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 museum in Bath, England. It's all about the famous writer Jane Austen and how her time in Bath influenced her books. The Centre is located on Gay Street, a historic area in Bath.
The building where the Centre is located is very old and important. It's part of a group of buildings that are officially protected because of their history and design.
Since 2001, the Centre has hosted the annual Jane Austen Festival. This is the biggest and longest-running festival in the world dedicated to Jane Austen! During the festival, people can enjoy events like a Summer Ball and a parade where everyone dresses in old-fashioned costumes through the streets of Bath.
The Centre also has a special tea room where you can enjoy snacks and drinks, just like people did in Jane Austen's time.
Meet Jane Austen: The Waxwork Figure
The Jane Austen Centre has a life-size wax figure of Jane Austen. This amazing figure was created especially for the Centre and was first shown to the public on July 9, 2014. You can see it on display there today!
You might wonder why a wax figure was needed. The only known picture of Jane Austen is a small watercolor painting by her sister, Cassandra. However, experts agree that this painting isn't a very good likeness of Jane. Her own niece even said it looked "hideously unlike" her aunt!
But, many people who knew Jane Austen wrote down descriptions of her. These descriptions helped artists create a more accurate image of her.
How the Waxwork Was Created
In 2002, David Baldock, who is the Director of the Jane Austen Centre, asked a special artist named Melissa Dring to create a new portrait of Jane Austen. Melissa is a forensic artist, which means she can create faces from descriptions, much like police artists do. David Baldock explained that visitors always asked what Jane Austen looked like, and the old painting didn't really show her well.
The new portrait was finished in December 2002. Then, in 2011, the Jane Austen Centre decided to take it a step further. They wanted a full, three-dimensional, life-size wax figure! Many visitors are surprised by how tall the wax figure is, standing at 5 feet 8 inches. But Jane was often described as a "tall and slender" woman, so her height wasn't unusual for her time.
The portrait sculptor Mark Richards created the wax figure, based on Melissa Dring's 2002 portrait. It took three years to make! Mark Richards worked closely with Melissa Dring, as well as hair and color artist Nell Clarke, and designer Andrea Galer. Andrea Galer even dressed the finished figure in a real period costume from Jane Austen's time. The completed figure was shown to the world on July 9, 2014, at the Jane Austen Centre, where it now has its own special display area.
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