Jane Austen Fans Celebrate the Beloved English Author's 250th Birthday

0:00Today on State of the World, Jane Austen fans are marking her 250th birthday. You're listening to State of the World from NPR, the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Friday, August 1st. I'm Christine Arismeth. The beloved English author's birthday is actually in December, but already across Britain this year, there are celebrations marking the special anniversary, all in true Regency-era style. NPR's Robbie Griffiths slipped on his tailcoat and headed to a Georgian costume ball in the city of St Albans.

0:44It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that every Jane Austen fan must attend a Regency dance. Or at least that's the feeling it's an Albans museum and gallery, just outside London, and a short carriage ride away from the setting for Jane Austen's most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. Tonight, it's hosting a Georgian costume ball, and most people are attired 17th century style. Ladies in full-length gowns and gentlemen in tailcoats. The guests are being taught to dance a quadrille by Libby Curzon, who runs a company called Mrs Bennett's Ballroom, named after one of Austen's characters. She says that in Jane Austen's day, and in her books, people were expected to know the steps before they came to a dance like this.

1:24You wouldn't have had somebody like me telling them what to do on the night. They would have all been expected to know what to do and it would have been really shocking if you made a mistake during the dance. One person not making any mistakes is Gauri Davies, accompanied on the dance floor by her husband, Peter. Gauri rereads Jane Austen books every year. She loves the stories and the heroines. I think that she really gets to the heart of romance. She talks about different classes, different amounts of privilege, people coming from different family backgrounds, and all of those themes are still so relevant today.

1:59Relevant and celebrated. All year across Britain, parties like this one are being held to mark 250 years since Austin was born. And Americans are joining in too. The Jane Austen Society of North America has 2 ,000 members, its own events in the US and Canada, and runs tours in England. The Society's president, Mary Mintz, says that visiting Jane Austen's house in Chawton to see the desk where she wrote her books is especially powerful. You can see her writing table there. and now that's where these incredible novels that have endured for so long were composed. Jane Austen wasn't famous in her lifetime.

2:35All of her novels were published anonymously. But today her face appears on British£10 notes, wearing a lace bonnet, and her work is everywhere. Mr Doss? Miss Bennet? I did not expect to see you. This is a much-loved BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. But Austen's influence isn't only in remakes. Her books have hugely influenced the modern romantic comedy genre, with new stories inspired by Austen constantly released around the world. John Mullen is Professor of English at University College London, and author of the book What Matters in Jane Austen. He says that while some might dismiss Austen as merely a romance writer, she's one of the literary greats.

3:13I think only Shakespeare compares to her in this respect, that however often you've read one of her novels, when you read it again it's like a whole rediscovery and you see things which aren't in your head they're on the page they're in her invention that you hadn't noticed before.

3:35At the St Albans Ball some people are hoping to make a match taking inspiration from Austin's heroine Elizabeth Bennett. Dance teacher Libby Curzon says the events can be very romantic. Some couples have met and even married thanks to these dances. It's a sort of flirty, flirtation thing. You've got to give eye contact because you've got to know who you're approaching. So it helps those little, you know, Cupid's arrows, I suppose. Cast to the bottom. She thinks that's just what Jane Austen would have wanted, 250 years after she was born. Here we go. Take the ladies round. All the ladies. Robbie Griffiths, NPR News, St Albans And the gentlemen go

4:27Who says

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