Emerging from the train station in Bath, my wife and I were greeted by the 18th century. There were men in top hats and tails wielding ornate canes; women in elegant regency gowns so large they swallowed six square feet of street; fancy bonnets. It is the 250th birthday year of Jane Austen, who lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806, and the city pulled out all the stops. Austen’s birthday is December 16th, but the celebrations have been going on for months. At least, for some.
