Jane Austen Films, Ball at Dumbarton House
By • August 27, 2026 0 431
You can’t spell Dumbarton House without Austen. Jane Austen, that is.
Washington, D.C., continues to suffer from a severe case of Austenmania, a disorder that first appeared in 1995, the year of the BBC’s “Pride and Prejudice,” Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility” and, of course, “Clueless,” inspired by Austen’s novel “Emma.”
Here in the nation’s capital, the outbreak was traced to the stately Georgetown house museum at 2715 Q St. NW.
This year’s Jane Austen Film Festival at Dumbarton House, the 1799 mansion that serves as the headquarters of the 15,000-member National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, will take place on Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, both Wednesdays.
The films are screened outdoors as attendees — Janeites and those who love them — picnic on the lawn. The annual sellout series was launched in 2011. Last year’s festival was canceled due to HVAC work, a project still underway. The house itself is not currently open to the public, but is expected to reopen soon.
Tickets for the Sept. 2 screening of the 2005 film “Pride and Prejudice,” starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, and the Sept. 9 screening of the 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan comedy “You’ve Got Mail” (loosely based on “P&P”) sold out instantly on Eventbrite.
Good news — especially if you were unable to obtain a festival ticket: The Jane Austen Ball, “A Magical Evening of Music, Wine, Dessert, and Dance” presented by the International Club of DC, will return to Dumbarton House on Friday, Oct. 23. Formal, vintage or period attire from the Regency era is encouraged. Tickets on Eventbrite are $101.31; $122.05 if you want a waltz lesson.
In addition, a celebration of Austen’s 251st birthday is planned for Sunday, Dec. 13.
Born on Dec. 16, 1775, in the Hampshire village of Steventon, Austen wrote six novels published between 1811 and 1818: “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” “Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”; the last two were published after her death in 1817.
Why Dumbarton House? The house is an outstanding example of Federal architecture, the Federal period being America’s counterpart to Britain’s Regency. “Regency” refers to the late 18th-century and early 19th-century years when the Prince of Wales, later George IV, governed in place of his father, “Mad King” George III. London’s Regent Street and Regent’s Park were architect John Nash’s initiatives under the Prince Regent, who officially served from 1811 to 1820, when his father died.
