Review: Jane Austen in Bath: Walking Tours of the Writer's City

Jane Austen in Bath: Walking Tours of the Writer's City by Katharine Reeve

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book, not just as a cute book for self-guided walking tours, but also because the history and historical plates have been so useful to me in writing my current novel, a Regency set in Bath.

I visited Bath during my trip to England last year, and fell in love with the town although I didn't have time to explore it as fully as I wanted to. This book brings back my exciting day in the town and adds to it with tidbits about Jane Austen and the history of Bath.

The simply drawn maps are easy to follow as I read each of the chapters for the walking tours. I'm not sure how they'd be if I were following them in Bath, but from what I remember of the streets and the walking tour I took last year, I don't think the maps would be hard to follow.

I did not expect that the authentic historical illustrations of places in Bath in this book would be so useful to me, but they have been invaluable in imagining what the places were like during the time period of my novel. Several of the plates are from private collections so it's a treat to be able to see them here in this book.

The end has a short list of touristy places to go in Bath with information about each.

A wonderful little book. I wish it were in ebook format, though, because I would love to view it on my iPhone or iPad while taking the walking tours in Bath, and I prefer the portability of an ebook. Otherwise, this book really is well worth the price.

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Comments

Sidney W. Frost said…

I've been to Bath a half dozen times to visit friends who live in nearby Hemington. I love walking in downtown Bath and always feel it probably hasn't changed much since Jane Austen's time there. My work in process includes several scenes in and around Bath--in contemporary time.

Tue Sep 10, 08:08:00 AM 2013

Camy Tang said…

How awesome! I'd love to spend more time in Bath. It was one of the highlights of my trip last year.

Tue Sep 10, 08:07:00 PM 2013

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter