Jane Austen Centre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jane Austen Centre |
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Bath |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°23′03″N 2°21′47″W / 51.38404°N 2.36316°W |
The Jane Austen Centre is a special place in Bath, Somerset, England. It's like a museum that tells the story of the famous writer Jane Austen and her time in Bath. You can learn how visiting and living in this city influenced her and her amazing books.
The building where the centre is located is very old and important. It's part of a group of buildings on Gay Street that are protected. This means they are considered a Grade II listed building by English Heritage, showing their historical value.
Since 2001, the Centre has hosted the yearly Jane Austen Festival. This is the biggest and longest-running festival in the world dedicated to Jane Austen! Events include a fun Summer Ball and a parade where people dress in old-fashioned costumes through the centre of Bath. The Centre also has a lovely Regency Tea Room where you can enjoy snacks and drinks.
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Meet the Jane Austen Waxwork
Inside the Jane Austen Centre, you can see a life-size wax model of the author herself. This special wax figure was created just for the Centre and was shown to the public on July 9, 2014.
You might wonder why they needed to make a wax figure. Well, there's only one known picture of Jane Austen that was painted by her sister, Cassandra. But experts agree it wasn't a very good picture. Jane's own niece even said it looked "hideously unlike" her aunt! However, many friends wrote down what Jane looked like. These descriptions helped create the wax figure.
Creating the Portrait
In 2002, David Baldock, who is the Director of the Jane Austen Centre, wanted a better picture of Jane. He asked a special artist named Melissa Dring to create a new portrait. Melissa is a forensic artist, which means she can create faces from descriptions, like a detective. David Baldock explained, "We were always asked what Jane Austen looked like, and the only picture we had didn't do her justice."
The new portrait was finished in December 2002. But the Centre wanted to go even further!
From Portrait to Wax Figure
In 2011, the Jane Austen Centre decided to make a 3D, life-size wax figure based on Melissa Dring's portrait. Many visitors are surprised by how tall the wax figure is, standing at 5 feet 8 inches! But Jane Austen was described as a "tall and slender" woman in her time, so it's quite accurate.
The portrait sculptor Mark Richards worked on creating the wax figure. It took three years to complete! Mark worked closely with Melissa Dring, the artist who did the original portrait. They also got help from Nell Clarke, a hair and colour artist, and Andrea Galer, a designer. Andrea Galer dressed the finished figure in real period costumes from Jane Austen's time.
The completed wax figure was shown to the world on July 9, 2014, at the Jane Austen Centre. It is now on display in a special area for everyone to see.
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