Adventures with Jane! Day XII: Bath to London Wanderings…

July 31, 2025August 3, 2025 BookLady Deb2 Comments

Hotel Indigo [from their website – I forgot to take a picture!]

Our last group breakfast at our Hotel Indigo in Bath – hugs and goodbyes and “safe travels” to all who boarded the bus to Heathrow – and those of us doing the London extension boarded ours – we were a small group, and each of us with our own London agenda. We would be gathering only for breakfast each day and then on our own until the next evening’s play Clueless [more on that tomorrow…]

Our London hotel in Bloomsbury [love staying in Bloomsbury!] was a tad bizarre with the ugliest couch I have ever encountered – but we managed for the two nights as were never there…

[Not sure what that shadow is – appears to be a Knight in Shining Armor – but he too was frightened away by the couch…]

But first, a photo of this wallpaper – I think it was in the hotel in Bath – but this is a favorite pattern of mine so have to share:

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As Joy and I had a few of the same agenda high spots, off we went, walking everywhere, just so overJOYed to be in London again…

First, the John Soane Museum, comprising three houses in Lincoln’s Inn Fields – Soane’s architectural office, his home and library, and later home to his extraordinary collections. Since his death in 1857, everything has remained the same – all the works of art, sculptures, and furniture – all as he had it arranged (similar again to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston) and why there is minimal signage and no labels.

Exterior of the Soane Museum [from their website]

Soane is considered one of Britain’s greatest and most innovative architects – though his design for Whitehall, here as a model, was never executed:

Some of his work is found: [for a full list see here]

Bank of England [Threadneedle St London]

Dulwich Picture Gallery, London

Holy Trinity Church Marylebone

Royal Belfast Academical Institution

Royal Hospital Chelsea

St John’s Church, Bethnal Green, London

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As you first enter the dining room and library, you come face to face with his portrait by Thomas Lawrence.

The entire museum is a maze of rooms filled from top to bottom with Soane’s collections – one couldn’t take it all in in with daily visits for months – a few hours just leaves one quite overwhelmed [not to mention humbled…]

Let’s take a quick tour with a few of the photos I took [not enough!]

The Picture Room:

– Venetian scenes by Canaletto [alas! no photos…idiot]

– hidden behind large wooden doors that open up to another group of paintings – only about 10 people are allowed in for the timed viewings – we were SO lucky to arrive just in time – behind the panels we found Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress – here just a few (but you can see the whole series here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rake%27s_Progress

Austen as we know knew her Hogarth – she references him in a letter to Cassandra [8 Sept 1796]:

she has decided to not go to London with Frank for fear her friends will not be there –

“…for if the Pearsons were not at home, I should inevitably fall a Sacrifice to the arts of some fat Woman who would make me drunk with Small Beer.”

She is referencing here in her witty way the first plate of Hogarth’s The Harlot’s Progress – Austen understands the reality of a young woman alone in London:

You can see the rest of the plates here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Harlot%27s_Progress

The Basement:

In the basement you find the Monks Parlour: Soane here making fun of the Gothic style – the “monk” was Padre Giovanni, Soane’s imaginary alter ego – you could be invited here to tea – between this and the nearby sarcophagus of King Seti I (1303-1290 BC), considered one of the most important of all surviving Egyptian antiquities, I might have rethought a nighttime visit to Mr. Soane’s basement parlour…

[from the Soane fb page]

[from the Soane Museum website]

The Kitchen:

I can never resist an old kitchen – and here we have a patent range dating from 1812, as well as the china pantry with my favorite blue and white…

We find Shakespeare with his own hallowed place in the stairwell:

And the Drawing Rooms, painted in “Turner’s patent yellow,” we find family portraits and fine furniture:

[South Drawing Room – from the Soane Museum website]

And can we ever have a day without finding a George IV on the wall??

One of the dome ceilings:

And a secret photo of Joy and me! [I didn’t see this until I got home!]

The Apollo Belvedere [a cast from the one in Rome]: a very odd angle, not sure what I was thinking…

And the famous Dome Ceiling:

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Lovely time here – wish we could have spent more, but I was quite dizzy as we emerged into the light of day…and now time to just do a little more wandering to must-see places:

I passed LSE where I had gone to classes on my semester abroad in 1968:

Passing the Royal Courts of Justice, we saw much press activity about a famous court case about to be decided – I knew nothing about any of it and still don’t and cannot find anything in the news!

Of course a trip to London is never complete without a visit to Twinings [Jane would approve as well]

I have never understood why in a country founded and sustained by Tea, they do not serve iced tea – yet, here at Twinings at the sample tea bar in the back of the store, one of the “flavours of the day” was an iced tea – here is the recipe: Enjoy, wherever you are…

Dinner at The Wellington [appropriate since I started this trip engrossed in the guy – see first posts of this trip] was to finish our day – delicious beef pie – with Joy spotting a Winston Churchill behind her!

Walking back to hotel we took in the Royal Drury Lane Theatre,

And The Marquess of Anglesey – I feel connected to the good Marquess because I use an image of him in his curricle in my talks on Regency carriages and travel in Jane Austen’s time:

Passing by this artful extravaganza: quite the magical show – we could not stop smiling!:

Found the home of Randolph Caldecott, complete Hero in the history of children’s literature – I love him:

Caldecott’s John Gilpin

And finally the London Review of Books Bookshop, a favorite spot, but this evening closed because of an author event in progress…

So ‘til tomorrow – last day! Aren’t you exhausted??

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Adventures with Jane! Day XI: Bath, Bridgerton, and Rugby…

July 25, 2025September 21, 2025 BookLady Deb4 Comments

What a day! And the final one for those not doing the London two-day extension…

To continue with our adventure yesterday touring around Austen-related places in Bath, you can see this map

and this website where much is explained: https://18thc-cities.sorbonne-universite.fr/-Map-of-Bath-1803-Jane-Austen-s-.html#3

and this map from JASNA.org:

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But now we are off first thing to the Holburne Museum – with a stop along the way to No. 4 Sydney Place, at the end of Great Pulteney Street, where Jane and her sister and parents lived for their first three years in Bath – it is also the only house in Bath to have a plaque telling us that she had lived here: here are Joy and I, and Michele and Vicki in the required photos at the front door [people who live here must love this constant invasion of their doorstep…]

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Then into the Museum, with again a terrific guide, who pointed out the salient pieces to see on a fairly quick tour – so much here to ponder over: the artwork, decorative arts, and history of the owner:

At the heart of the Holburne Museum is the collection of Sir William Holburne (1793-1874), fifth baronet of Menstrie. William seemed destined for a naval career but, following the death of his elder brother Francis, he inherited the family title and a modest fortune. He left the navy and embarked on an eighteen-month Grand Tour of Europe, visiting Italy, the Alps and the Netherlands. This sparked a life-long interest in art and his enthusiasm for collecting. He particularly loved bronze sculptures, silver, porcelain and Dutch landscapes.

Sir William never married. He lived with his growing collection and his three unmarried sisters on the North side of Bath. It was his wish that his collection be left to the City of Bath for everyone to enjoy. Since his death, more than 9,000 items have been added to his collection including portrait miniatures, porcelain, embroideries and portraits by some of the greatest artists of the eighteenth century.” [from the website]

We just missed the Turner watercolor exhibit which was to open on May 23 – but to celebrate Austen in this 250^th year, coming up are two evenings of adaptations – the 1995 Emma and 1995 Sense and Sensibility. And from Sep 11, 2025 – Jan 11, 2026, an exhibit on “Illustrating Austen”:

[Marianne Dashwood, by William C. Cooke, S&S, 1892]

I could have stayed here all day taking photos – so here just a few of my favorites:

Queen Charlotte:

English silver:

A chamber pot designed as a planter:

More porcelain:

Richard Cosways’ miniatures:

I was interested in these Bruegels because I was heading off to Belgium on a Flemish art trip at the end of June – apparently this one is definitely attributed to him, the one below has not…:

And hurray! A Woman Artist! Angelica Kauffmann:

And, where there is a harp, can Mary Crawford be far behind??

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And must make a note of the setting of the Holburne Museum as Lady Danbury’s house in the Netflix series Bridgerton – it appears in all three seasons and also in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The museum’s exterior is particularly recognizable when guests arrive at balls, and it’s also the setting for a scene in season 3 where Penelope is upset with Colin.

you can see all the Bridgerton locations in Bath here: https://visitbath.co.uk/blog/read/2024/05/bridgerton-filming-locations-in-bath-b86

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Then more walking around Bath – across the Great Pulteney Bridge with its great shops – here Joy and I found the perfect spot for tea: Pulteney Bridge Coffee where we had “lemon drizzle” – yum…

And where you then come upon Laura Place, the widest street in Bath, and where Lady Dalrymple lives – the very upper-class (and expensive) location and where Sir Walter is chuffed to bits to be invited…

Here is a great summary of places in Bath that show up in Persuasion:

https://www.janeaustensummer.org/post/here-s-where-jane-austen-s-real-life-and-persuasion-intersect-in-bat h

And we cannot in good conscience leave out Hannah More, who lived on Great Pulteney Street from 1792 – 1802:

And this because who could resist:

…an Italian restaurant with Bath’s best Sunday Roast [or so their marketing tells me…]

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Back to the hotel and then onto the bus for the drive to our dinner location: Farleigh House, home to the Bath Rugby Club! You can read about its interesting architectural and ownership history here.

If you want to get married here or throw yourself an elegant party [and I highly recommend it!}, go here: https://www.farleigh.house/

I was most interested in the rugby! My husband played rugby in college and later for a club in Washington DC – but alas! no rugby players in sight, only some views of the playing fields – more about them here: https://www.bathrugby.com/

On entering the house, we were vastly and beautifully entertained by a Regency Ensemble of three: pianist and two singers singing Jane Austen-era songs: “A Delightful Diversion” performed by The Literary Music Ensemble:

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Then into the main hall that serves as the VERY large dining room – on offer was a delicious buffet…

No going upstairs, but one could wish…

Dessert!!

A perfect place for a Regency gathering of like-minded souls – JASNA went all out here for our last evening together:

Claire and Marcia!

Back on the bus heading back to the hotel on a beautiful evening, all very well-fed, very well-entertained, and quite sad to be bidding adieu to each other…:

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A rose at the Holburne Museum…

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Adventures with Jane! Day X: It’s all about Bath

July 23, 2025July 23, 2025 BookLady DebLeave a comment

So, today I messed up Royally – was supposed to meet a friend, but misplaced days of the week in my head – travel can do that to you [anyone else out there have this happen??]. To me, today was a Monday, because yesterday felt like a Sunday – everything contrived against my really knowing today is a Tuesday, the day set up to meet my friend – it was to be my second day in Bath, but I didn’t count the first day because we only got there in the evening – I am still trying to make sense of it – my only consolation is that we shall see each other in Baltimore!

So to carry on – today started with the usual to-die-for English breakfast (Tea + everything else) – then off on a walking tour of Bath – with a Terrific guide starting at St. Swithin’s Church where George Austen is buried – and also where he and Cassandra Leigh were married in 1754, their register below – and for those interested, William Wilberforce was married here also in 1797:

And of great interest to me, this is where Frances Burney is also buried, her grave in the churchyard, along with the remains of her husband Alexandre D’Arblay and their son. Burney had lived in Bath for a number of years and died here in 1840.

There is this memorial to her on the wall, and one to her sister and also novelist Sarah Harriet Burney:

These plaques were installed in 2013, replacing the originals what disappeared in 1958 during renovations to the church organ [are they perhaps somewhere with Jane Austen’s missing head??]

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From there we walked to the Royal Crescent, perhaps one of the most photographed spots in all of England? – completed by John Wood in 1775, Mrs. Austen’s sister Jane Cooper lived at number 12.

We hit all the mentioned locations in both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion – and easy to imagine Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney and Ann Elliot and Captain Wentworth wandering along the streets – the movies have made them all very real to us, and nothing has much changed really, other than the errant car or two, or people holding cell phones and wearing flip-flops…

The Queen’s Parade, the Gravel Walk [Ann and the Captain along with us]…we walked it, but in those early days it was a way for the gentry to be transported to the baths in their sedan chairs.

We passed the World War I Memorial which features the “Cross of Sacrifice” and erected in 1923, now has the additional names of WWII fallen, including civilian deaths – you can read more about it her: http://bath -heritage.co.uk/war-memorial.html

We followed around former haunts of the Austens and family:

No. 13 Queen Square is where Jane stayed with her mother and Edward in 1799 – he had come to take the waters… [it is now being renovated…] – and then along to Trim St, the final lodging of the Jane, Cassandra, and Mrs. Austen, and the “very bottom of the social scale, populated by prostitutes, beggars, and thieves.” [Jane Austen’s Bath, JA Centre]

25 Gay Street, just down from the Jane Austen Centre, is where the Austen’s lived following Mr. Austen’s death – [the Jane Austen Center is at #40]

And here several photos of various sites as we walked around:

The St. John’s Hospital, recently dedicated by the then Duchess of Cornwall [now Queen Camilla],

The all-important Circulating Library and Milson Street, Beau Nash, the baths, and shopping!:

and a sign worth a photo:

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After the tour, Joy and I went to the Jane Austen Centre – I had visited this several years ago when it was first starting out – much improved, and they do a terrific newsletter, and the long-time greeter Martin Salter is worth the price of admission… [these pictures from Joy]:

And some pictures from there worth sharing [I didn’t take many! – see the website for a great collection]:

And Joy found this in the WC!

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We visited the main Marketplace as Joy was in dire need of Gillards of Bath teas, and I spot a Snoopy:

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And then we went our separate ways – me finding it ironic that though I was supposed to be meeting my friend, I felt quite foot-loose and fancy-free and wandered all around Bath with no itinerary – what an idiot! And here is the final glitch – I did not stop to eat or go anywhere where I connected to the internet – if I had I would have seen the various messages from my friend asking where I was!

So off to Bath Abbey for an in-depth visit – and started it with a tour of the Jane Austen-related memorials – and here I found Stephen Herring of Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine * giving tours at the Abbey! What a grand surprise! Though disappointed to not see Jackie as well – but Stephen was great taking a small group of us all around the Abbey – I took notes but took NO PHOTOS! – but we did learn about:

The Nibbs Family [James Langford Nibbs]
Dr. William Bowen – doctor to Mrs C Auysten in 1804
William Siddons, husband to Sarah
Admiral Sir William Hargood [Francixs Austen’s Canoppus
Caleb Hillier Parry
The Famous Castrata Rauzzioni

The Abbey also has an exhibit on through September 27, Austens at the Abbey – Jackie Herring is on the video and it covers much of what I had just learned on the tour with Stephen.

Wandered around the other exhibits at the Abbey, hit the bookshop (of course) and then wandered back to the hotel which was very nearby – and when I found the note from my friend letting me know I had missed her – it was too late as she was already on the train heading home – a lost adventure with a friend… but Marcia DID see Hazel in the Topping bookshop…so that was something I suppose…

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Dinner on our own and several of us headed to the absolutely required eating spot in Bath: Sally Lunn’s – a few photos for your pleasure!

And another day is done…

* Latest issue of JARW: [always a pleasure to see Mr. Darcy in the fog…]

and another great sign:

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Adventures with Jane! Day IX: On the Trail to Lyme Regis…

July 14, 2025 BookLady Deb6 Comments

Well, finally back to recounting this Jane adventure – I have been to London again and then to Belgium for a Flemish Art tour [fabulous trip with Martin Randall Travel] – so working on remembering the details of this JASNA tour while reentering from an immersion into the art world of the 14th – 16th centuries…with enough artist-rendered crucifixions to last a lifetime…

I left off with our visit to Chawton on Day 8 – now on to Day 9 when we left our excellent Winchester Hotel and headed on to Bath – with the absolutely required stop in Lyme Regis – no Wentworth in sight as yet, but one can only hope. Actually I was more on the lookout for Jeremy Irons, but that is another story entirely…

I have been to Lyme Regis before, where I stayed with friends in a bed & breakfast – the owner a sailor and the house fitted up like a ship – and with gorgeous views of the cliffs. Today was a perfect day, but very hazy and the cliffs barely visible the whole time we were there – unfortunate because it gives you a whole different perspective on this town, both now and when Austen would have visited.

What does get prime attention here, and rightly so, is Mary Anning, famous for her fossil hunting and contributions to the study of paleontology. [You can read about her in Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures for the historical fiction approach, but also here for a complete history lesson: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/mary-anning-unsung-hero.html

There is also the recent movie (2020) with Kate Winslet: Ammonite, which adds quite a bit to the historical record. And also the 2024 Mary Anning and the Dinosaur Hunters. Mary getting her just due finally!

So, one of my main quests in our short visit to Lyme Regis was to see the Mary Anning statue, recently unveiled in 2022 – its creation a story in itself: a crowdfunding campaign called “Mary Anning Rocks” started by an 11-year old girl in Dorset – [did you know that 85% of the statues in the UK are of men??? Why am I not surprised…].

Designed by Denise Dutton, it is beautifully placed with a Mary in active pursuit looking out to sea with her dog in tow. It is quite lovely:

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As for Jane here [and she is everywhere!]: we did a stroll on the Cobb – we listened to Marian [our tour manager] read the passage on Louisa Musgrove’s famous fall from the Cobb in Persuasion – we did this before attempting the treacherous Cobb itself as it was quite windy – we did not need a reenactment of anyone falling – especially as I have already noted that Wentworth was nowhere to be found…

…and pictures do no justice to the extent of the slant on the Cobb – treacherous is too gentle a word…

Louisa’s fall is quite a tale, and it lives on in the imagination of us all, but none perhaps as renowned as these two:

Alfred Lord Tennyson visited Lyme primarily for its Austen sites, walking the nine miles from Bridport to Lyme on 23 August 1867—“led on to Lyme by the description of the place in Miss Austen’s Persuasion.” Arriving, Tennyson called on his friend Francis Palgrave, and “refusing all refreshment, he said at once, ‘Now take me to the Cobb, and show me the steps from which Louisa Musgrove fell.’

Charles Darwin’s son Francis expounded a good deal on the actual location wondering how a strong man such as the Captain could have entirely failed to catch her – he hypothesizes that Wentworth slipped, as he did himself: “I quite suddenly and inexplicably fell down. The same thing happened to a friend on the same spot, and we concluded that in the surprisingly slippery character of the surface lies the explanation of the accident.” (see Peter Graham, “Why Lyme Regis?” Persuasions 26 (2004): https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions/no26/graham/ )

[This portrait at the NPG of a young quite-to-die-for Tennyson is no longer on display – here is the one there now – a shock to discover this when I just returned to London again last week and finally got to the renovated NPG:

I told the guard, here holding the earlier painting on her ipad, that she must speak to the powers that be and get young Tennyson back on view!]

But, back to the steps – the confusion continues as to which steps Louisa actually jumped from – “granny’s teeth” on the left being the most decided upon: but another treacherous walking adventure on the Cobb… two of my photos:

Illustrators of Austen’s Persuasion went wild with this scene, showing both options in their drawings: do you show her jumping?, or lying “lifeless” on the ground, Wentworth pleading “Is there no one to help me?” – here are just a few:

C. E. Brock – Dent, 1898 / Dent, 1909

Hugh Thomson – Macmillan, 1897

Joan Hassall – Folio Society, 1975, shows Henrietta in a swoon:
“nay, two dead young ladies”!

Niroot Puttapipat – Folio Society, 2007, gives us an action image
“I am determined I will” – perfect!

and the 1995 film of Persuasion is also perfect – the first jump when Wentworth catches her…:

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Despite all these dire images in our heads, Joy and I bravely trekked along the Cobb, and here as you can see I am channeling Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman – but again, no Jeremy Irons in sight to rescue me…a precarious place this Cobb…

Then we walked around town in our limited time here, in pursuit of the Anning statue, had lunch at a delightful restaurant, Rock Point, sitting outside on this now sunny day [still hazy…]

– and found that the Lyme Regis Museum was closed on Mondays so we were unable to see much of the local history: info here on the Museum

– we did just pass by the place where there is a Jane Austen Garden, but her stone bust disappeared a number of years ago, never to be seen again… sort of like the paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – I didn’t take any photos sorry to say, but here is one from their website:

Also of interest walking around town is the current Stampede by the Sea – a collection of decorated painted elephants auctioned off for a charity event – you can find them all here on the map below, but here are two that captured my imagination: [look closely at this first one – what do you see??]

Map of all these hefty fellows about town – it is quite the fundraiser:

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Some sights in town to give you a sense of place:

Benwick Cottage!

Boats awaiting the tide…

My now favorite shop: Seasalt Cornwall

A clear reminder you are at the seaside!

Always in search of poppies….

a farewell to Lyme Regis…the Cliffs just appearing…

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Then, back on the bus to head to Bath, home to some of the finest architecture in England, as well as a home to Jane Austen for several years, and as a plot-solving location in her book-end novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

A very proper waistcoat on our “butler”…

After settling into our room at the Hotel Indigo, perfectly located right downtown, Joy and I took a stroll around the places familiar to us and all the set locations for the various Austen films – a delightful walk as few people were around and most of the stores were closed, excepting our favorite Topping & Company Booksellers: