RNA Regency Celebration 8 October 2011

On Saturday the Romantic Novelists' Association is holding a Regency Day to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the publication of 'Sense and Sensibility'. It coincides with the launch of a new biography of that other wonderful writer of Regency romances Georgette Heyer. As so many scenes in their books were set in Bath, and I live only eight miles away from the city and visit frequently, I thought that all this week I'd make it the subject of my blogs. Below is the colonnade at the end of Bath Street, opposite the Cross Bath.


Back in August, on rather a wet day, I visited No.1 Royal Crescent, the Holburn Museum, and the Assembly Rooms. Built in the latter half of the 18th Century, the Assembly Rooms is a splendid series of interconnecting function areas - ballroom, tea room, card room and the Octagon.


Also on the premises is the Fashion Museum and that day the ballroom was housing an exhibition of costumes worn in some major films, one of which was the Emma Thompson version of 'Sense and Sensibility'. Above are the costumes worn by Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman, and below those of Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant.


Another stand featured outfits from "The Duchess" (below) and there were those worn by Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.


This exhibition, marvellous though it was, did not detract from the Georgian elegance of the ballroom, or from the glitter of the chandeliers.


To see some splendid photos of the Assembly Rooms, log on to the Bath Venues website.