“Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?” — Catherine Morland, “Northanger Abbey”

I’m wandering along the creaking, polished-oak floorboards of the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England, lured by the promise of an eye-to-eye encounter with the famed author.

To young Austen, born in 1775 in a remote, pastoral backwater, Bath, some 60 miles away, seemed a city full of cosmopolitan wonderment, with glamorous parties, balls and shops.

Even before settling in the city, she’d written enthusiastically about the delights and possibilities Bath offered. This was to change. After five years living here, the realities of early 19th-century high-society convention soon began to jar. She found the ostentations disagreeable and oppressive, and that sharpened both her mind and pen. Biting satire began to fill her books: witty, scathing attacks on the upper crust. It’s no surprise that in her final novel, “Persuasion,” her most unlikable characters take the greatest pleasures in Bath. To her, they were ripe for parody, and she didn’t hold back.

Whatever she thought of the people, there’s no denying that Bath is a truly elegant place. The Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street is housed in one of hundreds of symmetrical townhouses built during the mid-18th century from the local, honey-colored stone.

Austen lived in a number of similar properties, but not this one. After her father’s death, Austen’s family did, however, take rooms in a similar house just up the street at number 25, which has since become a posh dental office.

On a recent visit to the center, I found costumed staff, assuming the names of Austen’s characters, hovering about, clearly loving their subject. As I passed through I learned that the author was not only a groundbreaking writer but also made beer and wine.

The museum’s latest acquisition is a waxwork replica of Austen. Guide “Georgiana Darcy” tells me that the 5-foot-7-inch tall figure was created from portraits and descriptions of the author as drawn by FBI forensic artist Melissa Dring. The figure was fashioned by royal sculptor Mark Richards.

“After 200 years, it’s the closest resemblance we’ve had of Austen,” said the guide playing a character from Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice.” “I didn’t think she would be that tall and always imagined her hair to be darker.”

At the exit, “Mr. Bennet,” the main character’s father in “Pride and Prejudice,” dressed in full Regency costume, dutifully guards the door. He’s a rather well-padded and ruddy-cheeked fellow who reveals a warm smile from between gray, feral sideburns. He’s the man to go to for all things regarding the Regency period in Bath, especially when it comes to etiquette and dancing. He enthusiastically talks of his other role as a ballroom dancing master of ceremonies: “I teach the dances to beginners and explain the required etiquettes needed for any Regency ballroom event.”

An emcee during Austen’s time not only called the dances but also was responsible for making proper introductions to potential suitors.

“You have to remember, too, that during the early 1800s, we had the Napoleonic Wars, and eligible men were overseas and in short supply here,” Mr. Bennet said. “It was vital that anyone in search of a suitable husband behaved correctly.”

He’s an especially busy man at the moment, with the 14th annual Jane Austen Festival running from Friday to Sept. 21. Thousands of enthusiasts have descended on Bath to attend dances, listen to Austen lectures and readings and take part in a promenade, hoping to break the Guinness world record for the largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costumes.

I head for a location that plays a big part not only in Austen’s writings but also in Bath’s entire existence. The Pump Room was the undisputed social go-to for any member of the Georgian fashionable elite at the time. In “Northanger Abbey,” Austen makes regular mention of the place: “Every morning now brought its regular duties; shops were to be visited; some new part of the town to be looked at; and the Pump-Room to be attended, where they paraded up and down for an hour, looking at everybody and speaking to no one.”

Opened the year of Austen’s birth, this elegant, high-ceilinged ballroom now houses a restaurant. As it was then, the place is bustling as afternoon tea is served amid the genteel tones of chamber music.

For an escape from this quintessential Englishness, I visited the Roman spa and museum housed directly beneath the Pump Room. The ancient bathing areas still hold the warm sulfurous water that has lured visitors for the past two millennia. The museum exhibits and Roman remains are mesmerizing.

Austen wasn’t born or even buried in Bath, but her time in the city was to profoundly shape her life. Her finger-pointing, satirical writing aimed squarely at the upper classes still delights millions today. What would she have thought of all her fans packing the city’s festival to celebrate her life in all their Regency finery?

David Cawley is a freelance writer who lives in England.

Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England• The Jane Austen Festival (www.janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk) in Bath, England, runs Sept. 12 through Sept. 21, 2014. The town will be packed for the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade at 11 a.m. Saturday; allow extra travel time to get to the parade starting point. (Participants will be trying to set a Guinness world record for the greatest gathering of people wearing Regency-era dress (find clothing instructions at the festival website).

Next year’s festival dates are Sept. 11 to Sept. 20.

• The Jane Austen Centre website is www.janeausten.co.uk; phone (+44) (0) 1225 443000.

• Tourism board website and free accommodation booking service: www.visitbath.co.uk; (+44) (0)844 8475257. This is also the ticket office and starting point for leisurely Jane Austen-themed walks through the city that take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m.

• Getting there: Bristol has the closest international airport and offers flights from Berlin with Easyjet (www.easyjet.com), plus Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich with BMI Regional (www.bmiregional.com).

There is regular, direct train service between London Paddington station and Bath. Website:www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk.

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