My Husband, Mr. Darcy, and Me: An Anniversary Trip to England

This summer my husband and I are planning a trip to England to celebrate our 35th anniversary. Huzzah!!!

Now, to be clear, my sweet husband is not a Jane Austen fan. I doubt he could name all six of her novels, or perhaps even two of them. But he knows the plot of Pride and Prejudice quite well, and he has accepted that Mr. Darcy will forever occupy a small(ish) piece of my heart. He understands that when I call him, “My own Mr. Darcy,” it is a compliment of the highest order. So he has willingly agreed to spend part of our trip paying homage to the writer (and characters) we all adore.

Which brings me to ask you, dear readers: if you had three days to explore all things Jane Austen in her home country, what would you do? Where would you go? Here’s a possible itinerary I am mulling over with the help of our travel agent.

Day One: Hampshire

The itinerary might begin in Steventon, where Austen grew up. While the rectory is gone, St Nicholas Church remains, and I’m especially eager to visit the church where she was baptized and where her father preached. This is the world that trained Austen’s eye: village life, familiar faces, recurring dramas, and the quiet comedy of human behavior. In other words, excellent preparation for writing novels that still feel uncannily modern.

In the afternoon I should like to visit Chawton, where Jane lived the last years of her life. This is where she revised and published Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Emma. I’m very much looking forward to seeing her tiny writing table and reflecting on the fact that some of the most enduring novels in English literature were written without a dedicated office, an ergonomic chair, or even electricity. How did she manage????

What excites me most, though, is the feel of Chawton—the lanes, the hedgerows, the going everywhere on foot. This is the England that lives in my imagination when I reread Austen, and I can’t wait to experience it in person.

Day Two: Bath

If you don’t go to Bath, are you even a Jane Austen fan???

I’m most excited to visit the Upper Assembly Rooms, knowing how often dances in Austen’s novels are less about romance and more about social survival. Who dances? Who is overlooked? Who pretends not to care?

Walking through Sydney Gardens, where Austen herself strolled, I’ll be thinking of Persuasion, and imagining Anne Elliot navigating Bath with grace and restraint. There’s a reason that Persuasion is my second favorite Jane Austen novel.

Bath is also a city with water very much on display. I have gently suggested that my husband might consider reenacting Darcy’s famous swimming scene, from the 1995 movie, somewhere rural and discreet, purely for research purposes. 🙂 He has not yet committed.

Day Three: Winchester

At Winchester Cathedral, we’ll visit Jane Austen’s grave. I would like to see, with my own eyes, the inscription that finally acknowledged Jane’s accomplishments as a writer. This plaque was not installed until some fifty five years after her death. Better late than never, I suppose, and yet it will still leave a slight melancholy, a wish that our favorite author had somehow achieved the happy ending she wrote for so many of her characters.

Not all of our trip will be spent on Jane Austen! We expect to spend a couple more days in London, seeing the usual tourist sights, and then zip over to Paris and the Eiffel Tower for a night before returning home. My hubby, after all, has his own wish list, and I am happy to help make his wishes come true!

So, dear readers, what do you think of this proposed itinerary? What would you add or take away if you could? Are there any scenic walks, houses, or churches we absolutely cannot miss? I can’t wait to read your suggestions below!