The influence of BathĪlthough Jane's travel experiences never took her out of the immediate area, she travelled quite a bit within the South of England. Jane apparently used her time in Bath primarily to gather material for future novels, or to infuse into revisions of her previous ones she did not begin any of her six novels during the five years she lived in Bath. Bath serves as the locale for scenes in two novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, and both draw heavily on her experiences there. Although her family's social standing did not enable her to travel in the most elite circles, she was a frequent visitor to Assembly Room events and made regular trips to the Pump Room, another of the city's centres of social life. Although she did not write any of the six main novels during these years, much of the juvenilia, including her satirical The History of England was composed during this period.īath, where Jane's family moved after her father's retirement in 1801, provided Austen with a different view of 19th-century social customs. She also visited with her siblings in adjoining counties Kent, in particular, became one of Jane's favourite places. Which is now owned by the British National Trust, a registered charity founded in 1895 to preserve places of historic interest.
She attended parties and dances at many of the local grand houses, including The Vyne. Here, she led a quiet but pleasant existence, spending time at home, or visiting with local families of similar social status. Born 16th December 1775, Jane lived in the family's small parish house for the first 25 years of her life. Jane Austen's world began in Steventon, where Jane's father held a post as a rector.
Her characters share this insular view of their world, carrying on with dances and amateur theatricals, seemingly oblivious to any outside concerns. Jane Austen's novels are, in this sense, highly autobiographical. By avoiding the pretense of discussing matters that fell outside of the realm of her daily experience, she could focus on what she knew best, the society of 19th-century English country families. While some find this cultural myopia disturbing, others feel it to be one of Jane Austen's greatest strengths. She made it a point to write about only what she knew from first-hand experience and, having never left the South of England, her experience was rather limited. Although Austen was undoubtedly aware of these external events, they remain notably absent from her writing.
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