Here are some photos of Bath - I've added a few snippets from Jane Austen's books and letters!
Such was the information of the first five minutes; the second unfolded thus much in detail — that they had driven directly to the York Hotel, ate some soup, and bespoke an early dinner, walked down to the pump–room, tasted the water, and laid out some shillings in purses and spars; thence adjoined to eat ice at a pastry–cook’s, and hurrying back to the hotel, swallowed their dinner in haste, to prevent being in the dark; and then had a delightful drive back, only the moon was not up, and it rained a little, and Mr. Morland’s horse was so tired he could hardly get it along.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
I've had a wonderful review for Searching for Captain Wentworth from Meredith Esparza at Austenesque Reviews
Was Jane Austen's Persuasion Inspired by Real-Life Events?
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| Pump Room, Bath She was intreated to give them as much of her time as possible, invited for every day and all day long, or rather claimed as a part of the family; and, in return, she naturally fell into all her wonted ways of attention and assistance, and on Charles's leaving them together, was listening to Mrs. Musgrove's history of Louisa, and to Henrietta's of herself, giving opinions on business, and recommendations to shops; with intervals of every help which Mary required, from altering her ribbon to settling her accounts, from finding her keys, and assorting her trinkets, to trying to convince her that she was not ill-used by anybody; which Mary, well amused as she generally was, in her station at a window overlooking the entrance to the Pump Room, could not but have her moments of imagining. Jane Austen, Persuasion |
Upstairs at the Roman Baths Kitchen
We have not been to any public place lately, nor performed anything out of the common daily routine of No. 13, Queen Square, Bath. But to-day we were to have dashed away at a very extraordinary rate, by dining out, had it not so happened that we did not go.
Jane Austen, Bath, 1799
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| Minerva Art Supplies in Bath - Trim Street Her taste for drawing was not superior; though whenever she could obtain the outside of a letter from her mother or seize upon any other odd piece of paper, she did what she could in that way, by drawing houses and trees, hens and chickens, all very much like one another. Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey. |
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| Paxton and Whitfield - lovely Cheese shop in Bath |
My mother does not seem at all the worse for her journey, nor are any of us, I hope, though Edward seemed rather fagged last night, and not very brisk this morning; but I trust the bustle of sending for tea, coffee, and sugar, &c., and going out to taste a cheese himself, will do him good.
Jane Austen, writing from Bath, 1799
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| Hanging Basket with a view towards the Pump Rooms, Bath |
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
I've had a wonderful review for Searching for Captain Wentworth from Meredith Esparza at Austenesque Reviews
Was Jane Austen's Persuasion Inspired by Real-Life Events?
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
What if Jane Austen's Persuasion was more autobiographical than fiction? What if Miss Austen's poignant and powerful novel of lost love and second chances was in some part taken from her own life's experience? Except that in her novel...she wrote the happy ending she knew she would never have...
Finding magical white gloves that transports her to Regency Bath in the year 1802, discovering her ancestors used to live next door to the Austen family in Sydney Place, meeting Jane Austen in the flesh, falling in love with one of her brothers – it seems like modern-day heroine, Sophie Elliot, has just hit the Janeite Jackpot! And after recently discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her friend and finding no success in securing a job for herself, poor Sophie deserves such good fortune! Although she travels to Bath for inspiration and consolation, what Sophie finds is adventure, romance, and some strange time travel phenomenon!
Emotional, expressive, and enthralling – Searching for Captain Wentworth is quite unlike anything I've read before! With multiple romances, dual realities, and many hidden parallels and nods to Jane Austen's Persuasion, this novel had me entranced. It was unpredictable; I found myself torn and undecided about the two men in Sophie's life. In addition, like Sophie, I became embroiled in the past and the mysteries uncovered there; feeling all her eagerness and excitement at discovering what Jane Austen was doing and experiencing during those “silent Bath years.” Not wanting to give away all the delicious surprises and revelations to be divulged in this novel, I'll just make a quick mention that I found the resolution to be profoundly satisfying, inspiring me to feel something akin to what Meg Ryan felt at the end of You've Got Mail – “I wanted it to be you, I wanted it to be you so badly...”
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| Ending scene of You've Got Mail. One of my favorites! |
One aspect of Jane Odiwe's writing that brilliantly shines through in this novel is her keen artistic eye. As some as you may know, Ms. Odiwe is not just a talented author, but a gifted artist as well!* In Searching for Captain Wentworth, Ms. Odiwe's descriptive and vivid narrative filled my head with distinct and tangible sights, sounds, and scenes. Whether she is writing about rain in modern-day Bath, illustrating the blossoming verdure of Sydney Gardens, or describing the physical attributes of the handsome Charles Austen, Ms. Odiwe utilizes such eloquent and sensatory language that readers will feel they are inside the story, experiencing and observing it all firsthand.