Flat Jane Austen Attends the Theater

 Dear friends,

On our last evening in Bath, we attended the Theater Royal to see a musical comedy. We could not procure a box for this date and we were forced to sit in the stalls! This musical production was set 100 years in the future. The principal character is a flower girl who wishes to speak like a lady in order to work in a flower shop. It is quite amusing and charming. The writers have predicted any number of changes to Society in the future; a future in which middle class and shabby genteel mix in London and flower sellers can read. Dust men, alas, are still quite vulgar. Miss Eliza Doolittle is elevated above her station and fit for neither selling flowers on the street or in a shop. Her tutor is quite indifferent to her predicament and treats her as if she were the same as his slippers. What will she do? She has a gentleman wishing to marry her, however, he is rather more like Mr. Collins than Mr. Darcy. Should she marry him anyway? I am uncertain of her fate. If you have leave to visit the theatre this twelvemonth, I recommend attending this production known as "My Fair Lady." It was quite enjoyable.

Yours, 
Jane

My Fair Lady

Editor's note: Lincoln Center's 2018 revival of My Fair Lady is touring across the United States in 2022. Jane attended a matinee at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

This theatre boasts a lovely chandelier!

What manner of organ is this? 

Editor's note: The original pipe organ was lost but today Flat Jane and theatergoers can enjoy music from a 1927 Wurlitzer organ boasting 5 keyboards, 21 ranks and percussion to accompany silent films.

'Tis St. Paul's painted on the screen! 

Editor's note: The Providence Performing Arts Center was built in 1928 as a Loews movie palace. It remained popular and successful through the Depression, however, it was damaged by hurricanes in 1938 and 1954. 

Read more about the theater's history and see archival photos at https://www.ppacri.org/about/ppac-history

Flat Jane Austen in ... Bath? (Or is it?) : A Stroll in Sydney Gardens Part 2

Flat Jane Austen in ... Bath? (Or is it?) : A Stroll in Sydney Gardens

My dearest friends,

My sojourn in Bath is coming to an end, finally. I took one last walk around Sydney Gardens. Yesterday, my uncle drove us to Stoneleigh Abbey to view the beautiful grounds there. The prospect was delightful. The River Avon runs by the estate as you know. The trees have erupted in the most splendid colors and I walked and admired them. A quiet walk contemplating Humphry Repton's grounds concluded our visit. I think I spied deer frolicking in the distance! I do not tell them they are destined for the dinner table come fall.

Yours, 

Jane

Such brilliant pinks! They match my favourite Spencer.

I wonder how old this tree is?
Would the poets compose a sonnet to its great age?

I can almost see a face in this tree!

My dear friends,

Such is life in Bath that I must stop at a shop to purchase flowers and vegetables to grace our table. Lord preserve me from this wretched city. I hope to move on soon to the country. First though, I have been invited by my new friend Miss Susanna Allin to visit her home in America! Imagine that! I believe I half looking forward to the journey across the sea to the land where savages dump tea in the ocean! It shall be a novel experience or quite amusing. Until then, I remain,

Yours,

Jane

Flat Jane Austen in Bath (or is it...?) : Part 2

Flat Jane Austen in ... Bath? (Or is it?) Part 2

Editor's note: Once again Providence stands in for Bath. Jane WILL visit Providence soon, I promise! For now, enjoy the pictures of the parks and trails and library in the more suburban part of Providence. Jane's letters have been transcribed for clarity by Flat Susanna's 3D counterpart. 

My dearest friends, 
Farmers must bring their produce to market. 'Tis early in the season greens and flowers. There are tempting buns and pastries tho'. Do they sell Bath buns? The farmers also sell meat, dairy, honey, jams, apothecary salves, lotions, and potions made in stillrooms and - oddly enough - biscuits for dogs. Pug Bertram would be most pleased.
Yours,
Jane

I see French pastries, German pastries and English bread

Dear friends,
I visited the apothecary for some herbs for a tisane as we haven't a garden here in Bath. 
Sincerely yours,
Jane

Farmacy Herbs, Providence, RI 

A lion guards the apothecary

My dearest friends,

Today I took a trip to the circulating library. Imagine my astonishment at seeing my own name in print! I wished for my name not to appear on my books. It looks as if someone has ignored my wishes. There also seem to be some books professing to be my journals! How can this be? I am perplexed.

Jane's own novels

Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron

Next day- The circulating library played host to a musical event. I listened to a band play what appears to be Jewish music. (Klezmer music). 'Tis different from our usual orchestras but not all together displeasing. I rather enjoyed it. However, the event promised a food wagon with Jewish deli food and another with sweet treats. No food was forthcoming. I had so looked forward to disordering my stomach with [cup]cake[s]. This was most displeasing. I chuckled to myself as I thought about what Lady Catherine would say. 

Yours, 

Jane

Library

 Yarmulkazi

editor's note: Yarmulkazi, based out of Brown University, performs European Jewish folk songs, both original songs and traditional. Food trucks were promised and not delivered. The originator of the food truck, the horse-drawn lunch wagon, was started in Providence in 1872.

Flat Jane Austen in ... Bath? (Or is it?) : A Stroll in Sydney Gardens

Flat Jane Austen in ... Bath? (Or is it?) : A Stroll in Sydney Gardens

 Editor's note: A walking path and park in Providence stand in for Syndey Gardens. 

My dearest friends,
I am still here in Bath. As much as I profess to hate this city, it is not without charm. There is much beautiful verdure to admire. I have been walking in Sydney Gardens each day. 

     

                                                       

Making new friends, of a sort. I must have fallen asleep and dreamed of a wondrous, strange land. Perhaps I shall write about it in a novel some day and call it Jane's Adventures in a Wondrous Land.

 

Editor's note: This tree lined boulevard dates to much later than Jane's time. It was constructed in 1894 to provide better access to the large park-like cemetery (behind the stone wall). The walking path was created when the old early 1900s trolley tracks were removed. The stone bandstand was once the trolley shelter. The Easter Bunny and toy garden are in someone's private yard available for all to enjoy.

A Visit With Flat Jane Austen

 Dear friends,

I am bored. It has been snowing, raining and windy almost all the time. I longed for more adventures. I made myself flat so I could travel. Along the way I made a new friend, Jane Austen! Yes THAT Jane Austen. The writer of those silly books my guardian and her friends like. Jane is quite the amusing companion. I will let her narrate her own adventures!

"My dear friends,

While promenading along the Royal Crescent in Bath I met the most charming and delightful child, Miss Susanna Allin. Miss Allin is a visitor from the colonies, I mean the former colonies in America. She is visiting with her family from Rhode Island. I shall endeavor to show them around this wretched city. 
Yours very affectionately, Jane

My dearest friends,
I am still here in Bath. I take tea at the Upper Assembly Rooms with some new friends, Miss Jane Austen (I am unsure why she thinks she is me) and Miss Felicity Merriman, visiting from the colony of Virginia and the year 1774. 
I danced the night away at the Upper Assembly Rooms. Nothing more to write.
Yours ever, Jane

Dearest friends,
Miss Susanna Allin and I read in a lovely garden. The tulips are in bloom and a riot of color. (editor's note: With thanks to Colonial Williamsburg for the calendar images). Susanna is unfamiliar with the works of "A Lady." I shall introduce her to them and see what she thinks without telling her she is reading them with the author. How droll it will be to gather her reactions. 
With love to you all,
Jane

My dear friends,

Today I practice amateur theatricals of the plays of William Shakespeare. We can not help but dissolve into fits of laughter. How shall I ever keep a straight face? Perhaps these theatricals will never be publicly performed. 

Yours, Jane

postscript: For some reason, two of these young ladies share the same name as myself.