and take pictures if it weren’t a place that the guide made a picture stop. The full day tour should have much more time there.
We had plenty of time on the full-day tour–the tour stopped for lunch at the pub, but you could skip it and do something else, like go to Lacock Abbey and walk around the village. However, Castle Combe was boring as all get-out. It’s like, here it is, look at it, take a picture, and there’s nothing else to see or do. It’s very cute and picturesque, and that’s about it.
Dueling Jane Austen sites? Reminds me of the Dueling Lizzie borden sites….that have been written about here in our newspapers.
I was fortunate. When I went to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath 2005 they offered a daytrip to Chawton cottage and Chawton House. It seemed a bit intimidating to get there on my own, so I really appreciated that!!! Perhaps they’ll offer it during future festivals? We had the option of watching Jane Austen adaptations on video during the bus ride as well. I think it was Emma going in one direction and Persuasion in the other direction. Now I still need to get to Lyme!