Jane Austen Travel Guide to England

A travel guide and must have for every Janeite exploring England.

Today I welcome Karin Quint to my blog. She wrote a travel guide regarding all things Austen. From the sneak peaks I got from it looks very promising. 

Since one of my aims during my travels is to see as much Austen related spots as possible it would be a great help in finding just those spots us devoted Janeites long to see with their own eyes. 

Karin wants to make her guide available in English to reach more people. So she started a kickstarter project to get it translated from it’s current Dutch to English.

Welcome Karin. Do you want to introduce your project to us? 

KQ (Karin Quint): Thank you for having me on your blog, Christin! 

Jane Austen’s England is a travel guide that guides you to locations that Jane Austen knew, wrote about and the film locations that were used for the adaptations of her novels. It’s not just a practical guidebook, but it also gives you a lot of background information of the locations, the connection with Austen and the way  films and tv series like Pride and Prejudice (the series from 1995 and the film from 2005) were made. There are maps throughout the book to help you find places, descriptions of walks and a lot of photographs. 

The book is now only available in Dutch (my native language). With the Kickstarter campaign me and my Dutch publisher want to have it translated and published in English, so more people can make their own Austen pilgrimage. And the great thing is: with Kickstarter you can already order your own copy of the guidebook!

Oh yes that sounds fantastic. I’ve visited quiet a lot of locations used in the book adaptions. The most prominent ones were easy to find. I was in the Peak District this autumn and visited a lot of places used in the Pride and Prejudice adaptions of 1995 and 2005. Of course I included Lyme Park, Sudburry Hall and Chatsworth House. But spots like Stanage Edge from the 2005 was very difficult to find. If I did suceed. I don’t know. And unfortunately we only had a few days so I didn’t see all I wanted. I’m sure a map to Stanage Edge would have been a great help. Is it included in your book? To the famous rock known from the 95′, too?
Also did you write about the places that assumedly  inspired Jane Austen, like Wentworth Woodhouse is said to be what Jane Austen saw Pemberley as.

KQ: Yes, of course Stanage Edge is included in the guide, with a clear description of how to get there. We all want to stand on that spot, don’t we? And I’ve also found the rock that Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice 1995 stands next to. It was quite difficult to find because I was looking in the wrong place, but I eventually found it by accident. People who buy the guidebook won’t have to look for long, it takes them straight to it!

I have included houses like Stoneleigh Abbey from which we know Jane Austen visited them and was probably inspired by them. But Wentworth Woodhouse is not included, because there is no proof whatsoever that she knew the house. In fact, the Jane Austen Society has recently released a statement saying that there is no connection with Jane Austen to the house at all. The 10,000 pound per year would definitely not bought Mr Darcy a house like that. Which is sort of a pity, because it’s a wonderful house; I visited it last summer.

I have included Highclere Castle in the book, which everybody knows as Downton Abbey, because Jane writes about it in a letter. So if there is an Austen connection and it’s worth visiting, it is in the book!

That all sounds very promising. I would have been spared the uncertainty if I’ve had your guidebook to assist me during my travels. And who knows which other spots I would have found. 

Also seems like I can learn more about Jane Austen herself, too. Which always draws my attention. 

Thank you for answering my questions, Karin and giving us a sneak peak of your work. 

But dear readers we need more backers to make the translation into a reality. Are you as curious myself, drawn to see all those mentioned places and many, many more. Do you want to benefit from Karin Quint’s experience and make the most of your travels? 

I already joined the supporters of this project. Add to the ranks of backers. It’s only four more days. 

Here is the link:kickstarter project