Jane first came to visit Bath in 1797 and then in 1799. Her experiences of the city were good at that stage, reflected in the happy nature of her heroine in Northanger Abbey, Bath being the setting for more than half of the book. Jane then spent five years living in the city, finally leaving in 1806.
Pay the Jane Austen Centre a visit for more information on Jane’s links to the Bath © The Jane Austen Centre
Following the death of her father in 1804 (he is buried in St Swithin’s Church at the junction of The Paragon and London Road) she moved four times within the space of a year to gradually poorer districts of Bath. Perhaps understandably, Jane’s later novel, Persuasion, reflects a dispirited view of the city.
Jane Austen aficionados will find plenty to interest in Bath today including the Jane Austen Centre and Jane Austen Festival.
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