Category: Bath (city)

Ep104: The Thing About The Crescent

5/9/2025

Henry Tilney has mysteriously disappeared, and Catherine will not rest until she finds him. Next up in her investigation? The Crescent. Join us as we cover the history and architecture of this notable landmark.

If you have ever been desperately hoping to casually bump into someone, this episode is for you.

Thank you to PBS for sponsoring this episode! Miss Austen will be released on Masterpiece on May 4, 9pm/8c.

Selected Sources

Edwards, Anne-Marie. In the Steps of Jane Austen. Madison, Wis: Jones Books, 2003.
Egan, Pierce. Walks Through Bath, Describing Everything Worthy of Interest. Bath: Sherwood, Neely and Jones, 1819.
Forsyth, Michael. Bath. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
Haddon, John. Bath. London: Batsford, 1973.
Lane, Maggie. A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen. Bath: Millstream Books, 1988.
———. Jane Austen’s England. London: Hale, 1996.
Lowndes, William. The Royal Crescent in Bath: A Fragment of English Life. Bristol: Redcliffe Press, 1981. http://archive.org/details/royalcrescentinb0000lown.

EP97: The Thing About Molland's

10/5/2024

Transcript

Anne is in Bath, and surprise, surprise, so is Captain Wentworth. Everyone has fortuitously converged at Molland's, and we're here to break down the momentous occasion. If you have ever run into your ex at the confectionery shop, this episode is for you.

Selected Sources

“2-22, MILSOM STREET, Non Civil Parish - 1395729 | Historic England.” Accessed September 6, 2024. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1395729.
Anstey, Christopher. The New Bath Guide: Or, Memoirs of the B-N-R-D Family. in a Series of Poetical Epistles. London: C. Whittingham, 1800.
Day, Ivan. “The Art of Confectionery,” 1997. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=4a8725733d012539cdf505e69d9f16bf07d2a388.
Fawcett, Trevor. Bath Commercialis’d: Shops, Trades and Market at the 18th-Century Spa. Bath: RUTON, 2002.
———. Bath Entertain’d: Amusements, Recreations and Gambling at the 18th-Century Spa. Bath: RUTON, 1998.
———. “Eighteenth-Century Shops and the Luxury Trade.” In Bath History, Vol. III, 49–75. Bath: Sutton Publishing, 1990. https://www.historyofbath.org.
Holloway, Sally. “The Foods of Love? Food Gifts, Courtship and Emotions in Long Eighteenth-Century England.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, November 20, 2023, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0080440123000270.
John Cam Hobhouse, Baron Broughton. The Wonders of a Week at Bath: In a Doggerel Address to the Hon. T. S----, from F. T.----, Esq. of That City. London: J. Cawthorn, 1811.
Piozzi, Hester Lynch. The Piozzi Letters: 1817-1821. Edited by Edward A. Bloom and Lillian D Bloom. University of Delaware Press, 1989.
Stobart, Jon. Sugar and Spice: Grocers and Groceries in Provincial England, 1650-1830. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Todd, Janet M. Jane Austen in Context. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Visit Bath. “A Brief History of Milsom Street,” September 1, 2023. https://visitbath.co.uk/blog/read/2023/09/a-brief-history-of-milsom-street-b231.

EP80: The Thing About the Pump-Room

11/30/2023

There's nothing like a refreshing drink of mineral water under the watchful gaze of Beau Nash to get your day off to the right start. This episode we're headed to the pump-room in Bath to partake of the finest water on offer. And we promise that we actually do wash our glasses. Please exit on the left, and don't forget to tip your pumper.

Also, we have merch! Check out www.redbubble.com/people/aboutausten/shop to see the current offerings.

Selected Source

Eighteenth-Century Political Participation & Electoral Culture. “Bath: Constituency (Borough).” ECPPEC. Accessed November 18, 2023. ecppec.ncl.ac.uk/case-study-constituencies/bath/.
Haddon, John. Bath. London: Batsford, 1973.
Historic England. “Grand Pump Room, Non Civil Parish - 1394019.” Accessed November 18, 2023. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1394019.
Lane, Maggie. A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen. Bath: Millstream Books, 1988.
———. Jane Austen’s England. London: Hale, 1996.
Lynch, Deidre. “Notes.” In Persuasion, by Jane Austen, edited by James Kinsley. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Murray, Venetia. An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England. New York: Penguin, 2000.
Nicolson, Nigel. The World of Jane Austen. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991.
Savage, J. The Original Bath Guide, Considerably Enlarged and Improved, Comprehending Every Species of Information That Can Be Required by the Visitor and Inhabitant, Etc. J. Savage; Meyler & Son, 1811.
The Historic & Local New Bath Guide: Forming a Complete Pocket History of Bath (with a Map). J. Browne, 1802.
The Improved Bath Guide; Or, Picture of Bath and Its Environs. Wood & Cunningham, 1809.
Thicknesse, Philip. The Valetudinarians Bath Guide: Or, the Means of Obtaining Long Life and Health. 2nd ed. London: Dodsley, Brown, Pratt, and Clinch, 1780.

Ep59: The Thing about the Bath Assembly Rooms

1/21/2023

Catherine Morland has arrived in Bath, and she is ready to be introduced to a man with a keen knowledge of muslin. This episode we explore both the Upper and Lower Assembly Rooms, including breaking down the role of the Master of Ceremonies, aka Bath's best matchmaker.

Selected Sources

Berg, Maxine. Luxury and Pleasure in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Byrne, Paula. “‘The Unmeaning Luxuries of Bath’: Urban Pleasures in Jane Austen’s World.” Persuasions 26 (2004): 13–26.
Chambers, Ephraim. Cyclopedia: Or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 1. London, 1728.
Kingsbury, Pamela D. “Assembly Rooms.” In Oxford Art Online, by Pamela D. Kingsbury. Oxford University Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T004633.
Lane, Maggie. A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen. Bath: Millstream Books, 1988.
New Bath Guide or Useful Pocket Companion for All Persons Residing at or Resorting to This Ancient City. Bath: R. Cruttwell, 1791. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Bath_Guide_Or_Useful_Pocket_Comp/y65ayAEACAAJ?hl=en.
Stabler, Jane. “Cities.” In Jane Austen in Context, edited by Janet Todd, 204–14. Cambridge University Press, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316036525.020.
Thompson, Allison. “The Rules of the Assembly: Dancing at Bath and Other Spas in the Eighteenth Century.” Persuasions On-Line 31, no. 1 (2010). https://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol31no1/thompson.html.

Ep52: The Thing About Bath's Baths

10/13/2022

Grab your floating potpourri and come along for this dip into the history of Bath and its waters, as this episode we are diving into the baths in Bath. If you have ever wished that towel service was included, this episode is for you.

And, as promised, here is a snippet from the 1987 Northanger Abbey when Catherine attends the baths.

Selected Sources:

Historic UK. “Bath.” Accessed September 27, 2022. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Bath/.
Bradely, Ian. “Why Is 18th-Century Bath Considered the Model for Modern Day Spas?” Literary Hub (blog), January 22, 2021. https://lithub.com/why-is-18th-century-bath-considered-the-model-for-modern-day-spas/.
Lane, Maggie. A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen. Bath: Millstream Books, 1988.
———. Jane Austen’s England. London: Hale, 1996.
Le Faye, Deirdre. Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels. London: Frances Lincoln, 2003.
Stabler, Jane. “Cities.” In Jane Austen in Context, edited by Janet Todd, 204–14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316036525.020.
The Original Bath Guide, Considerably Enlarged And Improved ; Forming An Indispensible Pocket Companion For The Visitor And Inhabitant. Meyler, 1818.
“The Roman Baths in Bath- A Deep Dive into Britain’s Ancient History - World History Encyclopedia.” Accessed September 27, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1427/the-roman-baths-in-bath--a-deep-dive-into-britains/.
Tillyard, S. K. Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832. London: Chatto & Windus, 1994.

Episodes

Ep104: The Thing About The Crescent

EP97: The Thing About Molland's

EP80: The Thing About the Pump-Room

Ep59: The Thing about the Bath Assembly Rooms

Ep52: The Thing About Bath's Baths

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