Book review: Jane Austen’s England: A Travel Guide by Karin Quint*

‘Jane Austen’s England: A Travel Guide’ by Karin Quint is a directory of the places in England either travelled to by Austen; mentioned in (or believed to have influenced) her stories or used as locations for the many film and television adaptations of her works. Publishers Acc Art Books offer a range of books about the traditional and contemporary creative arts. Their selection of travel guides is extensive, but Karin Quint’s is their first based around the works of an author.

Austen travelled throughout the southern areas of England and into the Midlands. She documented her journeys in a rich archive of letters, many of which are now lost. From what remains, a map of her travels can be pieced together, alongside witty insights into life in Georgian England. This book successfully combines Austen’s commentary, digestible histories, current tourism information – the book also covers Yorkshire, where many settings for contemporary adaptations are found – and the author’s obviously extensive knowledge of her subject, resulting in a companion guide which is much more than the sum of its parts.

What I thought of the book

I should start with a confession. I am a librarian who has never read any of Jane Austen’s books. Part of the problem is that I’ve always thought I should read them, rather than thinking that I might enjoy them. On the other hand, I’ve watched and enjoyed some of the film and television adaptations – not the soppy ‘Regency romances’ I’d expected. When Karin Quint’s book came along, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use my love of travel and exploring to find out more about Austen and her stories in an interesting way.

I knew very little about Austen’s life and the history of England during the same period – 1775 to 1817. Luckily, the guide begins with two chapters which discuss these in turn, and which I quickly read from beginning to end. The first chapter introduces Austen, her family and their home life.

The second gives details of the wider social & political context that Jane grew up, lived and wrote in. Although relatively short, the chapters gave me an impression of a woman with a strong sense of independence, who was lucky that her family allowed her to read and become educated. Learning about Jane’s struggles to balance her own desires with society’s expectations of her and the need to live within her means, I was surprised and intrigued to feel that I could have been reading about many modern-day heroines. Karin Quint’s enthusiasm for Austen had already made her and her stories seem accessible and relevant for a modern-day reader.

The remainder of the book acts as the travel guide to Jane Austen’s England. The clearly laid-out contents pages show that each chapter is about a specific area of the country and detail the locations discussed in the chapter. As I scanned down the pages, I was surprised to see a chapter titled ‘The Peak District and surroundings’. I knew Austen had links with Hampshire, Oxford, London and Bath, but the Peak District?

I went straight to the chapter, to find paragraphs on Bakewell, Chatsworth, Lyme Park and The Roaches – apparently, Ramshaw Rocks near The Roaches were the location of Elizabeth’s climb to see the view of the Derbyshire landscape in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

Each paragraph is long enough to be informative but short enough to be digestible – detailing the history of the place it describes and giving an interesting aside about Jane’s time there; trivia from contemporary filming or similar.
The book then steps up as a travel companion as Quint provides details of how to visit each location, attraction opening times where relevant and other essential information that a visitor would need. She even suggests an itinerary for ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Jane Austen’s Hampshire’ road trips and provides accommodation details amongst the suggested further reading. The location descriptions are interspersed with photographs of the appropriate grand buildings, beautiful parks or lush areas of the countryside – and maps provide further information through the section. Having returned to the book numerous times over the past few weeks, this is true for the whole guide. These photos and maps, and the high quality of the materials and printing make the book as beautiful as it is useful and interesting.

Having become interested in Austen’s life and novels, and learned a great deal about some of the areas discussed in the book, the only thing left to do seemed to be to test it as a travel guide. Two friends – one an Austen fan – had already planned a trip to Bath together, so took the book along.
On their return, they remarked how fascinating it had been to read the background of the places that they visited – and about the roles they’d played in Jane’s life – before they called at each place. The guide had particularly helped them to understand the context of the Georgian era, and they’d been able to use it alongside other maps and documents to make the most of their time in the city. They then showed me a huge collection of photographs (some of which you see here) as proof!

‘Jane Austen’s England: A travel guide’ has been a really eye-opening book for me. Part humanities textbook, part travel guide and part biography, I’ve found it far more engaging – and less daunting – than I expected. I’ve learned a great deal from the book and enjoyed doing so. Despite originally thinking it might be of little interest unless I was planning a visit to an area, I’ve dipped into it many times since I received it. It’s reminded me of the beauty of some of England’s towns and countryside and I will definitely be exploring the local areas from the book – and taking it along to refer to. The biggest compliment I can give the guide is that I’m also going to read an Austen novel before too long – not because I should, but because I want to.

How much is the book and how can you buy it?

The substantial paperback with flaps retails for £15.00. You can buy a copy here.

About the author

Karin Quint is a professional journalist and photographer and an ambassador for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. She has co-written two additional travel guides, about Scotland and Wales.

About the book

Publisher: Acc Art Books
ISBN: 9781788840354
Size: 211x135mm
Pages: 320, including 180 colour pictures

Review by Sharon Corbally
Photographs: Bath by kind permission of G. Caton
Winchester & Netley Abbey by kind permission of K. Burdon

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* We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.