 People would gather in the rooms in the evening for balls and other public functions , or simply to play cards . Mothers and <unk> bringing their daughters to Bath for the social season , hoping to marry them off to a suitable husband , would take their charge to such events where , very quickly , one might meet all the eligible men currently in the City . At one concert in 1779 , attended by around 800 ladies and gentlemen , 60 members of the nobility were present . During the season , which ran from October to June , at least two balls a week were held , in addition to a range of concerts and other events . Scenes such as this feature in the novels of Jane Austen , who lived in Bath with her parents and sister from 1801 to 1805 . Her two novels set in Bath , <unk> Abbey and <unk> , were published in 1818 and both mention the Assembly Rooms : 
