Tag: Internships

An Austen Intern Reports in from The Jane Austen Centre: Week 15 Farewell!

Virginia Claire Tharrington and Jane Austen (statue) at the Jane Austen Centre, Bath (2008)

It has been a wonderful adventure, but Jane Austen Centre intern Virginia Claire Tharrington reports in for the last time before she departs for home in the US. Please give her a big hand and lots of thank you comments  for her weeks of wonderful commentary and photos that we all have enjoyed during these past three months!

By the time this blog is posted I will be on a plane home to the US. I truly can’t believe that my time in Bath is over. It feels like I have been here forever and yet at the same time it seems like I only left yesterday. This last week has revolved around turning in my dissertation, packing and saying good bye to everyone in my program and at the Jane Austen Centre. Here is a quick rundown of my days

Tuesday I was so excited to turn in my dissertation which ended up being 79 pages!! I cant believe I wrote that much. The body of the paper was only was about 39 pages and the rest was appendixes. (In which I included all of these articles I have been writing!). My dissertation was on Jane Austen adaptations and after I turned it in we of course went home and watched Pride and Prejudice, though I will never be able to fully enjoy and adaptation again without analyzing and critiquing it.

Virginia with the staff of the Jane Austen Centre (2008)

Virginia and the staff of the Jane Austen Centre at her farewell dinner.
L to R Virginia, Donna, Glynis, Terry, Chris, Clare, Sue and Judith.

Wednesday I had my Jane Austen exam which is the first exam that I can ever say I enjoyed writing. After my exam I went to the Jane Austen Centre to guide for the afternoon and then go out to dinner. We had such a wonderful dinner at the Italian restaurant next door. There were 9 of us from the Centre  and we had a fantastic dinner.

Chris, Virginia and Clare (Austen Centre staff)

Virginia (center) with Chris and Clare from the Austen Centre

I truly felt so loved in leaving dinner because everyone was so sweet and thoughtful to me. One of the highlights of this semester for me has been getting to know everyone at the Jane Austen Centre. They are too good to me and gave me so many wonderful gifts including a first edition copy of the Watson because that was what she started in Bath.

Virginia Claire Tharrington and Jackie Herring, Director of the Jane Austen Centre (2008)

Virginia and the Jane Austen Centre Director Jackie Herring

Thursday was my last day guiding at the Centre and I gave an excellent final talk yet avoided giving one after close to all the staff. Jackie was threatening me because none of the staff had heard my talk but luckily I didn’t have to because I would have been either really scared or laughing hysterically all throughout the talk.

Virginia Claire Tharrington and a close friend (2008)

Virginia and a close friend

After I carried Jane in for the last time (the statue out front of the Centre) I went home to pack up all my life here in Bath and get ready to head home.

Friday was a busy day full of packing, prepping and weighing my bags trying to keep them under weight yet to no avail. I just have too much stuff to pack, but I guess it is worth it. I have so much wonderful stuff from the Centre and all over England. We had our final ASE tea which was so lovely and internship coordinator teared up when I was talking to him. Of course I stopped by the Centre to tell everyone bye and to take a few more pictures! I will miss them all so much!

I can’t believe how fast the semester has gone and how much has happened. It feels almost surreal that I have been here for 3 1/2 months. I have learned so much about Jane Austen and about myself. I never thought I would have the guts to leave home and go abroad for the semester yet I did and it has been the best experience. Jane Austen has brought me to Bath and it has been so rewarding. I have gained confidence, as a public speaker and as a Jane Austen student. I have been giving introductory talks since September 18th and have been improving witheach one. I think what I have really gained most from the Centre was the experience of working with such wonderful and knowledgeable people. Each person in the Centre brings something new and different to the group which makes is so refreshing to know so many of them. They do not all fit into the mold of Janeites, yet they do all fit into the mold of passionate people. I have tried to reach out to everyone I work with and get to know them. The most wonderful part is that they all have reached out to me as well.

“Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is  your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.“ Henry Ford

I think this Henry Ford quote perfectly expresses what I have learned at the Jane Austen Centre. Passion is so important to everything we undertake. It can make something dull seem exciting and something trite seems exhilarating. I have tried to be enthusiastic about every task I undertake at the Jane Austen Centre weather it be shredding old files, giving talks or working in the gift shop. Being at the Jane Austen Centre brightens my day. I enjoy my time there not because of any one particular person or thing, but just the fact that I am surrounded by passionate people who I can talk about Jane Austen with.

Being able to grow in my knowledge of Jane Austen has been one of the highlights of my time in Bath. I have learned so much about her life and times. We do not have a lot of information about Jane Austen but perhaps one of the best ways to get to know her is through her novels. This I have been doing by re-reading all her works for class. I have gotten so much pleasure out of each them but the best part is that I have really enjoyed books, like Mansfield Park andNorthanger Abbey which use to give me trouble. In studying these two works more in-depth I have been able to see them as hidden gems.  Mansfield Parkparticularly I have found very enjoyable and yet not for any specific reason. I do not love the hero or heroine like I do FitzwilliamDarcy and Elizabeth Bennet, or I am engrossed with the Crawfords either. What I have found to be so enticing about re-reading this novel is that each time I have, I get something new and different out of it. Mansfield Park is not about any central character but rather the interpersonal relationships between this seemingly tight knit group of people, who come to find out that they do not know one another at all. My knowledge of Austen has grown so much through reading about her life, listening to talks and being at the Centre.

Virginia Claire Tharrington at the Jane Austen Festival (2008)

Virginia in Regency attire at the Jane Austen Festival (2008)

Studying Jane Austen in Bath has shown me that enthusiasm for a subject is essential. I love Jane Austen and her writings and hope that my time in Bath may lead me to pursue her further in my studies.  I have a passion sharing Austen with others and always want people to see the brilliance and humor of her writings. I think I have met with every project enthusiastically that the Centre has given me. Being there has shown me so much about what I am capable of, if I love what I am doing. I can write 12,000 words with ease, or talk to strangers for 20 minutes with excitement because I love what I am doing. Being the intern at the Jane Austen Centre has allowed me to explore my passions in a way that no other place could and I will have fond memories of it for the rest of my life. I have tried to live by the famous line from Northanger Abbey, “If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village she must seek them aboard“. I have done this at the Jane Austen Centre. Jane Austen brought me to Bath and it is because of her that I have enjoyed everything so much. I would also like to thank my boss at the Centre Jackie Herring for everything she has done for me this semester in allowing me to intern at the Centre and help at the festival and Andrew Butterworth my internship coordinator for ASW who helped me secure the internship and worked with me thought out everything.

The Jane Austen Centre logoUntil Next semester then! CHERRIO and OUT!

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

You can read all of Virginia’s previous reports in the Austen Intern archives

Our most sincere thanks to Virginia for reporting to us on her experience at the Jane Austen Center and traveling in England. It has been such a delight to be included in her adventure. We are quite certain that Catherine Morland has approved! Please join Virginia next semester when she continues to chat with us about Jane Austen during her college studies in North Carolina.

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An Austen Intern Reports in from The Jane Austen Centre: Week 13

Virginia Claire and Buck Tharrington, Bath, England (2008)

Virginia Claire and brother Buck Tharrington at the Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

The advenure continues as intern Virginia Claire Tharrington reports in on her experience at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England.

A Brother Comes and learns about Jane

My brother Buck came this week to visit me in Bath with our family friend Matt. It was so wonderful to see them and show them around Bath. On Monday they came to the Jane Austen Centre to see me and hear my introductory talk. It went over very well. We did not have many people which was probably good because it was not my best talk. Every time I looked at my brother he was either pretending to be asleep on Matt’s shoulder, or covering is mouth with his guide so I could not see him busting out laughing. Needless to say, it was a little distracting but I just stopped looking at him and got it done. The boys did say I did do a good job which was nice of them considering I know they are not that interested in Jane Austen… but they should be. Matt is reading Pride and Prejudice in class so I have been talking to him about that which was cool.

The Royal Crescent, Bath England taken by Bryan26 at Flickr

The Royal Crescent, Bath, England*

I also took the boys on a semi Jane Austen walking tour which they ended up enjoying more than I thought they would. We started at the Royal Crescent, then walked the gravel walk like in Persuasion, after that we took a picture with Martin at the Jane Austen Centre.

Buck, Martin & Matt at the Jane Austen Centre, Bath (2008)

Buck, Martin & Matt at the Jane Austen Centre

Virginia visiting Jane Austen's home at 4 Sydney Place, Bath (2008)

Virginia visiting Jane Austen’s former home at 4 Sydney Place, Bath

We then walked across town to see Jane Austen’s house at 4 Sydney Place and to look in the Pump Rooms. They liked walking around and seeing all the places. I don’t know if it was because I told them that if they walk around to Jane Austen place with me that I would let them go shopping for soccer jerseys or if they were just really interested in Jane Austen in Bath. For some reason I think it might have had something to do with bribery.

Pump-room, Bath (2008)

Pump-room, Bath, England

Austen is all around Bath and I went on a Jane Austen walking tour a few weeks ago, which allowed me to show the boys all the different places. Terry from the Jane Austen Centre is in charge of all the walking tours and does a great job with them. I love Mondays because Terry always works and I always feel like I learn a lot from him. The walking tour includes the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms, the Circus and several other places scattered around Bath. I also went to see George Austen’s grave at St. Swithin’s Church.

Virginia at St. Swithin's Church, Bath (2008)

Virginia at St. Swithin’s Church, Bath

Rev. George Austen's grave, St. Swithin's Churchyard, Bath The inscription on his grave stone reads…

“Under this stone rests the remains of

the Revd. George Austen

Rector of Steventon and Deane in Hampshire

who departed this life

the 1st. of January 1805

aged 75 years.”

Having my brother Buck here this week has been so amazing because I was able to share Bath with him and Matt. I was also very glad to show them Jane Austen’s Bath because I think it is important to show guys that Jane Austen is not just reading for girls. I hope that Buck will read Pride and Prejudice next year and that Matt will enjoy it in the next couple of weeks. We will see. Matt at least told me that he liked Elizabeth and thought Darcy was a jerk… but he isn’t through the book yet. I will be sad to see the boys go tomorrow but I might be able to get some work done after they leave. I have been working on my dissertation on Jane Austen adaptations but I need to get most of it done this next week!

The Jane Austen Centre logoTill next time! CHERRIO

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

Read Virginia’s other reports in the Austen Intern Archives

*Photo of The Royal Crescent by Bryan26 at Flickr

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An Austen Intern Reports in from The Jane Austen Centre: Week 9

The advenure continues as intern Virginia Claire Tharrington reports in on her experience at The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England.

Jane Austen goes abroad and comes back to Bath!

Last week was on mid-semester break so I was off to Amsterdam and Prague with my friends for the several days. But this week was not spent separated from Jane Austen. No, on the contrary I bring her where ever I go! So naturally I was not only reading Mansfield Park on my travels but also picking up copies of Pride and Prejudice in both Dutch and Czech. I am a collector of copies of Pride and Prejudice and though I have several copies in other languages I did not have one in Dutch or Czech. I thought it was very strange because it took me much longer to find a shop with P&P in it in Amsterdam than it did in Prague. Several of the book stores I went in Prague had the whole Austen set plus a biography while in Amsterdam it took me 3 days to find a store with just P&P. I thought it was remarkable that both copies had Keira Knightley on the cover. This was the only thing that bothered me because many people know how I dislike the newest version of P&P and that I hate that it gets referenced to the book. I guess little can be expected and that if someone sees the movies and then sees a book cover that makes them pick up and read the book then it may be ok but I cannot stand the movie taking the place of the book.

I think it is so amazing that Jane Austen is so international. She has been translated into countless languages and though I have several different languages, I know I am nowhere near the total number of translations. It is remarkable that so many people all over the world can be drawn to one English middle class woman writer who was writing about the English countryside and just a few families in it. But Jane is so much more than that I feel. She deals with timeless issues like love, family and money and I don’t know more significant themes for today’s world though we take them on very differently. Her wit is timeless as well as her irony. Though I cannot read Czech, I can tell you what, “Světem panuje skálopevné přesvědčení že svobodný muž který má slušné jmění, se neobejde bez ženušky“, means. It is one of the best lines in the literature, “It is a true universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” I guess it is universally acknowledge because this line has been translated to languages all over the world!

But now I am settled back in Bath with two new copies of Pride and Prejudice and very happy to be back at the Jane Austen Centre. I was home sick a little for the first time over break and I think that was because I was not at the Centre which feels so much like home while I am in Bath. I know it sounds cliché but the staff at the Centre is so wonderful and I enjoy being around them so much that it really feels like a little family.  Being back has been wonderful though we have been very busy because of half term in the schools. Some of my housemates have started to come to the Centre to hear my talk and take the tour, though they have all heard my talk because I practiced on them before I started giving them at the Centre. The girls really enjoyed my talk and then we went up and had a lovely snack in the tea rooms before going down to the exhibition. All and all, it has been good to be home in Bath and back at the Jane Austen Centre, though when I go abroad Jane comes with me ; ).

Cheers until next week.

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

Read Virginia’s previous reports in the Austen Intern archives

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An Austen Intern Reports in from The Jane Austen Centre: Week 8

The ultimate Austen adventure continues with our featured weekly columnist, Virginia Claire Tharrington straight from the trenches of Austen central, The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England where she is interning until December. Join her every Saturday as she shares with us her incredible adventure that every Janeite, and even Austen’s heroine Catherine Morland would envy.

I cannot believe my time in Bath is half way over. It seems like I only arrived here yesterday yet so much has happened between my arrival and now. I sometimes feel like a very different person though I know I haven’t changed that much I feel like I have only grown. I know my love and knowledge of Jane Austen has grown which I am very thankful for. Over the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about what I will be doing when I am done with my internship and studying abroad. I will be going home for my second semester of my junior year. It seems like college has flown by so quickly as well and I don’t know where it has all gone to. While I have been in Bath I have been thinking about what I want to do with my life and though I am not much closer to figuring it out definitely, I know I want it to involve Jane Austen. As I told my Jane Austen class in our first day, I cannot imagine my life without Jane. They all laughed and I do too looking back on the statement but then again… who or what would I be without Jane Austen, I am sure I do not know… although I know I would not be half so smart or witty without her  ; ). Of course there is a little tongue and cheek here but I really do think that Jane Austen has greatly impacted my life… she did bring me to Bath after all and that has done enough already.  Perhaps I will teach when I get done with school or perhaps I will go on to grad school. Everything is so up in the air right now but I do know that Jane Austen will be in my life for many years. : )

(On a less pouring out my soul note)

I have not been at the Jane Austen Centre this week because it was half term, but I did send them postcards from Amsterdam and Prague! I will have much more news next week when I am at the Centre again but until then know that Bath is beautiful but yet a little rainy and that everything is going well!

Cheers till next weekend!

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

Read Virginia’s previous reports in the Austen Intern archives

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An Austen Intern Reports in From The Jane Austen Centre: Week 7

The ultimate Austen adventure continues with our featured weekly columnist, Virginia Claire Tharrington straight from the trenches of Austen central, The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England where she is interning until December. Join her every Saturday as she shares with us her incredible adventure that every Janeite, and even Austen’s heroine Catherine Morland would envy.

This week has been another kind of quite one at the Jane Austen Centre. I have continued to give talks and work in the gift shop. The one major accomplishment of the week came yesterday when I gave my first talk without any notes. I wish I could say I decided to not take my notes up or that I had them with me and just found myself to not need them but neither are true. I had forgotten them so I was kinda forced to either give a talk or stand in front of a group of people and just stare at them. I choose to do the first as one would imagine and it went off very well. I found that my talk began to flow very easily from me and though I still struggle with a few transitions I have found it to be going much better. This week my study abroad coordinator from Meredith College was also visiting Bath because she and her husband have a house here so they came to hear my talk which I was very excited for them to hear because I wanted someone from home to know exactly what I have been up to these last six weeks. I do not think she was disappointed in the least with my talk and in fact she said that she pitied my Jane Austen teacher next semester because I would know so much.  I do feel like my knowledge of Jane Austen has grown and strengthened while I have been here. I think my knowledge of Austen has become more focused on her life and her time in Bath especially! She is a fascinating person no matter how you study her but I think by looking at her family and her letters you start to get a fuller picture of Jane.

The other project that I have been doing this week was to take a survey about how people found out about the Centre and to see if they were enjoying the tea rooms. The tea rooms were getting rave reviews with an average score or about 9 or so which I thought was very good. The tea rooms are a lovely spot. Jackie, Andrew and I were up there for my interview when I first started and it was lovely. I have not worked in them as some interns have but that is probably for the best of the tea rooms. I doubt I am the best waitress and I know I am not a good tea maker unless tea bags are included. I have enjoyed being up there though for events during the festival or a hen party that I worked at (a hen party is a mix between a bridal shower and a bachelorette party depending on the bride). The fun thing about the tea rooms is that they are run by a really nice girl named Sarah and the fact they have fun things like Darcy Millionaire shortbread cake and such. I think it just makes the Centre a little more special if you take tea there as well. I have been meaning to take tea up there but I feel bad skipping out on working to go have tea upstairs and I haven’t had my friends come visit me yet but when they come I will defiantly be taking them to our lovely regency tea rooms.

Cheers till next weekend! I am off to Amsterdam and Prague this next week for break and I don’t know how much Jane Austen I will be studying except reading Mansfield Park for class but perhaps I may pick up a couple copies of Pride and Prejudice for my collection.

Cheers until next week,

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

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An Austen Intern Reports in from The Jane Austen Centre: Week 6

Virginia Claire Tharrington with friends at Lyme Regis (2008)

The ultimate Austen adventure continues with our featured weekly columnist, Virginia Claire Tharrington straight from the trenches of Austen central, The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England where she is interning until December. Join her every Saturday as she shares with us her incredible adventure that every Janeite, and even Austen’s heroine Catherine Morland would envy.

Off to Lyme Regis…

This past weekend one of my house mates and I went to Lyme Regis. Jane Austen visited the town with her parents in 1804 and part of her beloved novel Persuasion is based in it. Lyme was such a wonderful picturesque fishing village we really enjoyed a nice weekend there. Getting to Lyme was not easy though because my friends and I took the wrong train and such which made us very late to check in, but our bed and breakfast was lovely.

Virginia & friends on the Granny Teeth steps on the Cobb, Lyme Regis

We got up on Saturday morning to good weather so we headed out to see the Cobb. This was the highlight of the trip for me because I got to walk along the top like they did in Persuasion. We loved going to the Cobb and walking though we almost got blown off the top. I can see why the women in Persuasion could not walk all the way out because it was to windy so they had to go down the stairs and that’s when Louisa’s spill took place. We also went to the aquarium that was run by this lovely old fisherman. I am pretty sure that he had just put fish that he caught in tanks and called it an aquarium, but he did have some nice pictures and stories of the filming of Persuasion. We took so many pictures on the 3 sets of stairs on the Cobb because in each version of the movie Persuasion they use a different set of stairs. I thought it was interesting that there is no real answer to what stairs Jane Austen was talking about. But I personally think the Granny Teeth steps were the ones that Jane might have been thinking of when writing.

View of Lyme Regis harbour from the park

We then went to the Jane Austen Gardens which were lovely. I had a copy of Persuasion with me so I of course had to read the Lyme section while I was in Lyme and in the park. We loved wondering through the gardens which had a wonderful view of the Cobb and the sea. We had a wonderful rest of the day walking around shopping in Lyme. The weather got a little rainy around tea time so my friends and I went back to our bed and breakfast and watched the 1980’s Pride and Prejudice which is my favorite because we were talking about Pride and Prejudice adaptations in Jane Austen class last week. They really enjoyed that version as well but don’t think it helped that I was reciting the lines with the movies.

Virginia at the The Jane Austen Gardens, Lyme Regis

This week at the Jane Austen Centre has been wonderful as well. I have been doing a lot more guiding which I think is really helping my confidence with public speaking. The people at the Centre are who make it so fantastic. I will be doing a survey tomorrow at the Centre and possibly dressing in Regency attire with a guy from my house. We will have to see if I can convince him to dress up with me.

My Jane Austen class is also going very well. We just finished Pride and Prejudice and now starting Mansfield Park which is nice since I haven’t studied it yet in class. We studied Northanger Abbey which was neat because since I live in Bath I pass Milson Street, the pump rooms and many other places that the novel mentions which really bring it to life.

Cheers till next week!

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

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An Austen Intern Reports In From The Jane Austen Centre: Week 4

The ultimate Austen adventure continues with our featured weekly columnist, Virginia Claire Tharrington straight from the trenches of Austen central, The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England where she is interning until December. Join her every Saturday as she shares with us her incredible adventure that every Janeite, and even Austen’s heroine Catherine Morland would envy.

This week has been so crazy. I spent the week in Oxford with my Advanced Studies in England program and stayed at University College which was amazing. The only downfall was that I was away from Bath during The Jane Austen Festival. Before I left, I did attend the promenade last Saturday and it was incredible. I got to dress up in full regency attire. I wore a flower dress with green and yellow flowers and an olive spenser.  Everyone from the Jane Austen Centre got dressed up as well and then we met at Bath Abbey. In addition to the Centre staff, naval and militia officers, there were more than 150 people promenading through a planned route. John White and Martin lead the procession and we were quite the spectacle. It was a lovely walk around Bath. We walked down Milson Street just like Catherine Morland would have done and up to Edgars Buildings where Isabella Thrope lived. Then we walked to the Circus where Admiral Croft took lodgings in Persuasion. While we were at the Circus we had some entertainment before moving on to the Royal Crescent. After the Royal Crescent we walked down the gravel walk just as Anne and Captain Wentworth did. After the group photo we moved on to Queen’s Square where we had a country fair. Jackie Herring the Centre’s director worked so hard on the fair and it went off beautifully. There were several venders selling everything from bonnets to military paraphernalia. There were many people at the fair from the community or who had just seen us promenading around the city.

Admiral Croft strolls the Promenade, The Jane Austen Festival (2008)

The Promenade at The Jane Austen Festival, Bath, England (2008)

Lace and finerie on the Promenade, The Jane Austen Festival, Bath, England (2008)

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to see everyone’s costumes and dresses. I was so impressed with many of the people who made their dresses. Many people also came from all over the world to attend the Festival. I have met several people from America and continental Europe. The BBC was also filming the festival for their show Countryfile. I can’t wait to see it when it comes on television in a few weeks.

A red coated Militia man ready for duty. Lydia Bennet would swoon!

Everyone in the Centre has been working so hard for the festival and I think it has been going beautiful.  Friday after I got back from Oxford and seeing Blenheim Palace I went to the Jane Austen Centre for an evening party. Everyone sat down to eat, play Loo, whist and other games popular in Regency times. We got to dress in Regency attire again. It was a lovely party and it made me very sad to think that most of the festival almost over.  Luckily I get to help with the rest of the weekend so I hope to keep everyone up to date on the goings on of the festival and the Jane Austen Centre.

Signing off until next week,

Virginia Claire Tharrington

Intern, The Jane Austen Centre, Bath, England

These stunning photos were generously provided by Owen Benson, who should consider a career as a professional photographer. View his Flickr gallery here.

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