IDENTIFIER: FICTIONAL AUSTEN HOMES
From the Austentatious to the humble(ish)
Barton Park
“Equal hospitality and elegance”: Sir John brings the former, Lady Middleton the latter. It’s clear which Austen believes is the better half.
Pemberley
To paraphrase Mrs Merton: what first attracted you to millionaire Mr Darcy, Lizzie? “I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds.”
Kellynch Hall
Changing times. Persuasion’s spendthrift Elliots swap the grandeur of this family seat for “two walls, perhaps thirty feet asunder” in Bath.
Donwell Abbey
“It was just what it ought to be, and it looked what it was,” muses Emma. Handy, when surveying your future husband’s estate.
Rosings Park
What kills the charms of this “handsome, modern building”? Could it be Lady Catherine’s complete lack of them?
Norland Park
The Sussex estate, home to the Dashwood girls, until their less than accommodating sisterin-law chooses to send them packing.
Netherfield
Just half an hour is all Mr Bingley takes to snap up Netherfield. Finding its mistress takes just slightly longer.
Hartfield
Small, but neat and pretty; modern and wellbuilt. Little wonder Mr Woodhouse prefers to stay within its walls – and Emma, too.
Northanger Abbey
In reality, all mod cons, rather than the Gothic fancy Catherine pictures. But space to imagine a murder amid the papered walls and carpets.