Sawt Falasteen - Balls and parades to fete Jane Austen's 250th birthday

Quite how the author, born in the small Hampshire village of Steventon on December 16, 1775, has managed to entice and enchant readers for more than two centuries in an ever-changing world remains a mystery.

Who would have thought that quotes from her six novels and pages of writings would adorn T-shirts and badges in the 21st century?

And not just in the UK, for the author who wrote of love and manners in the early 19th century has inspired fans around the world and her writings remain just as fresh and relevant today.

"Her novels are really concerned with wider moral issues," said Kathryn Sutherland, an Austen researcher and professor at the University of Oxford.

People feel Austen "is accessible, even though she is great literature, and also that you can read her books many times and each time you find something new in them", she added.

Sutherland also acknowledged it was fabulously filmed TV series and movies, with their brooding male leads, which had brought Austen wider audiences in the past decades.

The author of classic novels "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility" had only just become known when she died on July 18, 1817, aged 41.

But her six novels, wittily and sharply dissecting the lives of 19th century rural aristocracy, have since sold millions of copies, led to film adaptations and inspired many other productions, from "Bridget Jones" to "Bridgerton".

- Austen balls sold out -

Hundreds of people are expected to don period costume and stroll through the elegant Georgian streets of Bath in September for the annual 10-day Jane Austen Festival.

Austen lived for several years in the southwestern city, where she set her novels "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey".

A series of balls are planned, based around Austen's novels, with tickets already sold out for May and June despite a hefty £200 ($253) price tag.

With interest set to soar over the coming months, the BBC has kicked off the year with a new series -- "Miss Austen" -- devoted to the life of Jane's sister Cassandra, who burnt all her letters after her death.

She thus consigned to ashes some of Jane's deepest secrets, and to this day surprisingly little is known about the author.

Part of Austen's appeal rests on her depiction of a romanticised England with love affairs, tea and parties in the glorious surroundings of sprawling stately homes.

She also shone a harsh light on the status of women, for whom a good marriage was considered the only goal in a very restricted life.

The daughter of a clergyman, Austen herself remained unmarried despite a proposal, and spent most of her life with very little money.

- 'Women taking power' -

"Pride and Prejudice", with its main character Elizabeth Bennet who falls for the dashing Mr Darcy, is a firm fan favourite.

"Her female characters are very strong and vocal about their opinions and what they want," said Moa Aashacka, a 23-year-old Swedish student who was paying a Valentine's Day visit to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath with her boyfriend.

"They don't just accept marriage because they have to. They want to marry someone they actually like and love and who they feel respects them."

She added that Austen's novels were "more than romance... It's also about women taking power."

Tour guide Lauren Falconer, who helps giggling visitors dress up in Regency-style fashions, said all of Austen's characters are "so relatable" that "everyone has their favourite".

Maria Letizia d'Annibale, an English literature teacher visiting from Italy, said her pupils loved reading Austen's novels.

"Her stories are captivating. Young students really like her, especially the girls," she told AFP.

Part of the resurgence in Austen's appeal can be traced back to a stunning 1995 BBC adaption of "Pride and Prejudice", starring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, and director Ang Lee's Oscar-winning adaption of "Sense and Sensibility", starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant.

Professor Sutherland credits these for propelling Austen "into a different level of popularity".

"In Jane Austen's novels, the hero, the male lead is really a kind of background figure. He is a moral instructor for the heroine, but he's not particularly sexy. Whereas in the films, of course, he's very sexy," she said.

"I think this turns the films into something that the novels are not, which is more narrowly romantic."

To coincide with the author's 250th birthday, Sutherland is organising an exhibition in Oxford called "Dancing with Jane Austen" with costumes from the films and examples of her writings about balls.

O.Farraj--SF-PST