BRITISH LAW & LITERATUREON JANE AUSTEN & OSCAR WILDE

By Stephanie Berrios, Stephanie Buscema,

Jennifer Inzetta, & Marissa Marks

WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT BATH…

Nicolas Cage owned a 4 million pound home on millionaire's row on The Circus....

and then he went bankrupt.

Jane Austen's house is now a dentist office. 

The Royal Crescent was bombed in World War II and received damage.

The most seriously effected were number 2 and number 17.

BATH BASICS: The Crescent

The royal crescent is a line of 30 residential houses laid in the shape of a crescent. They were designed by architect John Wood the Younger and were built between 1767 and

1764. Some of the homes have been turned into a hotel, a museum, offices. The buildings

have also been used for several movies and television programs. For over 200 years the

houses have been home to very notable people.

BATH BASICS: The Myth of the Pig

In the year 863 B.C. Bladud, King of the Britons,

contracted leprosy and could not become king realizing an imperfect prince could not become king. He left home and became a swineherd in

an untraveled part of the country. Bladud's pigs also contracted the disease but were miraculously cured when rolling in hot mud around Bath's springs.

Observing the cure, Bladud also bathed in the hot murky

water and was cured as well. Triumphantly, he

returned home and became king.  

BATH BASICS: The Ballrooms

The Ball Room is the largest 18th century room in Bath, measuring 105 ft. long, 42 feet wide, and 42 feet high. It

hosted up to 1000 people at social dances.

During Austen’s time, balls were held in it at least twice a week, attracting up to 1200 guests at a time. During this time,

dancing at balls began promptly at 6pm with the minuet. Later, at 8pm, there would be lively country dances, at 9pm

everyone went to the tea room and all music stopped at 11pm even if it was in the middle of a song. Balls were held twice a week and attracted from 800 to 1,200 guests at the

height of the season, which drew to a close in May.

Since the social whirl was so popular in this fashionable city, the two major ballrooms, known as the “Upper Rooms” and the “Lower Rooms” held dances on different evenings so that

visitors in Jane Austen’s era would have a chance to attend them every night they were offered.

BATH BASICS: The Active Social Life

Famed for its Roman spas and its Georgian architecture, Bath became the leading center of posh, fashionable life

in England during the 18th century. During this time period, Bath had become the rendezvous for the upper echelons of Georgian society. During the 1800’s, the city became known as a center for gaming and fashion along

with aristocratic manners and lifestyles. In time, anybody who was anybody had to be seen in Bath, and

the city attracted a veritable 'Who's Who' of 18th century society.

While she lived in Bath, Jane Austen knew the city as a thriving spa resort that was popular with the aristocratic society. Today, Bath is a historic, vibrant city filled with

great shopping, dining, and spa experiences for all tourists to enjoy!

 

BATH BASICS: In Relation Austen

Jane Austen set two of her 6 published novels, Northhanger Abbey and Persuasion, in Bath.

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Catherine Morland, in Northanger Abbey, makes her social debut in Bath and is quite captivated by the city. “‘Oh! Who can ever be

tired of Bath?’’ Catherine was so hopeful a scholar that when they gained the top of Beechen Cliff, she voluntarily rejected the

whole city of Bath as unworthy to make part of a landscape.”

Bath plays an important role in Persuasion, as Sir Eliot decides to relocate there when financial problems force his family out of their ancestral home, rather as Jane Austen and her family was

uprooted, though the situations were different. It is in Bath where Anne Eliot declares her undying love for Frederick

Wentworth, and he does the same. They are reunited, making Bath, though reluctantly travelled to, a city ultimately of great

worth to them.

JANE AUSTEN MUSEUM: High Tea

Two types of tea services were popular in Victorian England: High Tea and Low Tea.

Low Tea was served in the homes of wealthy aristocrats and consisted of simple gourmet

pastries rather than regular meals. At these teas, the emphasis was on the presentation and

conversation.

For the middle and lower classes, High Tea was considered the main meal of the day and featured

meats, vegetables and, naturally, tea.

JANE AUSTEN MUSEUM: Letter Writing

Letters were written on large pieces of paper, folded into fours, and then sealed with wax. One portion of the four would always be left

blank to allow for addressing.

When a part from each other Jane and her sister Cassandra wrote to each other every day. Unfortunately, most of the letters they wrote to each other were destroyed after

being read. None of Cassandra’s letters survive, but Jane’s letters to Cassandra

provide a vivid picture of their lives, their friends, their family, and their close

relationship.

JANE AUSTEN MUSEUM: The Language of the Fan

Follow me!

I love you!

OSCAR WILDE: Tite Street

Wilde lived at 16 Tite St. Chelsea, England until his trial in 1895.

He wrote many of his major works in here

including: The Picture of Dorian

Grey and The Importance of Being

Earnest

OSCAR WILDE: The Early Years

Wilde was known for being a flamboyant

aesthete.He was known for

writing comedic, light-hearted works.

Wilde begins a homosexual

relationship with “Bosie”

OSCAR WILDE: The Trials

In 1895 Bosie’s father the Marquess de

Queensberry accuses Wilde of

being a sodomite. Subsequent trials

took place and Wilde was

convicted of sodomy and sent to

jail.

OSCAR WILDE: Ballad of Reading Gaol

After two years in prison, Wilde never recovered

from the harsh treatment.

He wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De

Profundis (to Bosie) while in exile after his release.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol serves as a commentary

on Victorian Prison System.