West of England trip and Jane Austen

Jane Austen in Lyme

"A very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better." -Persuasion, page 101

Visiting the West of England, Lyme in particular, was very interesting after reading Jane Austen's Persuasion. Seeing the setting for some of the most important scenes of the novel was helpful in understanding the events and visualizing the story more clearly. Walking along the Cobb, it was easy to see where Austen envisioned Louisa Musgrove falling when she jumped down the steps to Captain Wentworth. Austen visited Lyme a few times during her life. We can guess that she enjoyed it from her beautiful descriptions of it in Persuasion.

It is clear that Persuasion has also had an effect on Lyme. The museum shop I visited had Jane Austen books and souvenirs for sale. There were also cottages available to rent named after Persuasion characters Captain Benwick and Captain Harville. Austen's influence is clear, as it was in Bath. Persuasion has probably brought many readers to Lyme. Seeing the town is very enjoyable after reading the novel and understanding the influence the area had on the author.

Walking the Walls of Londinium

Ruins of a Roman wall

Statue of a Roman leader

Roman ruins

Port of London Authority Building

Greco-Roman columns on a building

Ruins in the middle of London Wall Street

The Museum of London, down the street from the ruins

Ruins of the Roman Wall

On the Walking the Walls of Londinium walk, I noticed the remains of Roman influence on London. London started as a Roman city, which is evident both by the ruins left by the Romans themselves and the Roman influences on architecture in the city. Many of my pictures are of the ruins themselves. I also included a few pictures of buildings which use Greco-Roman architecture, especially Corinthian columns. I also noticed the contrast between the old and the new, as evidenced by the proximity of ruins to the very modern Museum of London. The walk showed how the history of the city has continued to be an influence on London.

Kensington Gardens Walk

Kensington Palace
The Orangery
The Sunken Garden
Queen Victoria Statue
Flower Walk
Prince Albert Memorial
Peter Pan Statue

Bridge on walk

The Kensington Gardens walk was very beautiful. I noticed the simplicity of the park. The buildings and gardens are all very pretty, but they are not too showy or over the top. Even Kensington Palace is very simply designed. This unpretentious style is very pretty and is seen throughout the park. I chose photos of particularly beautiful, simple spots on the walk. The obvious exception to this style is the Prince Albert Memorial, which is very ornate and detailed. It stands out as being particularly extravagant, which does not detract from its worth, but does make it feel a little out of place in the lovely and natural Kensington Gardens. Other features of the walk, including the Queen Victoria statue and the Peter Pan statue, are much less flashy. Kensington Gardens is a very beautiful, elegant park.

Bath and Jane Austen

Visiting Bath, the home of Jane Austen for many years and the settings of two of her novels, was very helpful in understanding Austen’s life and her works more fully. I visited the Jane Austen Centre, which was very informative about Jane Austen’s life and her connections to Bath. While Austen was young, she took several long trips to Bath, which she enjoyed. It was around this time that she started to write Northanger Abbey. Her love for Bath was reflected in her heroine’s feelings about the city—she “was come to be happy, and felt happy already” and she told Mr. Tilney she “liked it very well”. When Austen moved to Bath later in her life, her dislike of the society there was reflected in Anne Elliot’s opinion of the town in Persuasion, who “disliked Bath, and did not think it agreed with her.” Austen disliked living in Bath, and spoke of “happy feelings of escape” upon leaving it. Seeing specific locations from Austen’s novels, such as the Pump Room and the Royal Crescent, was helpful in understanding the context of her stories. Seeing the setting of Jane Austen’s novels, as well as the place she spent some years of her life, was helpful in more fully understanding her work.

The Pump Rooms

The Roman Baths
The Royal Crescent

I'm in London!

So, this is my first time doing a blog, and I'm not quite sure what I'm doing. I have to make blog posts for some of my London classes, for my walks and field notes, so this is where I'll do it. I don't really know if I'm doing this right, so don't get mad!