This Saturday (September 19), the city of Bath, England, will look like something right out of a Jane Austen novel—at least for a while.
As part of the city’s annual Jane Austen Festival, at least 350 enthusiasts will parade in period costume to set a record for the largest gathering of people in Regency costume ever, according to the Bath Chronicle’s website. (I suspect Guinness hasn’t seen much competition for this particular attempt.) One assumes they mean the largest modern gathering of people in Regency costume. No doubt hundreds of people in Regency dress gathered in those Assembly Rooms in, say, 1812.
There are strict rules for the record attempt, which will take place during the festival’s traditional Grand Regency Promenade on Saturday morning. Participants must wear full Regency attire and stay together in one place—the Assembly Rooms—for at least 10 minutes. No word on whether they’re required to rekindle relationships with old flames or dance with guys who know about the finer points of muslin.
The promenade is a spectacular costumed parade through the center of the city where Austen lived from 1801-1806. She set parts of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey in the resort city popular for its Roman architecture and healthful waters.
I just discovered your site and really enjoyed your Austen vs. Bronte Smackdown :). I would love to attend the J.A. Festival someday. Have you gone to it yourself?
No, alas, I have never been to the JA Festival. Hope to get there (for that matter, hope to get back to England) one of these days.
I just discovered your book, and look forward to reading it.