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When Colin Firth stripped off and plunged himself into the lake outside Lyme Park, it was a watershed moment. Quite literally in fact. Back in 1995, BBC rules dictated that Firth - who was portraying Mr Darcy in a timeless adaptation of Pride and Prejudice - was not allowed to take his top off. But the sight of the actor in a rather unforgiving pair of beige breeches and a wet white shirt didn’t leave much to the imagination. It made many viewers swoon and sparked a slew of Jane Austen adaptations that ramped up the sexual tension. Despite his dedication to Regency lifestyle and dress, it’s not a celluloid moment Jag Dhanda is keen to recreate 30 years on. “You don’t want to jump in there on a cold day,” he says. As a dedicated ‘Janeite’, Jag spends much of his free time reenacting Regency balls, games and parties. In fact, he is one of the country’s most eligible bachelors, regularly in high demand as a dance partner at balls. As such, he does have an old pair of breeches and a shirt he could wear to launch himself into the water at Lyme. But up to now, modesty and the inclement British weather has deterred him. “There is a running joke among the ladies about which of the men will go in,” he says. Fellow Janeite Sophie Andrews did almost take the plunge herself during a recent visit - but entirely by accident. “I can safely report that everyone remained dry, though I was close to taking a tumble into the lake at one point while filming a silly video for my socials,” she says. Sophie - an Austen specialist who has made a career of her hobby - is one of many who have been marking 30 years since Andrew Davis’ seminal Pride and Prejudice adaptation premiered. It’s also 250 years since Jane Austen was born - an event which has been marked with much merriment by the Janeites. To mark the occasion, the National Trust is running Discover Pride and Prejudice at Lyme until next Wednesday (October 22). The trail allows visitors to take in the most iconic filming locations around the garden and try Regency pastimes like needlework inside the house - which was used as Mr Darcy’s estate ‘Pemberley’. The original portrait of Darcy from the 1995 series is also on display in the State Bedroom until the end of the month. And visitors can experience Lyme like a Jane Austen character by visiting the Regency dressing room and spending the day in Spencer jackets, day-dresses, trousers, shirts and riding jackets. It’s an opportunity Sophie and her friends leapt at. “It was delightful,” she says. “Lyme Park has such strong associations with Austen, of course, and for the 30th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice the atmosphere was wonderfully nostalgic. “The event was all about celebrating how that adaptation brought Austen’s world to life for a whole new generation, and it was rather special to be part of it. “Some of my dearest friends are people I’ve met through Austen, including my business partner Abigail Rose. “The community is extraordinarily warm and welcoming. You can arrive at an event knowing no one and, within ten minutes, find yourself deep in conversation about bonnets, books, or balls. “It’s one of the loveliest aspects of being a Janeite: that shared passion brings people together from all walks of life and from all over the world. Many of us see each other year after year at annual festivals - it feels like one big, beautifully dressed family.” Sophie’s passion for Austen all started with the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, starring Kiera Knightley and developed as she studied the text at school. “I was captivated by the elegance of her language, the intelligence of her heroines and her sharp but affectionate humour,” she says. “Pride and Prejudice remains my favourite because it captures everything Austen does best - witty dialogue, believable characters, and a deep understanding of human nature. “What appeals most, though, is her balance of wit and warmth. Austen holds up a mirror to society and somehow makes us laugh at ourselves in the process. No one else writes with such elegance, irony, and insight. Her novels are timeless.” It’s this aspect that also appeals to Jag who, as a male Janeite and keen dancer, often finds himself in high demand at balls. “It gets very very competitive,” he admits. “There are quite a lot of men at these balls but most are married. Single men are few and far between.” As part of ball etiquette, Jag says dancers must add their name to dance cards. He recalls one ball in which his card was stolen briefly and names added out of queuing order. “It’s very very competitive if you know a man who can dance. They will drop their mother, or aunt to dance with you,” he says. “I’m 60 now so I’m the elder statesman.” Jag is now known as The Duke of Cheltenham thanks to a friend who insisted he needed a Regency moniker for his Instagram handle. As one of few male dancers, he found himself popular again at a recent Jane Austen festival in Bath. “There’s a whole host of new fans since Bridgerton,” he explains. “They’ve got this idea of what a Regency ball is like so I’ve been dancing with complete strangers recently.” The former teacher currently works at a bakery, but still manages to fit in plenty of balls ahead of his 1am alarm clock. He says his circle of friends gets bigger every year thanks to Austen and he is often invited to balls at old country piles run by friends like Sophie. “There’s a lot of promonading, a lot of Regency games and quite a lot of getting drunk. It’s just a big Regency party really,” he says. “There are people who do military reenactment and some of them live in costume and character for a week. They take it very seriously.” Jag became a Janeite purely by accident after coming across a flyer for a ball during a historical fair. It was booked up, but he was persuaded to put his name down for the next one and went to some dance classes in preparation. “I managed to get a tailcoat and breeches from Ebay, which you wouldn’t be able to do now because of the popularity of Bridgerton. Nowadays you have to get stuff made,” he says. “I went to this ball and even though I’d only had three dance classes, more than half the people there didn’t dance at all, so I appeared like a bit of an expert. “After that I got invitation after invitation to go to dances all over the country.” For Sophie, a love of Austen turned into a career and she has written three books, hosted balls, speaks at events and gives Regency dressing demonstrations via her Laughing with Lizzie persona. “It’s a joy to step into Austen’s world whenever I can,” she says. “I’m afraid my sewing skills are quite hopeless, so I don’t make my own gowns. My best friend, Abigail Rose makes many of them for me, and there are several excellent makers who specialise in historical and Regency attire. “As for bonnets - those are my weakness. I have rather too many, and most are handmade by talented milliners who recreate authentic early nineteenth-century designs using traditional methods. There are around four or five wonderful milliners in the UK alone. “It’s always a thrill when a new one arrives - perhaps the twenty-first-century equivalent of ordering a new pair of heels.”
