20 | Jul | 2019

Bath is unarguably a very beautiful city with a fascinating history. Modern day visitors to Bath cannot be disappointed. But it is also of great significance to Jane Austin fans. It is hard not to be reminded of your favourite Jane Austin characters – mine is Anne Elliot – from the moment I turned the first few pages of “Persuasion” she won my deepest sympathy.

I myself had a sweetheart at the age of seventeen, and I was encouraged to wait until we were older…to allow him to advance his career. By the time we did spend six months together holding hands everywhere we went…he had changed so much after leaving home…I found a strong dislike developing within me towards him, Eventually I made the emotional decision to dissolve our courtship. That is another story, I will tell you all about one day. But for now, back to Goldfinch and I in Bath.

Do you recognise this location?

royal crescent.png

You may know it is the Royal Crescent in Bath already. You may also remember it was used at the end of the 2007 BBC production starring the tremendous Sally Hawkins.

This was where Goldfinch and I headed late on Sunday afternoon after some of the other sites we had visited towards the centre of Bath. I sobbed pretty much the whole way around the Royal Crescent whilst Goldfinch held my hand tightly and tried to console me.

Poor Goldfinch! Unbeknown to him, he became my modern day Captain Wentworth for the weekend!

He did so well at the weekend. But I do wonder now if all the reminders of Jane Austin scenes may have caused my eyes to be so leaky. I have read “Persuasion” around ten times, but I have seen dramatisations of my favourite novel at least thirty times!!! Yes, I know! I still can end up in tears at certain points…it’s odd because I know exactly what is coming, I know what makes me cry…but I am not immune…as soon as my eyes behold the culpable scenes, my tears start flowing…

For example, the following scene concludes with Anne writing in her journal…the words are so sad, but look closely and you see her tear drop land on the page…

Yikes…my eyes are filling up again…How these leaky eyes are set to vex me!

Perhaps it is unwise to visit a location that reminds you so much of tear-jerking moments from your favourite Jane Austin adaptations!

Oh dear! I am sure by now I have lost all of my male readers…so it seems the time to confess that there was a point when Goldfinch was teasing me about Jane Austin. I corrected him, explaining that if it was not for Jane Austin, women would not be half as interested in men! I asked him why we would tolerate smelly, untidy, ignorant brutes if it was not for the romantic strokes with which Jane Austin paints her male characters?

Am I allowed to say that? Well…anyway, it made Goldfinch laugh. The price to pay though…includes leaky eyes, a thirst for occasional sentimental romantic gestures from men, and a recognition that in general (though not all will agree) women may have feelings that it is challenging for a man to comprehend.

Aaaaw…I am so glad Jane Austin gave her female characters happy endings…makes all the tears worthwhile.