What do Jane Austen fans think of the modern world? Big Issue visited Bath to find out. Left to right: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, Big Issue, Wikicommons
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“Who do you prefer: King George III or Keir Starmer?”
Pam, resplendent in a purple-feathered bonnet and gown, grimaces. “Now that’s a hard one.”
The Big Issue visited Bath’s Jane Austen Festival in mid-September to quiz Regency re-enactors with this type of hard-hitting question.
This year – the 250th anniversary of the author’s birth – more than 3,000 ‘Janeites’ descended upon the city. Attendees paid tribute to the beloved author with a suite of high teas, balls and Georgian dance lessons.
We wanted to know: what do these Regency re-enactors love about the past – and could any Georgian ideas offer solutions to modern Britain?
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At the festival’s Grand Promenade, we began to get some answers.
“If I had to choose, I’d choose to live now. But I think life was simpler then,” says Karen, a repeat attendee. Originally from the United States, she now lives in the Netherlands but has flown over for the festival.
“They had less pressure – well, I was about to say they had less pressure, but women, for example, also had less freedom, so it’s hard to say. But simpler.”
Her friend Odetta nods in agreement. “The news now is so stressful. Back then, maybe they didn’t know everything like we do. That was maybe more peaceful.”
Among the 15 people Big Issue spoke to, there’s a repeated sense that modernity – with its 24/7 social media news landscape – is dystopian.
“Slower speed. Yes, everything just more relaxed, everything more relaxed, a slower pace of life,” says John. He, his wife Beth, and their four costumed children are “loitering” outside the parade gardens – tickets to the Grand Promenade sold out within 15 minutes, and they didn’t luck out.
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John and Beth, from Bristol
Jeanette, a repeat attendee refastening her bonnet ribbon, agrees with this sentiment. “Obviously, people had their issues too. But for us, it’s an escape. We get to hang out. Then you go back to your everyday life, and it is hurry, hurry, hurry.”
Georgian Britain (1714-1830) was a period of contrast. On one hand, it was an age of glamour and refinement: glittering balls, elegant fashions, grand country houses, and an artistic and architectural flourishing.
But beyond polite society, deep social and economic problems simmered. Britain was at war with Napoleon, and cities grew crowded and unhealthy as industry expanded. Poverty, crime and political unrest affected much of the population.
By around 1800, the wealthiest 20% of Britons commanded approximately 65% of all income, with the top 1% alone accounting for over 30% of national income – levels of inequality that make our increasingly unequal society look positively Scandinavian.
Most of the festival attendees are grateful to live in the 21st century. Victoria and Patrick, a young Polish couple, “come most years”. The festival is an “amazing vibe”, Patrick tells me – but he wouldn’t go back to Georgian times.
“I’m not a fan of slavery and colonisation,” he says, “so I will go with modern.”
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Kemi and Chaz from London echo this point. When asked what is missing from Regency Britain, Chaz answers immediately: “Freedom.”
“I guess it depends on who you were at that time. Depending on who you were, the colour of your skin, or where you came from.”
Practical concerns also shape how attendees view the past: “Heating, lighting, and plumbing,” Kemi adds.
Chez and Kemi, from London.
Dressing up in Georgian clothes does not mean attendees wish it was the Georgian period, says Georgia Delve, festival director. Most people are drawn to Jane Austen’s witty writing, and the escapist appeal of the movies and TV shows it has spawned.
Jane Austen Festival offers an escape, Delve says – a chance to step into this historical fantasy.
“Dressing up, walking into a room of people that love it, it gives people a sense of just they’ve escaped whatever other relationships or issues they have in their life, and they’ve just come into this little bubble,” Delve tells Big Issue. “It’s like a regency bubble.”
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Nonetheless, Georgian society still offers some lessons for modern life – despite its serious inequalities. At least according to festivalgoers seeking respite from 21st century pressures.
Pam would steal back “politeness to other people”, but her husband John doesn’t want to give up the national health service and dentistry.
Many attendees want to keep the fashion: “I feel like these dresses are hiding a multitude of sins right now,” says Chaz.
Valentine urges us to “bring back hats and bonnets”.
“I think it’s sad that they’ve disappeared now,” she continues. “Society thrived on bonnets for thousands of years. All of a sudden, in the 60s, they disappeared. Where did they go?”
Valentine and Beth, from the United States
There was, however, one feature of modern life that no festival attendees seemed keen on: Sir Keir Starmer.
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We asked the 15 people we talked to who they preferred: The current prime minister, or King George the third, who presided over the American Revolution’s loss, economic turmoil and periods of mental illness that earned him the nickname ‘Mad King George’.
Eight said King George, four said neither, and one said don’t know. None opted for the current Labour Party leader.
“Oh, that’s a really hard one,” Pam finally answers after I pose the dilemma. In the pause that ensues, her husband John chips in.
“One was mad, and one’s disappointing. So, neither really. But certainly, never Boris.”
