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BATHING IN BATH

6/22/2019

What does one do in Bath? Why bathe, of course.

The Cross Bath, by John Chessell Buckler around 1825
This print shows the Cross Bath as it looked in the late Georgian era.

This view of the Cross Bath and Bath Street is by John Claude Nattes, dated 1804.

Below, the Cross Bath in July, 2018, back in operation as part of the Thermae Spa.

Below, another facade of the Cross Bath

In today's Bath, it is once again possible to enjoy the waters of the hot springs at the Thermae Bath Spa. View the video.

Thermae Spa video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Ny0MbxS4Y

Quoting from the website of the UK Groundwater Forum:
"The Bath Hot Springs rise in the centre of the city of Bath in Somerset. Around 1.3 million litres of water flow from the springs every day at a temperature of around 40 °C. There is some debate about the source of the water but the generally accepted hypothesis is that rain water falling on the Mendip Hills to the south of the city infiltrates the Carboniferous Limestone and flows to the north, beneath the North Somerset coal field reaching a depth of 2.5 km from where it obtains its heat. It then rises up through fractures in the Jurassic rocks beneath the city. The chemistry of the water is dominated by calcium and sulphate with sodium and chloride also in high concentration

"There are three separate springs in Bath, the largest and most significant is the King’s Spring which rises within the Roman Baths Museum. The smaller Hetling Spring and Cross Bath Spring are located approximately 150 m to the west of the King’s Spring. The thermal spring water emerges from funnel-shaped gravel deposits under the city. Each spring is tapped at depth by a borehole, which draws water from below the shallow gravel deposits to deliver clean thermal water to the drinking fountain in the Roman Baths museum and the local spa complex."

Above, the fountain for drinking the mineral-rich spring water in the Pump Room.
Returning to the Therme Spa, I had a wonderful morning in the pools, and I have to admit, I felt great. The placebo effect? Perhaps, but I'll take it. Highly recommended if you are in Bath. I was definitely invigorated! Below, since pictures are not allowed inside, for obvious reasons, this is from the website. It perfectly captures the ambiance of the open-air pool.

Above, the statue of Bladud overooking the Kings Bath. The legend of Bladud’s pigs and their miraculous recovery from skin disease after wallowing in the mud near hot springs is renowned in the history of the city. How true is it may be questioned, but claims that Bladud, once hailed as a prince, thus cured himself of leprosy and founded the tradition of bathing in the hot springs is too delicious to be forgotten. The truth is lost in the mists of times, but has endured since the first century BCE. Below, the Roman Bath.

All those who came to Bath—Celts, Romans, Saxons and everyone—believed the waters were helpful whether bathed in or drunk from a cup. The Romans turned the city into a luxurious spa, the remains of which are a major tourist attraction. Wikipedia supplied this intelligence: the “word SPA is associated with the Latin phrase ‘Salus Per Aquam’ or ‘health through water’.” Drop that at your next appointment for a massage.
Below, a Georgian period view of the King's Bath outside the pump room., by Thomas Rowlandson, 1798, from Wikipedia.

After the Romans left Britain, the springs were gradually forgotten and buried. However, the water continued to flow and by the 17th century, its healing properties were rediscovered. During the 18th century, Bath grew in importance, in beauty, and in the celebration of pleasure.
All of this was based on the treatment of almost any complaints people could imagine and the existence of all kinds of care, from quacks and snake oil salesmen to doctors who actually studied medicine. Below, Hospital of St. John the Baptist, Founded 1174, an alms house still in operation.

Below, the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, built 1740's. Its current status is pending, until recently a part of the National Health Service, but perhaps undergoing some changes. I found reports the building was for sale, but not further word.

If you have followed my meandering posts on my week in Bath in July 2018, you my have noticed the colorful owls here and there on the streets. A public art sculpture project, 82 Minerva's Owls were decorated and stood in Bath until auctioned off in September 2028, bringing over £ 140,000 for local charities. Below, few of my photos, while hooting farewell to Bath, for now.

And why Minerva's Owls, you might ask. That dates back to the Romans, whose goddess of wisdom was Minerva.= and her symbol was the owl, known from prehistory as a source of wisdom. The earlier Celts had dedicated the springs to their goddess Sulis. The Romans simply merged the two into Aqua Sulis, a shrine to Minerva.
Below, a gilt bronze head of Sulis Minerva found in Stall Street in 1727 and on exhibition at the Roman Baths, photo via Wikipedia.

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BEAUTIFUL BATH

6/15/2019

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Here are some random views of Bath, pictures I love to look at!! Unless otherwise noted, I took the photographs. I spent a week in Bath in July 2018 at the end of the JASNA summer tour of England. I stayed at the St Francis Hotel in Queens Square where I completed a writing project as well as wandering at leisure around the city. I had visited before, but always seemed rushed. So taking my time and really enjoying the city was a great pleasure.

Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage City, celebrating the amazingly unified and harmonious architecture and the city's position in the Georgian society to which it catered.

Above, the Assembly rooms (at the lower left) and the Circus, photographed from a balloon by
Roger Beale, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44942471

Above and below, the Circus. Note the three orders of columns, ground level: Doric; above, Ionic; top, Corinthian. And along the roof line, a series of stone acorns. The dry grass was the result of a very hot and dry summer in 2018. Ignore both the grass and the autos if you please.

This Stone Acorn was taken from the parapet of the circus, created about 1760. The label in the Museum of Bath Architecture reads, "By placing acorns along the top of the Circus, John Wood was making references to both Bladud (the mythical founder of Bath who discovered the healing hot waters), as well as to the Druids, who were the 'Princes of the Hollow Oak'...The Circus...inspired by ancient stone circles."

This aerial shot of The Royal Crescent (Photo by
Jonathan Lucas - English wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6187720) shows the elegant sweep of the lawn and the graceful curve of the terrace of houses.

Eliminate the cars and paving, add some green to the grass, and you can easily see the unique qualities of the Royal Crescent in 2018, above, and in old prints below. The Royal Crescent was built by John Wood the Younger, begun in 1767 and completed in 1775. Comprised of 30 individual houses, it is five hundred feet long with 114 Ionic columns.

Note that however harmonious and identical the facades appear in the front, the backs of the buildings vary greatly. It is something of a shocker when you walk around to the back, as you can see in this picture from wikipedia.

Here is another aerial photograph showing the Circus and the Royal Crescent in relationship to one another, down one short stretch of Brock Street. The photo is by
M. Caine http://www.icons-multimedia.com

Queen's Square, built by John Wood the Elder, was begun in 1728 and completed in 1736. Visit Bath writes, "It marks the beginning of his development of the upper town and is a key part of the formal grouping with the Circus and the Royal Crescent.The focal point of the square is the obelisk, with its inscription by Alexander Pope. It was erected by Beau Nash in 1738 in honour of a visit by Frederick, Prince of Wales. The obelisk used to have a needle point, but it was blunted after being struck by lightning in the 1830s."

Queen Square is a popular meeting point and often filled with students, tourists, children, and other residents. The north side of the square, No. 24, is now the office complex of a firm of solicitors and its elegance has been entirely preserved.

Queen Square, north terrace, by William Watts in 1819, Victoria Art Gallery

The elegance continues around the square, and here you would find another firm of solicitors.

And below, the South side of Queen Square where the St. Francis Hotel was my home away from home. On the interior walls, the wallpaper honored the local architecture and the architects and residents of the building.

Just south of Queen Square, I noticed this. The Beau Nash House is now an Italian Restaurant (very good food, BTW). Richard Nash (1674-1761) was the Master of Ceremonies in Bath for many decades and as responsible as any other individual for the growth of the city as a fashionable Georgian destination.

When I first beheld Bath, I thought the building in the picture below was a travesty. Now known as the Empire Hotel, it was then, decades ago, blackened with years of soot, one of the dingiest of the Victorian monstrosities found all over England -- certainly it did not belong in Bath. It was built in 1899-1901, as a hotel, and such it remained until 1939 when it was taken for the war effort by the Admiralty. Were they to launch aircraft carriers on the Avon? Reports say it was used to sort postal materials. After 1995, when it was given up by the government, it was restored, cleaned and turned into apartments and hotel accommodations, achieving Grade II listing. I still think it sticks out like a sore thumb in Georgian Bath, but there it is, hard by the graceful Pulteney Bridge designed by Robert Adam.

Robert Adam's design has been more or less preserved over the years through various alterations and restorations to the Pulteney Bridge since it was built in 1774. Below, as pictured by Thomas Malton in 1785.

The Weir was constructed in 1968-82 on the river Avon.

The far side of the bridge becomes Great Pulteney Street, lined with terraces of homes of Bath stone. Below is the view from the opposite end, in the Holburne Museum in Sydney Gardens.

Views, below, of Great Pulteney Street and the fountain at Laura Place. The fountain was an addition to the street in the late 19th century.

Below, an 1812 print of the Paragon. Jane Austen's aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs. Leigh-Perrot (she of the supposedly stolen black lace), resided in The Paragon at #1 from 1797-1810.

The famous actress Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) lived in one of the houses in the Paragon, #33. She was born into the distinguished family of theatrical stars, the Kembles, and was particularly famed for her role as Lady Macbeth.

Sarah Siddons House 33, The Paragon

In the middle of The Paragon stands the Museum of Bath Architecture. It occupies the former Countess of Huntingdon Chapel. Lady Selina Hastings (1707-1791) built the chapel in 1765, one of the 64 Methodist chapels she created in Britain. The chapel, in Gothic revival style, is unusual in Bath. Lady Huntingdon, a friend of Horace Walpole, was a leader of evangelical and philanthropic causes.

The museum's displays all related to Bath's buildings, and provide text panels about their construction. Please click on the photos for larger versions.

What have I left out in my survey of Bath buildings? Why the baths, of course...coming soon.

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BATH ODDS AND ENDS

6/8/2019

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What have I left out of my long list of posts on Bath? Let's see. Architecture, Bits of History, Art Museums, Jane Austen, No. One Royal Crescent (see in the Archives August 8, 2018). But I haven't covered the Georgian Garden. Or my evening at the Theatre Royal. Or my relatives in the Bath Abbey.Thus the three subjects of this post.

The Georgian Garden is found behind #4, The Circus, access from a gravel walk leading from the Royal Crescent to Queen Square. The plan is similar to the original garden laid out after the completion of the house in 1761. Flower beds and gravel form a design chosen to be viewed from the house.

Though July, 2018, was very hot and dry, the garden was full of blooms. And a roller was left behind to show how it was maintained.

One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Bath in July 2018 was a poster for the performance of Oscar Wilde's play An Ideal Husband at the Theatre Royal.

I rushed right off to the box office, mere yards away from my hotel, and got a ticket. What a treat to see the Foxes -- and Susan Hampshire, Fleur in the long ago version of The Forsyte Saga on Masterpiece Theater.

The play was a delightful romp, with a contemporary message, of course, honoring the value of honesty and ethical behavior.
I was sure I remembered a memorial in Bath Abbey from a previous visit, a name similar to my married name. Certainly had to take another look.

Scads of visitors crowded the plaza between the Abbey, the Roman Baths and the Pump Room. And many filled the Abbey.

And there they were, a branch of the family that used the English spelling Henshaw, while the branch I married into followed the Anglo-Irish version Hinshaw.

If I remember correctly, the American Hinshaws arrived in the North Carolina foothills in the 17th century, but perhaps Jonathan and Mary were their distant cousins.

Adieu, Bath!

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JANE AUSTEN'S BATH

6/1/2019

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Jane Austen (1775-1817) visited Bath several times before her family moved to the city in 1801. She is widely believed to have disliked the city, though some scholars disagree. They believe she appreciated the lively social life she enjoyed in Bath.

Jane Austen spent time here at No. 13 Queen Square with her mother and brother Edward in 1799.

#1 Paragon, which may be where Jane's aunt and uncle Mr. and Mrs. Leigh-Perrot lived, though I understand the houses may have been re-numbered. Jane and her family stayed with their relatives when they first moved to Bath in 1801 while they looked for a house to lease. One assumes the street repairs were less colorful back in the day.

No. 4 Sydney Place, where Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra and her parents lived in Bath from 1801-1804. The house was directly across from Sydney Gardens, a pleasure park with the Sydney Hotel, now the Holburne Museum, the site of many social activities.

Breakfasts were served, as well as evenings with the trees lit by hundreds of lanterns. Below, the plan of the pleasure garden, 1810, generally following the example of London's pleasure gardens. The original name was Bath Vauxhall Garden.

Jane was known to be a keen walker so she probably enjoyed outings in the Gardens as well as all around the Bath region.

The Pump Room is pictured in 1804 in a print by John Claude Nattes. Everyone in Bath visited the Pump Room to drink from the King's Spring and to exchange pleasantries and gossip in an informal social setting.

It is lively today, probably quite different than it was in Jane's era. Now the pleasantries are likely to be centered upon tea and cakes while the visitors come from all over the planet and would not know each other, much less be able to share local gossip.

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1807), below, from wiki gallery, dated 1798 from The Comforts of Bath, his series of comical drawings of the city and its visitors.

Milsom Street in Jane Austen's day, above and photos from 2018, below. Everyone in Bath shops in Milsom Street, including the characters in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, two Austen novels with many scenes set in Bath.

When Jane Austen attended balls in Bath, she could go to either the Lower or the Upper Rooms where social events were held. However, the Lower Rooms which overlooked the Parade Gardens, had disappeared by the 1930's. The Assembly Rooms, now run by the National Trust, were opened in 1771.

The Assembly Rooms in 1818, looking much the same as they do two hundred years later in 2018, below.

The Assembly Rooms can be visited most days. After years of neglect and damage in WWII, they were restored to their former opulence, The Fashion Museum occupies the lower level.

Bath Abbey has been standing in the city since the 7th century. Once part of a Benedictine monastery, it has been an Anglican church since the time of Henry VIII. It is a dominating structure in central Bath, but I could find no evidence Jane Austen ever worshiped here, or indeed, even visited though it seems inevitable that her curiosity would have led her inside.

Perhaps the Austens worshiped at St. Swithin's Walcot, the site of an older church where Reverend Mr. George Austen married Cassandra Leigh in 1764. The present church was built a few years later, consecrated in 1777. Its churchyard is where Rev. Austen is buried.

Time has worn away most of the inscription on the gravestone of George Austen, 1731-1805. The plaque below helps the visitor.

More wanderings in Bath are in store for this blog, soon.

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BATH'S VICTORIA ART GALLERY

5/25/2019

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On previous visits to Bath, I never entered the Victoria Art Gallery. Despite liking its name (!), I thought the contents might be rather bland. However, I found it a lively place celebrating all sorts of art projects for the community as well as exhibiting its collection.

Guess who presides over this entrance?

Not to be outdone by a female, Henry VIII (1491-1547) faces the gallery.

Sir Cloudesley Shovell sculpted about 1716 by Francis Bird. Shovell spent his life in H.M.Navy, reaching the status of Admiral of the Fleet. One wonders if his amusing name fueled his ambition.

As often in those days, George III was portrayed in a Roman toga with a circlet of laurel leaves by sculptor Peter Turnerelli in 1812.

Here is Charles Brudenell-Bruce (1773-1856), painted in 1779, before he was 'breeched,' that is, began wearing boys' clothing. Later he became the 1st Marquess of Ailesbury. The artist was William Hoare, a kinsman, and portraitist of many Bath residents.

The young woman with a cat is Miss Sophia Dumergue (1768-1831) painted by Johann Zoffany in 1780-81.

This kind of emotional, rather morbid, picture is exactly what I expected here. The Bride in Death was painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1839. Below is a typically charming late Victorian canvas, The Watersplash by Henry Herbert La Thangue, 1900.

The museum also has a fine collection of glassware, china, and Wedgewood, much of it originating in the period of Bath's heyday, the mid to late 18th century and into the Victorian era.

More Bath soon...

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THE HOLBURNE ART MUSEUM IN BATH

5/18/2019

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Settling into my cool and comfy room in the Francis Hotel, Queen Square, I mapped out my agenda for the days ahead of me. I have visited Bath many times, but at last I was alone, and could indulge myself with visits limited only by my own energy. Very selfish and highly recommended!

What is now the Holburne Museum was, in the early 19th century, the Sydney Hotel catering to Bath visitors and a center for numerous entertainments in the Sydney Gardens.

The above view shows the back of the Sydney Hotel, c. 1804, a venue for dining concerts and balls, in Sydney Gardens, which opened about 1795. Fireworks, balloon ascensions, acrobats, and other entertainments were held frequently. The grounds included a labyrinth, bridle paths, canals, and gardens.

From a 1st floor gallery, the view down Great Pulteney Street to the bridge over the Avon.;

The man for whom the museum is named is Sir William Holburne (c.1793-1874). painted by Charles Jagger, 1827. Near the painting is Holburne's Trafalgar medal, earned in the battle in 1805, when he served on HMS Orion, hardly more than a child. In later years, he inherited a baronetage and lived with his sisters in Cavendish Crescent, Bath, where they exhibited their art collection and added to it over the years. It is the nucleus of the Holburne Museum collection.

Sir William Holburne's aunt Catherine Holburne Cussans (1753-1834) was painted by John Hoppner about 1790. Some of her own collections are included in the holdings of the museum.

A fine selection of paintings from the Georgian Era can be found in the main galleries. The fortepiano, c. 1795, is by Johann Schantz (1762-1828) of Vienna, one of only four to have survived from the workshop of the Schantz Brothers favored by Haydn among many others. It is used freuently for concerts by ensembles ad soloists performing 18th century works.

George Stubbs (1724-1806) painted Robert Carter Thelwall and His Family in 1776. The Rev. Mr. Thelwall, with his wife Charlotte and their daughter before his church, St. Andrews in Lincolnshire.

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1799) painted Lady in a Blue Cloak about 1765. As the label states, "He painted silks, lace, and trimmings with a skill that made them as much a feature of his portraits as the sitter's likeness."

Gainsborough also painted Louisa Skrine, Lady Clarges (1760-1809), at age eighteen for her husband Sir Thomas Clarges in the year after their marriage. The single-action harp in front of the picture was created by Sebastin Erard in 1802 and sold to a lady in Dublin for £75 12s.

This sketch of Arthur Atherly (1772-1844) ) by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was created as a study for the finished portrait now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (below). The sitter was nineteen and the artist was just three years older.

Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1791
Arthur Atherley as an Etonian

© Los Angeles County Museum of Art

In keeping with its Georgian roots, the Holburne also exhibits fine silver from the period. Exquisite workmanship characterized the art of this time, from the smallest miniature to the largest mural.

A selection of miniatures, all of unidentified subjects, were created in the period 1785 to 1800. From the top down, all watercolour on ivory, the artists are Richard Cosway (1742-1821), George Engleheart (1752-1829), Nathaniel Plimer (1757-1822), and John Boge (1746-1803).

The snuff boxes were carried by gentlemen (and ladies such as Queen Charlotte, who was known to be a frequent user). The top one is French, c. 1770, and the bottom one is Italian, c. 1825.

Often found on the reverse of miniatures of deceased loved ones, hairwork was a specialty of some artists, using locks clipped from a beloved. What might seem morbid to us today was raised to the heights of fashionable mourning in the Regency and Victorian periods.

A "Bourdaloue with dragon mounts" is a lady's chamberpot with later additions of bronze gilt feet and a liner. Inside it says, "Aux Plaisirs des Dames" or 'For the lady's pleasure.' The label assures us that Sir William Hamilton did not suspect the vessel's original purpose when he bought it. Do you believe that? Hmmmm. The decoration on the outside is based on a painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau, famed French artist,

Browsing the Holburne Museum at my leisure was a delightful treat on a warm sunny afternoon. More wanderings in Bath are to come.

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More of Bath and the 2018 JASNA Tour

5/11/2019

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The Assembly Rooms were once known as the Upper Assembly Rooms, but since the Lower Rooms long ago were demolished, the National Trust calls this building the Assembly Rooms, period. They are used for a wide variety of purposes and house the Fashion Museum on the lower level.

Our Guide, Marian Bacon, who knew All Things Bath, not to mention all things Jane Austen. She led us with charm, grace, and efficiency through our adventures.

The Ballroom was all set up for a meeting, a far cry form its heyday, as below portrayed by Cruikshank in 1799 and below that, a view by Thomas Rowlandson. These two are renowned as caricaturists of the period and certainly viewed what today appears to be the elegance of Bath with their tongues firmly in cheeks.

The Tea Room as it appeared in the 18th century and below, the Card Room today.

We actually had tea in the Tea Room, but I was so busy enjoying the experience, I forgot about my camera.

This plan of the Assembly Rooms pops up on a variety of sites, and I can't remember from which I 'borrowed' it.

The Fashion Museum hosts changing exhibitions of fashions from the 18th to the 21st centuries. A special exhibition showed clothing worn by several recent and current royal women. Below, a mauve gown worn by Queen Alexandra (1844 - 1925).

I had to admit the dress below right, worn by Princess Margaret (1930-2002) reminded me of a prom dress I once had. But I would never have worn a gown like the one on the left, which looks like a Hospital Candy-Striper at the ball. I am laughing at how much the spellcheck wants to make that stripper!

After that lame joke, I think I shall close and wait for new inspiration for further Bath jaunts.

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A Repairing Lease in Bath...

5/4/2019

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What more perfect way to conclude a trip to Jane Austen's England than a week in Bath? Here on the River Avon we finished our 2018 JASNA tour. After the rest of our group went off to the airport, I settled in for a few days exploring at leisure and finishing a project I had saved for the ambiance of the lovely Francis Hotel on Queen Square.

We toured all the usual sights.

The Roman Baths: Aqua Sulis

Great Pulteney Street.

One of the many spots in the hills overlooking the city where the views are delightful.

The Royal Crescent. Note the dry grass, in that hot dry summer of 2018.

The Upper Assembly Rooms.

In the evening, we attended a Society Soiree, with a number of our ladies in their Regency gowns, held at Sir Walter Elliot's House, 95 Sydney Place.

We had wine and nibbles in the garden, which clearly shows higgeldy piggeldy arrangement of the backs of these houses, which are so perfectly matched as terraces on the street side.

We enjoyed a musicale and a lovely buffet. Miss Cholmondeley and Mr. Featherstonehaugh entertained us and it was indeed "good company."

We noted the boots in the foyer as we made our adeius.

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A QUAINT INN

4/27/2019

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The George Inn, located in Norton St. Philip, Somerset, claims to be England's oldest continuously operating inn. On the 2018 JASNA tour of England, we stopped here for a refreshing drink. And because a scene from the 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion was filmed here.

Captain Wentworth and Anne at breakfast in The George Inn. Most of the film was shot in Bath, only a dozen or so miles away.

No, none of the film was shot here, but you could book this room if you visited.

Here is the sign on the outside. And below, one on the inside.

As you can see above, The George Inn claims to be England's oldest pub, but if you google the term, you will find some from before the 12th century. Perhaps it is the "continuously" aspect they rely upon. Whatever, it has a fascinating history, also on an interior sign.

Now, of course, I wish I had purchased that book.
Nevertheless, it is a charming and scenic spot.

I could definitely see myself at this window-side table with a blazing fire across the room, writing up a storm. And locking the manuscript away in this lovely old desk.

And for a little fresh air, I could take a hike among the areas many pathways.

But instead, I boarded our comfy bus with my fellow Janeites to finish our trip from Lyme Regis to Bath. Spoiler alert: I got a lot of writing done in Bath! As you will soon see.

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VANITY FAIR ON AMAZON PRIME: BRAVA!!

4/20/2019

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Usually I am quick to jump on the carousel when I hear of a Waterloo-related film or mini-series. But I must have been asleep because I totally missed out on the announcements of the new Amazon Prime series VANITY FAIR, based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackery, originally published as a multi-episode serial in 1847-48.

Olivia Cooke stars as Becky Sharpe, one of English literature's most intriguing characters, the heroine you love to hate or hate to love, either way. The seven-part series began in September 2018 and is available on Amazon Prime. Go directly to your tv and do whatever is necessary to find it. You can always binge watch on a free trial membership, I suppose.

Becky schemes to raise herself in the corrupt, shallow, and hypocritical Society of Regency England, searching for a husband who can afford her ambitions. Above she is greeting her school friend Amelia Sedley, played by Claudia Jessie, and Amelia's sweetheart George Osborne, played by Charlie Rowe.

One of my favorite British actors, Martin Clunes (of Doc Martin), is cast as the obnoxious Sir Pitt Crawley, a baronet who brings Becky to his household as a governess and has designs on her himself.

Becky, however, marries Rawdon Crawley, son of Sir Pitt, which enrages their rich relative, Miss Matilda Crawley, endangering Becky's plans for a rich and comfortable life.

Sir Pitt, Matilda (Frances de la Tour), Becky, Rawdon (Tom Bateman)...this quartet is not even slightly harmonious, as this picture might infer.

Complicating the personal stories of the characters, now in Brussels, the war continues...and concludes with the Battle of Waterloo.

Peace brings only more complications and skulduggery.

Presiding over the vanity fair is the ever-delightful Michael Palin, who provides the context for this tale of unscrupulous ambition, greed, immorality, and--spoiler alert--no happy endings

The costumes, as you have seen above, are outstanding...as are the settings. The Sedley home is located in London and is played by a townhouse in Fitzroy Square, one of the few places in the metropolis where you can absolutely FEEL the Regency still alive.

Marble Hill House, in Richmond, within Greater London, serves as the residence of Miss Matilda Crawley...by the way, the film refers to her as Lady Matilda, but in the novel she is a 'mere' Miss. Marble Hill House has a fascinating history in itself, one I shall explore with you soon. Below, Rawdon tends to his Aunt Matilda in the lavish bedchamber.

The setting for Sir Pitt's house is West Horsley Place in Sussex.

Vanity Fair has been filmed many times. One reason might be that Becky Sharp is such a wonderful, dastardly character that actresses beg to play the role. Until I saw this version, my favorite starred Natasha Little and was produced in six episodes in 1998. I recommend this version too, for once you experience Vanity Fair, you will want to do it again!

With a screenplay by Andrew Davies, you know it is going to be excellent!

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Victoria Hinshaw, Author

Here I will share some of my articles on favorite topics, such as English Country Houses, the Regency Royals, Jane Austen, and the like. Some of these articles have been published elsewhere, probably on the blog I share with Kristine Hughes and Louisa
Cornell: numberonelondon.net