Reliving Austen In True Style
The 250th anniversary of novelist Jane Austen’s birth will be celebrated by two of her biggest fans on Saturday, the final day of this year’s Festival.
If you were one of those sauntering the streets in Regency costume this summer – yes, even in Wells – here’s your chance to find out if you really did it in style.
Ros Ballaster, an expert on Jane Austen and 18th-century studies, has compiled a fashion bible of the novelist’s era. It features colour fashion plates from the famous 19th-century Regency magazine La Belle Assemblee, along with extracts from the novels.
Rachel Parris, of comedy group Austentatious and a presenter of radio’s Austensibly Feminist, has written an alternative version of Pride and Prejudice in which Charlotte Lucas, married to the dull Mr Collins, now finds her passions stirred by the arrival of a visitor.
To find out more about Regency style join Ros Ballaster at 12.15pm on Saturday 25 October.
Will Charlotte Lucas enjoy a happy ending? Join Rachel Parris in conversation with George Miller at 7.15pm on Saturday 25.
