Tag: bath

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

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 250th 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.

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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-bath

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…

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Georgian England · Georgian Period · Great Britain - History · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Circle · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · Museum Exhibitions · Regency England · Travel

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

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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Georgian England · Georgian Period · Great Britain - History · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Circle · Jane Austen Illustrators · Jane Austen Societies · JASNA · Museum Exhibitions · Regency England · Social Life & Customs

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

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…:

© RICHARD AUSTIN 2003

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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:

“Oh! what a Henry!…”

Dinner at the hotel restaurant to end a very full day, well-spent of course – Bath adventures will fill our next few days, can’t wait…

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Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · Travel

Touring Jane Austen’s England with Edventures, September 2019

BookLady DebLeave a comment

JASNA offers an annual tour of Jane Austen’s England, this past summer one that focused on Persuasion, with trips to Portsmouth, Lyme Regis, and Bath (you can see the itinerary here: http://www.jasna.org/conferences-events/tour/itinerary/] and pine over the fact you missed it! (I still am!) Next year’s tour will again be in July, details not yet announced, but expecting it will have some sort of Gothic theme to celebrate Northanger Abbey. I highly recommend these tours, as they bring JASNA members from all over together, as well as help to support JASNA.

But sometimes you cannot go when these JASNA tours are offered, or it sells out before you register, or your best friend can’t go when you can … We know there are all manner of tours evoking Jane Austen – I have created my own tours on a few occasions to try to see the salient spots; and I’ve developed friendships in England with people happy to tour me around (thank you Tony Grant and Ron Dunning!!); and I’ve recommended to friends where they should go if they are touring on their own. The only drawback of such a plan is that there are places to see, people to meet, that only an organized tour can arrange for you – this is why every year I say “this is the year I will do the JASNA tour” – and every year something gets in the way. So I look to see what other tours are available, and right now I find that friends of mine who run a tour company out of Saratoga Springs, are offering an “English Heritage Tour with Jane Austen” next year, September 3-12, 2019.

I recently traveled with them this past summer to Switzerland – it was a terrific adventure (or “edventure” as they call their company), with a great group of fellow travelers; so I can highly recommend them! This Jane Austen tour was offered a few years ago with a different itinerary – I could not go then and I cannot go on this one either, much to my dismay and disappointment. But I did want to share the details with you in hopes YOU can go… the joy of this trip being not only the sites of Jane Austen’s England, but also that it is being led by David Shapard, the knowledgable and engaging author of the annotated editions of all six of Austen’s novels – David knows his Jane Austen!

Here are the details:

“English Heritage Tour with Jane Austen”

This tour uses the lens of one of England’s greatest writers to explore some of the finest examples of English heritage. These include the gorgeous eighteenth century city of Bath as well as other historic towns and villages, the cathedrals and churches of traditional England, the Royal navy, and the grand houses and gardens of the gentry and aristocracy. She knew all these places and institutions well and made them the principal settings for her novels and we will follow in her footsteps to get to know them ourselves.

Tour highlights:

—Begin with a two-night stay in Bath, the leading spa in England in the 18th century, known for its natural hot springs and Georgian architecture.

—Explore the city of Lacock, a 15th century village that retains its design and look of many centuries ago and served as the setting for a small town in the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice. 


—Travel to Winchester for a five-night stay. On the way, visit Stourhead, whose grounds are perhaps the finest examples of the new style of irregular landscaping that emerged in England in the18th century. A renowned temple on the ground was used for the proposal scene in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice.
 —In Winchester we will visit its cathedral, and from there explore the Austen family cottages and estates in Chawton and Steventon. In what is now the Jane Austen House Museum, Austen composed Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.

 

—Explore the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for harbor tours and a close look at the celebrated warships and seamen of Britain’s naval history.

—Visit Salisbury with its stunning cathedral and Mompesson House, a Queen Anne house used for the film Sense and Sensibility.

Meals: Daily Breakfast, 3 lunches, 2 dinners

Tour Leader: In keeping with Edventure’s mission of “Adventure Travel That Educates,” the trip will be led by Dr. Shapard, a historian and scholar.  David is the author of The Annotated Pride and Prejudice as well as annotated versions of Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Emma.  He has given numerous talks about Jane Austen to Austen societies and other groups and has undertaken several trips to England to study gardens, estates, and other sites on the tour. Travelers will benefit from his vast knowledge of the areas we will visit as well as his enthusiasm and his expertise in English history.

Price: $3260 land only double occupancy
Single supplement: $799

For a complete itinerary contact: goedventures [at] gmail.com

For more info visit their website at: https://www.goedventures.com/tour-english-heritage

Hope some of you can go – please take pictures and I’ll post them here!

C2018 Jane Austen in Vermont; all images courtesy of Edventures, except the Matterhorn which is c2018 DBarnum
Author Interviews · Blog Tours · Book Giveaway · Book reviews · Fashion & Costume · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Regency England

Guest Post ~ Julie Klassen on “A Jane Austen Promenade” ~ Blog Tour and Giveaways for “The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill”

BookLady Deb10 Comments

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Dear Gentle Readers: Please join me today as I welcome Julie Klassen with a guest post in celebration of the release of her newest book The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill. Julie tells of visiting Bath this past September for the Jane Austen Festival and the joys of dressing the part – Regency-style – for both she and her husband Brian. Below her guest post is information on her book and how you can enter to win the giveaways.

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A Jane Austen Promenade
by Julie Klassen

This year, for the first time, I attended the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. The festival, held every September, draws hundreds of Jane Austen fans (like me) to one of the biggest gatherings of Regency reenactors in the world.

lrbrian_cravatOn Saturday, my husband and I participated in the “Grand Regency Costumed Promenade.” The Bath Jane Austen Festival achieved the Guinness World Record for “The largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costumes” in 2009 at 409. The number rose up to 550 in 2014. Since Bath already holds the record, they did not try to set a new one this year. Instead, we paraded through the streets of this historic city simply to enjoy ourselves, honor Jane Austen, and entertain the hundreds of onlookers who lined the parade route—locals as well as tourists from all over the world. This was fine with me, because I was not terribly interested in setting a world record, but I was determined to dress my husband as Mr. Darcy, and knew this would be my best chance.

Months ahead of time, we contacted an historical costume maker in England who has made similar gentleman’s attire. She sent us fabric swatches and I sent her Brian’s measurements. After some postal delays, we received the outfit. It did not fit Brian well at all at first—likely due to my poor measuring skills. But thankfully a friend-of-a-friend is a skilled seamstress, and she altered the pieces to fit Brian better. I also ordered Brian a top hat, gentlemen’s historically-accurate silk stockings, and pointy-toed shoes, which allowed him to dance at the ball better than he could in tall riding boots. You really can find almost anything online. He also wore his old Bell Ringer gloves. I didn’t bring any “how to tie a cravat” instructions, but thankfully another participant helped Brian tie his.

lrbrianjulieBrian’s cutaway frockcoat is a bit more Georgian in style than true Regency, which worked better with his build, though he had to add suspenders to keep up those high-waisted breeches.

And I want you to notice his long sideburns or “side-whiskers” as they were called, which he grew out to please me and look more the part of an early 19th century gentleman.

I wore my new bonnet and the spencer jacket I blogged about previously (made by Matti’s Millinery), over my gold gown (made by my niece), as well as gloves and reticule. I also brought a silk parasol. The style is not 100% historically accurate, but with rain in the forecast, I decided it was “better safe than sorry.”

And, unfortunately, it rained a LOT during the promenade, and I was very glad indeed to have the waterproof umbrella. The streets and paths we trod were wet and dirty and I saw several ladies with hems “six inches deep in mud,” to quote Pride and Prejudice. But rain or shine, it was an enjoyable time anyway.

lrpromenade

Have you ever participated in a Regency costume party or reenactment?
What did you wear?

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The Giveaways!

Please comment below about your own Regency fashion experiences and you will be entered into the random drawing for two giveaways! The winner will receive a $20 Teavana gift card and a package of four inspirational British romances from four different eras (The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen, A Haven on Orchard Lane by Lawana Blackwell, The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White, Not by Sight by Kate Breslin). Deadline is December 21st – the winner will be notified on December 22.

blog-tour-prizes

Here’s the blog tour schedule (you can comment on any of the blogs to be entered into the drawing):

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cover-innkeeperAbout The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill:

The lifeblood of the village of Ivy Hill is its coaching inn, The Bell. When the innkeeper dies suddenly, his genteel wife, Jane Bell, becomes the reluctant landlady. Jane has no idea how to manage a business, but with the town’s livelihood at stake and a large loan due, she must quickly find a way to save the inn.

Despite their strained relationship, Jane turns to her resentful mother-in-law, Thora, for help. Formerly mistress of The Bell, Thora is struggling to overcome her losses and find purpose for the future. As she works with Jane, two men from her past vie for her attention, but Thora has promised herself never to marry again. Will one of them convince her to embrace a second chance at love?

As pressure mounts from the bank, Jane employs new methods, and puzzles over the intentions of several men who seem to have a vested interest in the place, including a mysterious newcomer with secret plans of his own. With the help of friends old and new, can Jane restore life to the inn, and to her empty heart as well?

Visit talesfromivyhill.com to find a map of the village, character profiles, a book giveaway, and more!

print_ready_ivyhill_map

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My thoughts:

I will say that Julie has done it again! – offering her readers a fully-developed world in a small English village during the Regency period, this time an intriguing tale of Inn-keeping – we have: Coaching inns and Carriages; Women characters in precarious positions trying to manage in a patriarchal world; there is Cookery and housekeeping details (love this!); every character has a secret and there is a mystery to be solved; and of course there is Love – of various sorts and with a fair amount of guessing as to who might be best suited. This is Book I of Julie’s projected series of three books – all with characters introduced here. As Julie says in her interview on the blog From Pemberley to Milton:

The series tells the stories of four women facing life-altering challenges with the help of their quirky neighbors and intriguing newcomers. Each novel will have a romance and drama wrap up in a hopefully satisfying way, while the main character’s story spans all three books. The series celebrates the strong bonds of friendship, because in a small village like Ivy Hill, everyone is connected, like leaves on a vine.

Book II, The Ladies of Ivy Cottage will be released in December 2017, and Book III, The Bride of Ivy Green, December 2018. I am only disappointed that I must wait so long to engage with these endearing characters once more!

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For more on Julie’s trip to England to research her novels, here’s her tour of Lacock Village,
the inspiration for The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill:

**(You might be interested to know that Julie is going to be leading a tour next September (2017) to many of the places that have served as inspiration for her novels. You can view details here: http://concertandstudytours.com/julie-klassen-coast-tour/).

klassen_julie1About Julie:

JULIE KLASSEN loves all things Jane–Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full-time. Her books have been honored with the Christy Award for Historical Romance, the Minnesota Book Award, and the Midwest Book Award, among others. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit www.julieklassen.com and also at these author links:

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You can find The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill here: [ISBN  9780764218132]  Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A hearty thank you to Amy Green of Bethany House Publishers and to Julie Klassen for inviting me to join this Blog Tour. Don’t forget to comment to be entered into the drawing – Good luck one and all and Happy Reading!

c2016 Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Merchandise · Jane Austen Popular Culture · News

Jane Austen Cards for Every Occasion!

BookLady Deb7 Comments

Jane Austen at home in Bath

I received the information on these cards just before I was off on a holiday, so just now getting to post about them…. 

Tony Heaton’s “Greetings from England” line of cards and limited edition prints are quite lovely, our interest being of course those connected to Jane Austen [though certainly not limited to Austen only [isn’t that a name of a blog out there somewhere?] as I for one cannot resist the Shakespeare, the Hardy,  or a number of the grand stately houses he depicts.   Mr. Heaton, MDesRCA, kindly sent me several samples of the Jane Austen set – I will be ordering a number of each to sell at our meetings to benefit our JASNA-Vermont group.

Here is a sampling of what you will find when you visit the Greetings from England website:  

[the images below are very small – go to the website to see a full-size image – the cards are quite large (8×6) and suitable for framing if you did not want the expense of a limited print (which are 12×18)]

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre:

 

Thomas Hardy’s cottage:

 

Wordsworth’s cottage:

The Cerne Abbas Giant:

There are many Heritage sites in the UK – from Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, Greenwich’s Royal Naval College, to the coastline of West Dorset and East Devon…

Tower of London

And for Jane Austen? – for that is why we are here after all…

Chawton Cottage

Royal Crescent, Bath

and Jane Austen’s Bath:

There are a number more, so please visit the site to see these and more full-sized images at:  http://www.greetingsfromengland.co.uk/

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And this lovely little surprise, as I find if all does not come back to Jane Austen, it is sure to come full circle to Vermont:

The American Museum in Britain – Vermont Quilt

Detail of one side of a Log Cabin-Barn Raising quilt made by
Sarah Bryant of Mount Holly, Vermont, New England USA – 1886

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*All images from the Greetings from England website, copyright Tony Heaton, and used with permission.  Please request permission directly from Mr. Heaton for re-use of any kind.  Mr. Heaton also creates home portraits – contact him at his website for further information.

Copyright @2011 by Deb Barnum, of Jane Austen in Vermont.
Book reviews · Regency England

Book Review ~ ‘Bath Tangle’ by Georgette Heyer

BookLady DebLeave a comment

Here is the review of Georgette Heyer’s Bath Tangle that I wrote for the “Georgette Heyer Celebration” at Austenprose:

I first encountered Georgette Heyer’s Bath Tangle via audio and I was enchanted – the head-strong Hero and Heroine, not always likeable, at odds with each other from page one – so I was delighted to read the book when Laurel Ann asked me to do this review – another Heyer, another cast of characters, and an abundance of Regency settings to savor!

Serena Carlow, 25, a titian-haired beauty, strong-willed, headstrong, accomplished*, daring and tempestuous, certainly anything but “serene”, has suddenly lost her father, the Earl of Spenborough.  He leaves a twenty-two year old wife, no male heir with his estate passing to a cousin, and a will that provides for Serena’s fortune to be under the trusteeship of the Marquis of Rotherham.  Fanny, now the widowed Lady Spenborough, a young girl, barely out of the schoolroom when she was pledged to the 47 year-old Earl against her will, is well-named – Austen’s Fanny Price looms over this character.  Though of a shy, retiring disposition and propriety-bound, she and Serena, so very different, have forged a true friendship – they move together to the Dower House, leaving the cousin and wife, a la the John Dashwoods in Sense & Sensibility, to take over the Earl’s entire estate. Serena is left with an allowance, her fortune of 10,000 pounds a year to be passed to her only upon her marriage to a man approved by Rotherham …which of course sends Serena “up into the boughs.”

Major back story, as in Persuasion:  Serena and Rotherham were betrothed three years before, her father’s wish, but Serena crying-off shortly before the ceremony because “they did not suit”.  Rotherham is after all a harsh and arrogant fellow, with an “imperious and tyrannical disposition”, “high in the instep”, barely even handsome [but he has great hands! and those powerful shoulders!] – they do their “dagger-drawing” from page one and while they may not think they suit, we know quite differently, that they are meant for each other, everyone else paling in comparison…..[Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew comes to mind!]

Fanny and Serena decamp to Bath for a change of scene during their mourning period – and so enters Major Hector Kirkby, Serena’s “first and only true love” from six years before – and she, Hector’s “goddess”, his dream become real when they once again meet.  Hector is fine and handsome, but a tad frightened of Serena’s strong personality of “funning humours and openness of temper”. They set all the tongues of Bath wagging, embark on a secret engagement [due to mourning etiquette], Rotherham is consulted and approves, then announces his own engagement to the not-yet 18 year old Emily, and suddenly, Everyone Ends Up In Bath: Mothers in the marriage mart; Aunts critical of Serena’s behaviors; Rotherham’s family demanding attention and money; Hector’s dream; Serena feeling 19 again; the fortune-seeking Lalehams, pushing Emily into the arms of the Marquis; and Mrs. Floore, Emily’s grandmother, one very lively jump-off-the-page character, “of little height and astonishing girth”, vulgar and socially stigmatized, with an outrageous sense of fashion; and Rotherham, the jilted lover, who says of Serena “she would have been well-enough if she ever broke to bridle”, he is“blue-devilled” and angry, bordering on the cruel throughout most of the book…

Heyer gives us what we love her for: the witty dialogue; the fashions described; the list of cant terms [ramshackle, clodpole, “the dismals” feather-headed, ninny-hammer, on-dits, bird-witted, toad-eating, etc]; the Hero and Heroine throwing all the barbs known – abominable, wretch, odious, detestable, termagant, etc.]; and Bath in all its glory – the Libraries, Assemblies, name-dropping of real residents [Madame D’Arblay, Mrs. Piozzi, the scandalous Caroline Lamb and her Glenarvon];  the political arena of the time [Rotherham is in Parliament] – all the many details that make this visit to the Bath of Regency England so very real, so very engaging, and with that Heyeresque rollicking Romance, a courtship novel with its Many Tangles to help turn the pages – Delightful!

[*Note:  Jude Morgan’s An Accomplished Woman [St. Martin’s, 2009] literally duplicates this Heyer formula and does so quite well – I recommend it!]

[Posted by Deb]

Jane Austen · News

Tempests Brewing?

Janeite Kelly3 Comments

Kate in Norfolk today mentioned news hitting the Daily Telegraph: two battles just brewing, one over which place – Chawton or Bath? – can be said to deserve the title of Jane Austen’s ‘true home’; and the other being a tearoom propriator who wants to patent a ‘Jane Austen’ line of teas and coffees. Read the stories here – and check back periodically to see what more is happening, as these stories undoubtedly continue to unfold.