The City of Bath is located in Somerset, England and is famous for its natural hot springs. The Romans first developed the area as a spa resort in the 1st-4th centuries AD. By the late 18th century when Jane Austen lived there, Bath had become a popular destination for socializing, entertainment, and taking the waters to cure ailments. Austen set two of her novels in Bath and drew commentary on society from her time there, though she found the social scene oppressive. Today Bath retains much of its Georgian architecture and is a tourist destination for its history, culture, and association with Jane Austen.

1. The City of Bath Marissa Burdett

2. The City of Bath
• What and where is Bath?
• What is the history of Bath?
• What do people do in Bath?
• Jane Austen’s connection to Bath
• In her novels and in her life
• Bath’s meaning for people
• What makes Bath so popular, even today?

3. What and where is Bath?
• Bath is a large and prosperous city located in Somerset, in England.
• Famous for its natural hot springs/ Roman baths
• Thought to have healing powers
• Became a spa resort

4. The History of Bath
• Roman control of Britain between 43 and 410 A.D.
• Thought natural springs were an act of the gods
• Minerva/Sulis
• Built a great temple and bath-house
• Once Romans left, the baths were buried and lost

5. The History of Bath
• 1738- Hospital built in Bath
• Known as Royal Mineral Water Hospital
• continued belief that water could heal
• 1800- Year before Jane Austen moved there
• All the baths had been excavated
• Became a popular spa resort

6. Bath’s attractions- Why go there?
VIDEO: http://www.bath360.co.uk/
• Roman baths, of course
• Vacation from home- weeks or months at a time
• Sought cures for illnesses
• Entertainment
• Balls, gatherings, theater, music, shopping
• A place to see and to be seen
• Pump-room

7. Jane Austen and Bath
• Setting for two novels: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion
• Able to comment on hypocritical, vane, snobbish society through the
various scenes and settings in Bath
• Mentions Bath in all of her novels in some fashion
• Mostly as a place where the more “scandalous”
characters go and seek trouble
• Assume her belief that people behave much more carelessly in Bath than in
the countryside

8. Jane Austen and Bath
• Jane’s real life
• Forced to move to Bath by her parents in 1800 (age 25)
• Jane’s parents met and fell in love in bath- place for husband-hunting
• Bath was “vapour, shadow, smoke, and confusion”
“Another stupid party last night; perhaps if larger they might be
less intolerable”
“I cannot anyhow continue to find people agreeable” (Tomalin 173).
• Depressed; couldn’t write

10. Why is Bath so popular, even today?
• It looks relatively the same as it did in the 1800s
• Georgian architecture, Roman baths, preserved buildings
• Janeites gather there
• Jane Austen Centre and Jane Austen Festival
• Great shopping, culture, arts, and entertainment

11. Works Cited
• PICTURES:
http://www.sjsu.edu/studyabroad/img/Bath41.jpg
http://www.bugbog.com/images/galleries/england_pictures/bath-bridge-2.jpg
http://www.backpack-uk.com/images/BathMap.jpg
http://www.traveleden.com/images/upload/266_Roman-Baths-Bath.jpg
http://images.travelpod.com/users/cullism/england_first_t.1057038060.15_roman_baths_in_bath.jpg
http://carlaspathways.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/regencydance.jpg
http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2906188-Jane_Austen_Museum-Bath.jpg
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p361796-Bath-Jane_Austen_Center.jpg
http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/bathcard.png
• Tomalin, Claire. Jane Austen; A Life. New York: Vintage Books, 1999. 172-173.
• Bath 360. 6 Sept 2009.<http://www.bath.co.uk>.
• Colloff-Bennett, Tamara. “Jane Austen in the City of Bath, England.” The Quillcards Blog. 1 Feb 2009. 6 Sept
2009. <http://quillcards.com/blog/index.php/articles/jane-austen-in-the-city-of-bath-england/>.