Okay, so I know it's back to Bath, but with the mention of Jane Austen in the most recent post, you knew it was coming, right? I LOVE JANE AUSTEN! Seriously, as much as Charlotte Bronte and Harry Potter. So, there is a Jane Austen Centre in Bath, because she lived in Bath for a time. There's evidence that while she revised and started a new novel, Austen didn't complete one while she lived there. It appears like it was a difficult time in her family. Anyways, there's a neat shop there, before you go into the exhibit. The centre itself isn't free to get in to, but the store is, and they have a really neat collection of rare copies of Austen's books. They have every single book she ever wrote, and then some of the many biographies written about her. They also had a collection of her letters, which is pretty cool because for the most part, Jane asked for her personal correspondence to be destroyed after her death. 

Jane Austen Centre!

 I really love what her sister writes about her upon her death. She says: "I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself. I loved her only too well..." (Letter from Cassandra Austen to her niece, Ms. Knight).

 Pride and Prejudice, as for most Austen fans, is a cult classic. It's a beautiful story that captures the essence of humanity, and its goodness. I loved visiting Austen's home and her resting place at Winchester. I learned a lot about her on my trip to England... I remember once walking from Austen's home to our hostel (which was about nine or ten miles) with my friend, who had just taken an class on Austen and was telling my all sorts of thing I didn't know about her. The bottom line? Don't trust the movie Becoming Jane for her history. It's pure conjecture, even if it is a good story. And yet... I can't help but love her outfits in the film :)

Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen.