So..let’s begin our tour of the places in Pride and Prejudice in earnest.
Today, I thought we ought to have an overview of England and Wales, to ascertain just how the country was organised in Jane Austen’s day. Looking at modern maps with reference to Pride and Prejudice is not really acceptable to my mind because modern country boundaries have changed so much, and, indeed, some old counties to which Jane Austen refers have now disappeared during the numerous local government reorganisations that have taken place since she wrote her most famous novel.
It is much easier to orient yourself in Jane Austen’s world if you refer to a contemporary map.
And first an apology to you, my readers. I have again been the subject of theft: another person, who really should have known better, has used some of my images published here for commercial use, without my permission. So from now on my images will be watermarked to prevent theft. Or at least deter it. I have resisted doing this for nearly four years but my patience has now worn too thin. I do apologise and hope it does not detract from your enjoyment.
Back to happier topics.
Here, below, is a rather beautiful map, engraved by John Cary and hand coloured( by some poor child no doubt) which appears in my copy of his Itinerary of 1812.
You will see that I have annotated it to indicate all the historic counties in England that are mentioned by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. And also to indicate that one spot in Scotland- Gretna Green – that receives an honourable( or should that be dishonourable?) mention in the novel.
England and Wales, a hand coloured map from John Cary’s Itinerary of 1812 ©Austenonly
The numbers relate to the counties as follows:
1. Gretna in Scotland ( Note this arrow does not indicate the precise location of Gretna.We will be coming back to it in due course)
2. The Lakes. The Lakes were situate in three counties in Jane Austen’s lifetime: Lancashire, Westmoreland and Cumberland. Westmoreland and Cumberland no longer exist, and since 1974 they have formed the new country of Cumbria.
3. Warwickshire.
4. Somersetshire. Bath features in all six of Jane Austen’s completed novels and was found in this county.
5. Oxfordshire.
6. Hertfordshire.
7. Middlesex. London was found in this country. Since 1965 it no longer exists for official administrative purposes.
8. Surrey, spelt “Surry” by Jane Austen and many of her contemporaries.
9. Sussex.
10. Kent.
11. Cambridgeshire.
12. Derbyshire, home of Mr Darcy
13. Yorkshire.
14. Northumberland.
You will see that the novel roams far and wide over the country, which I think some of you may find surprising. Next in this series, we shall take a closer look at Hertfordshire, home of the Bennet family.
24 comments
January 31, 2013 at 12:01 pm
garmard
Is it true to say that Miss Austen got the inspiration for Pemberley from Chatsworth in Derbyshire (near me might I add), or is that a fallacy?
January 31, 2013 at 12:15 pm
jfwakefield
Ah….you are anticipating me….I’ll deal with Chatsworth much later in the year, if you don’t mind ( but I think the quick answer is no, she didn’t )
January 31, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Lyn Bailey
This map with labels is really helpful, especially to those across the pond, who never learned British geography in sufficient detail to really know where places in English literature really are.
February 5, 2013 at 10:22 am
jfwakefield
Im very glad, as that is the intention.Do come back for the other posts in this series ;)
January 31, 2013 at 2:44 pm
Jeanne Talbot
I am the JASNA Regional Coordinator for the San DIego, California region. We are discussing P&P sequels and knockoffs at our next meeting in two weeks. Could I share your map with our group? As an American who has not travelled extensively in England, it is extremely helpful to have such an annotated map to help put the novel’s event in perspective. Thank you for providing this information!
February 5, 2013 at 10:22 am
jfwakefield
I’ll email you, Jeanne ;)
January 31, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Mary Jo Powell
Dear jfwakefield,
I want to thank you for the reams of interesting and unusual material that appear so often in my mail box. I live in Prairie Village, Kansas, and these days armchair travel is the best way to go places that interest the JA addict.
MJ Powell
February 5, 2013 at 9:43 am
jfwakefield
Nothing the matter with armchair travel , I indulge in it most days myself ;)
January 31, 2013 at 7:11 pm
kfield2
I agree with Lyn. I have longed to have some idea of what it meant to travel from Longbourne to Pemberley, amd, of course, how long it would take to o anywhere from London. This map really is really useful! Thank you so much for sharing it and explaining it for us.
February 5, 2013 at 9:42 am
jfwakefield
My pleasure! Its a beautiful but vey useful thing;)
January 31, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Sheryl
This is a topic I have always wanted to learn more about. Thank you for this geography lesson.
February 5, 2013 at 9:41 am
jfwakefield
My pleasure.I hope you will continue the journey with us;)
January 31, 2013 at 9:09 pm
Tina
All in one with the comments above. This is more than helpful. I’ve tried it more than once with modern maps and had to surrender, I could follow the trail just so far, and then lost it.
I’m very surprised, I always thought all the action took place in a more limited area. Darcy’s comment on Charlotte being settled at an “easy distance” gave me that idea. I see it is not.
On the side, I think it’s a shame that on top of all this amazing information you prepare for us from your own property (you’ve told us how you’ve been hunting all this down for years) you have to worry about it being stolen y have to work extra to prevent it.
Put all the watermarks you need, my dear, it won’t make it a bit less valuable and enjoyable for us.
As always, thank you.
February 5, 2013 at 9:41 am
jfwakefield
Ah Darcy’s comment had all the arrogance of a rich man who had his own luxurious coach and fast, fresh horses at his disposal night or day ;)The reality for the majority of travelling people in England at the time was that the situation had improved from the mid 18th century but travel was still costly and could be very uncomfortable especially if you were unable to afford to sit inside the coaches ;)More on this throughout the year…
And thanks for your support re the watermarking.I confess I can see it being the only way forward. I had trusted in people to be honest,but alas….
January 31, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Nancy Kelley
Geographical boundaries are so curious. I have a book checked out right now called Lost States about random bits of US geographical history. England is even more confusing and interesting though–I love following the links in a wikipedia article to find out what a location used to be called and how it progressed to the name we’re familiar with today.
February 5, 2013 at 9:37 am
jfwakefield
Its not been so much fun living through the changes, though ,Nancy! My mother never recovered form losing the right to live in “Warwickshire” when the boundaries and names changed in 1974! She never altered her address on her writing paper or on any document till she was forced.
January 31, 2013 at 11:51 pm
cathyallen
WThanks to you, I’m delighted to say that I knew most of these places already; thank you very much, Julie. What I did NOT know is that some of these counties have ceased to exist. I guess I need to get my mind out of the late 18th/early 19th century a little more often, and look at some modern maps — LOL!
I, too, am very saddened by the theft of your work. I think TIna said it all — put in the watermarks, we will still come!
February 5, 2013 at 9:36 am
jfwakefield
Thanks for being so understanding.
I think it really helps to forget about modern places , roads country names etc, when looking at Jane Austen’s England.New roads might cover the same route as their old counterparts for some miles but they will invariably have changed, and the same applies to counties.
February 1, 2013 at 11:28 pm
Caitlin
Thank you for this interesting post. Cumbria always sounded so old to me, anlgo-saxon kingdom old, if you know what I mean. The novel certainly gets around. Looking forward to traveling along with you.
February 5, 2013 at 9:34 am
jfwakefield
I think it was meant to sound old: its root is Cymru, old Welsh and the original name for the most of the area, Cumberland, was also derived from this old Welsh term.
February 5, 2013 at 11:15 am
garmard
As well as being a writer, I help run one of the many Derbyshire ramblers clubs around where I live; at a meeting last weekend, I brought up the idea of having a couple of days of the summer down in Hampshire, treading one of the many paths Jane Austen would have sauntered.
Can you recommend, jfwakefield, the best paths to walk, Steventon etc…Maybe Jane Austens’s favourite walk?
I would be truly grateful for any ideas received.
Regards.
Phil.
February 5, 2013 at 11:21 am
jfwakefield
You might want to buy a copy of In the Steps of Jane Austen by Anne-Marie Edwards which if full of ideasand routes for walks that you and your group might want to adopt. :)
February 5, 2013 at 2:57 pm
garmard
Thanks!
February 8, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Ginna
I’m curious … do you know the reasoning for the disappearance of any of these counties?