Hi friends! I am thrilled to welcome one of my favorite Regency authors as a guest today – Christina Dudley!! If you’ve followed this blog for a bit, then you may have caught my reviews about this fabulous family of independently-minded daughters – The Hapgoods of Bramleigh. A terrific 6 books series Christina finished earlier this year. In addition, Christina celebrated the release of the first book of her new series – The Ellsworth Assortment – a few days ago!! And in between these two series, Christina went to England! 🤗
Christina is here to share a little about her fantastic trip to England and how so many places she visited have connections to her books! We hope you enjoy! 😍
In Austen’s Footsteps
Greetings, Austenesque Reviews readers!
I’m an author of traditional Regency romances, including the Hapgoods of Bramleigh series (and
one contemporary Mansfield Park adaptation), all of which Meredith has been kind enough to read and review over the years, so I’m delighted to crash this party with goodies from a recent trip to England. As a Janeite and a writer, I stuffed our trip itinerary with sights and scenes from Austen’s life and from my own books—a literary dream tour for people like me. If you’ve had some literary adventures of your own, I’d love to hear from fellow JA pilgrims in the comments. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Tempted by Folly, the first book in my new Ellsworth Assortment series!
The magic began as soon the taxi driver entered London because we drove through Hans Place, where Austen’s brother Henry lived for some years, and where she would stay when she came into town to take care of publishing business. That was a cure for jetlag, and I sat up straight, craning my neck.
We spent several days in London, where I saw her portable writing desk, among the treasures of the British Library:
The building at 52 Pall Mall where we know Austen visited art exhibitions no longer stands, but Somerset House still does, former home of the Royal Academy of Art in Austen’s day and now the site of the Courtauld Gallery. The Royal Academy’s famous summer exhibition played a huge role in the fifth book of my Hapgoods of Bramleigh series The Purloined Portrait, so I was thrilled to find the exact place where I hung Edith Hapgood’s painting in my imagination:
We also dropped by Philip Mould’s gallery in Pall Mall where we were doubly starstruck. Not only did we glimpse Mr. Mould (one of the stars of Fake or Fortune) running a meeting, but we also saw Prinny himself! Yes, sir, the most famous picture of the Prince Regent, to whom Austen was forced to dedicate Emma.
From London we traveled to Bath, which I don’t need to tell you has loads of things for Austen fans, including where they lived at 4 Sydney Place:
And where her father was buried at the former St. Swithin’s, which also happens to be where Austen’s parents were married:
Not only were parts of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey set in Bath, but so was Book Four of my series, Matchless Margaret, and I happily visited sites common to all the books, like the Pump Room:
and the Upper Rooms:
Sadly, the Lower Rooms no longer exist, but you can still shop on Milsom Street and imagine which house Sir Walter lived in up in Camden Crescent.
We even stayed at a wonderful little boutique hotel I highly recommend, The Kennard, which I chose because it was on Henrietta Street, where my characters stayed. From there they made frequent visits to Sydney Gardens, the original entrance to which is now the Holborne Museum. The “Merlin swings” my Margaret sees are long gone, sadly, but my daughter gave this one a try:
In Bath you can also see the house on Johnstone and Great Pulteney Streets which Margaret and her husband rent when sister Edith comes to stay (and paint) in The Purloined Portrait:
From Bath our travels continued to Winchester, aptly where Austen died, but also where my new series is set. Yes, we saw her grave in Winchester Cathedral, as well as the home where she spent her final weeks and the Cathedral Close, where her friends the Biggs lived.
My favorite souvenir came from Winchester, this gorgeous tea towel by artist Jane Abbott, with watercolor illustrations of Austen and her characters:
I’d never been to Winchester before and now can’t wait to go back because (1) we only had a half-day there, and (2) it’s beautiful and rich in history and as walkable as Bath. I’ve been poring over a map of the town from 1800 for the past few months, but to walk where my characters walked and lived and went to school was magical.
Tempted by Folly introduces the Ellsworth family, five children by three different mothers. The oldest is Florence, Miss Ellsworth, who hopes to overcome her father’s scandalous history with a respectable marriage to the rector. Unfortunately for her plans, her father’s desire to remarry (again!) and the coming of her father’s new attorney Mr. Robert Fairchild set everything at sixes and sevens, including Florence’s heart.
Mr. Fairchild works for Darby and West, which I located on Parchment Street, just off the High Street:
Florence’s brother Tyrone attends nearby Winchester College (of which Robert Fairchild is an alumnus), so my husband and I toured the ancient school, including its beautiful medieval chapel:
And because I always have my next book in mind, I checked out the assembly room at St. John’s House (now a wedding venue) where sister Lily attends a ball in The Belle of Winchester
as well as the Deanery, where the hero’s grandparents live:
Thank heavens for the world of imagination because trips always end before you want them to! I’m already planning what I’d like to see someday in the future—Chawton, of course, but also Wilton House outside Salisbury, which appears in just about everything you’ve ever seen: Pemberley in Pride & Prejudice (Keira Knightley version), as Donwell Abbey in the Anya Taylor-Joy Emma, and as Kensington Palace in The Young Victoria. And The Crown and Bridgerton…
So that’s what I have for you! Thanks for coming on this little tour with me. And for your chance to win a copy of Tempted by Folly, answer one of these questions in the comments:
- If you could wake up in a book, which one would you choose, and why?
- Is there an Austen site you’d like to visit? Or a favorite one you’ve already seen?
Such an excellent post, Christina! Thank you for sharing all your travels and the connections to places in your stories! I love that followed the footsteps of so many with your pilgrimage! I’m excited to follow Florence’s story in Tempted by Folly, and explore a place I’ve never been – Winchester. 📖
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
In conjunction with her visit, Christina is giving away an ebook of Tempted by Folly to 1️⃣ lucky reader!
To enter, answer one of Christiana’s questions in the comment section!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Christina!
- This giveaway ends October 29th.
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous pictures! I enjoyed the Hapgoods of Bramleigh so I’m eager to start this new series. I’ve seen some of the Derbyshire sites Austen mentions in Pride and Prejudice, but Bath and Chawton are still on my to do list.
Heather, thank you for reading and for your encouragement! That’s lovely that you’ve seen some of the Derbyshire sights–I’ve yet to head up there. Just need world enough and time…
Oh what a wonderful trip, I dream to visit Bath during the festival.
Maybe one day.
After if I was to land myself into a book, it would be probably P&P, I would love to enjoy the entertainments of the era without the pressure of the Haute Société’s expectations .
Yes, the JA Festival! We arrived after it was already over, but at least it was probably less crowded… It would certainly be fun to pop up in P&P!
This sound like a delightful read. Best Wishes and thanks for posting here!
Thank you, Jennifer!
By all means, go to Wilton House — it’s fabulous. I enjoyed hearing about your tour — seems you had a great time.
Ooh! Wilton House envy! We drove past (because the train workers were on strike), but it was closed that day. Boo.
Thank you for sharing your travels. I will have to think for a while on what book especially if I can pick what character I would be or if I am myself. I would love to visit all of the sites as I have never been
More to look forward to! At least books are the ultimate budget travel. 🙂
Thank you for the ideas. I am planning a trip to Bath and London for summer 2023. I will include some of your ideas.
Hooray! Hope you enjoy your time. 🙂
Great Blog. If I were in a book, I would like it to be P&P, but I realize I would probably end up being Mary without the preaching, or a maid. Maybe I would be lucky and be Kitty, or they would let me look after the animals…oh well, or let me help with cooking. OK, I give up…I would not have lasted there in that time era….
Haha! I wouldn’t have made it then, either, because I don’t have the “bosom” for those Empire-waist dresses and I can’t play the piano or make a fire…
I also visited JA’s grave site in Winchester Cathedral. Loved all the history there! This was before I discovered JAFF and learned more about her connections. We did visit Bath and visited the JA store/museum there and checked out where she lived. Love all the photos. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your publications.
Yes, I had no idea Winchester was so chock full of history, and not just of the JA variety. It’s my new favorite place!
Question 2 for me. I’d love to visit Winchester but for silly reasons as well as those related to this post. Number one is because I had to learn to play the song “Winchester Cathedral” approx 56 years ago on my organ. Lol. Number two reason is that incredibly gorgeous tea towel you showed us. Number 3 is the history regarding Austen and other things. Number 4 is because almost no one mentions this place so I’m hoping if I ever have an opportunity to visit it would be less crowded. Your novels sound fabulous. I have to say I have a couple of your novels downloaded in my kindle. I just haven’t gotten them read yet. I will have to rectify that immediately. Thank you for your beautiful post. Your trip and photos were incredible. Congrats on your new series as well.
Okay, that is too funny about “Winchester Cathredral” because my husband started singing that song when we went to Winchester, and it got stuck in my head. And yes, it’s worth it for the tea towel alone, which is right now hanging on my oven handle. Do hope you get a chance to read my books! I love history lovers and readers!
What a wonderful trip and pictures! I love the covers of your new series and the premise! Gosh, I would love to visit Chawton House, Chatsworth and any of the beautiful stately homes of England! I’ve been to Scotland and Ireland and N.Ireland so would love to do a Jane Austen tour of England and go to Portsmouth and the museums!
Yes, Carole, Portsmouth and Southampton and Lyme are on my one-day list, along with Chawton. I wanted to do the naval museum at Greenwich too (I love Horatio Hornblower), but I had to let my husband pick SOMETHING on the itinerary, and he chose Canterbury. Which wasn’t a total waste, of course, though the estate of Whitefriars which Austen had visited is now a shopping mall!!!
Your book have a most beautiful cover! And I would have loved to join you on your trip!
Thank you, Audny. I’ve been working with the same cover designer for years and years and really love her. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed traveling with you through this blog. I would like to visit Chawton House and Jane Austen’s house to see the writing desk and imagine her living in this home. She was so unhappy to Bath and happy here and wrote! Thank you for the giveaway.
Yes, there just wasn’t enough time (and ways of getting around, with the train strike)! We already had a Mr.-Toad’s-Wild-Ride adventure renting a car from Bath to Winchester. My poor daughter had to take Dramamine… One day, however. When we were in Canterbury I found that we were so close to Godmersham, but, again, neither the time nor the means for that little detour…
Would love to visit Bath.
Your trip sounds so wonderful (yet frustrating for the missed opportunities, isn’t it always the way though?) and I really loved the photos, so thank you for sharing those. Your books have been on my wish list for a couple of months now and reading Meredith’s review from last month and your guest visit makes me want to drop everything and start reading your stories.
A visit to Chawton would be an absolute must if I ever had the chance to visit England. But there are so many places there I want to see so very much. And if I did happen to wake up in a book I would also hope to come back home after having a grand adventure, so let it be P&P. Derbyshire is someplace I’d adore seeing. An equal balance of outdoors and indoors would be fascinating. A hike up Oakham Mount-to a tour of Pemberley and Darcy House. I even want to see Gracechurch Street.
Congratulations on the new series. I’m looking forward to reading the new series as well as The Hapgoods.