The Rich and Famous Love Bath!
For a whole generation, the image of Colin Firth diving manfully into the lake in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice created a new fascination with life and love in the Georgian era and a renewed passion for the work of Jane Austen. The action in two of Jane Austen's novels is set in the city of Bath. Jane Austen's own life was so entwined with Bath that a visitor attraction now tells the story of her connection with the city and the impact that it had on her and her writing. With the release of a new film version of Pride and Prejudice with an all-star cast, the courtship of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy will be featured once again on the big screen.
Other romantic figures connected with Bath include Lady Hamilton who resided in Edward Street after the death of Lord Nelson and Eliza Linley, the famous beauty and singer, who eloped from Number 11 the Royal Crescent with Richard Sheridan in 1772. The fact that Sheridan played a part in one of the most celebrated scandals of the period must have been good background for his plays such as " School for Scandal".
Gainsborough set up business in Bath to create portraits of the beauties of the day and the city has always attracted artists and writers. Contemporary artists and musicians still choose to live in Bath like Van Morrison and Peter Gabriel who immortalised nearby Solsbury Hill in his song. Johnny Depp is among the celebrities that frequent Bath's hotels.
The actress Jane Seymour owns an Elizabethan Manor House five miles from the centre of Bath. In her book "The Guide to Romantic Living " she says "our house in England could hardly be more romantic...it lies in a valley near Bath, dreaming of the past". The Manor House is available for rent but just a stroll through St. Catherine's Valley is a romantic experience in itself and comes free of charge. Among her film credits, Jane Seymour starred in "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve, described as the most romantic love story ever filmed.
Copyright © 2008 Bath Tourism Plus
