Syrie James

 

 

It’s the 250^th anniversary of the year of Jane Austen’s birth, and I just had to spend a month in England this autumn to pay homage to the brilliant writer who has inspired so many works of my own and brought such joy to my life!

It was an epic journey that included visits to numerous historic houses and iconic landmarks, many Jane Austen and Brontë sites, fabulous theatre, catch ups with English friends, and so much more. I took so many photos, it was hard to narrow them down — but here are some of the highlights.

 

 

I began with 4 days in London where I visited a bunch of museums and historic houses including Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria grew up, and gorgeous Apsley House, the home of the Duke of Wellington.

 

 

 

 

 

I had the pleasure of meeting up with my English author friend Gill Paul for a lovely walk across Hampstead Heath and a visit to Kenwood House, the former home of Lord Chief Justice William Murray, the 1st Earl of Mansfield, and Dido Elizabeth Belle in the 1700s.

 

 

On my last night in London, I met three execs from Theatrical Rights Worldwide, the publishing house with headquarters in New York and London and local offices around the world, who published my new play, JANE AUSTEN IN 89 MINUTES. It was wonderful to connect in person for the first time and we’re talking about my next play.

 

 

I lived for a week with travel buddies Jeanne Talbot and Erna Arnesen in the guest apartment at Chawton House in Hampshire, an Elizabethan manor which belonged to Jane Austen’s brother Edward Austen Knight and is now a research library for the study of early women’s writing, and has stunning grounds and gardens.

 

 

 

 

At Chawton House, I met Jeremy Knight, Jane Austen’s third great-grandson through her brother Edward Austen Knight. He lived at Chawton House with his family for over over 40 years and now volunteers there as a guide for visitors. I was lucky enough to get a private, guided tour of the house that included a look at a secret liquor cabinet behind a bookcase in the library!

 

My author friend Louise Fein drove up to meet us for a day and we had such fun touring the “Sisters of the Pen” exhibit at Chawton House, which celebrates Jane Austen and the women writers who shaped—and were shaped by—her wit, words, and world.

 

 

We spent a full week reveling in All Things Austen, visiting or re-visiting many Austen-related sites in Hampshire that had special exhibits in her honor, including my favorite stop: Jane Austen’s House Museum a short walk down the road. For me, having written three novels about Jane Austen, it was like a dream come true to once again spend time in the house where Austen lived and wrote her books!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

England is steeped in history every which way you look. During an Evensong performance at Windsor Castle, I discovered to my surprise that I was sitting six inches away from the marble slab beneath which Henry VIII and his wife Jane Seymour are buried!

 

 

A 9-day tour followed that included an unforgettable Shakespeare production in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and visits to a dozen historic homes and estates including Chatsworth House, held by a charitable foundation on behalf of the 12th Duke of Devonshire and the Cavendish family, who have owned the property for nearly five centuries and continue to live there. (Part of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 2005 was filmed there).

 

 

 

 

I especially enjoyed our visit to Harewood Hall, which was hosting a wonderful exhibit, Regency Reimagined, honoring the work and sensibilities of Jane Austen and artist William Turner, who were both born in 1775.

 

 

 

 

 

The tour included many fascinating sites in Yorkshire related to the Brontës, including the Brontës’s birthplace in Thornton, and Haworth Parsonage, home of the Brontës, now a wonderful museum honoring their lives and works. I had visited Haworth before when researching my novel, THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE, and it was exciting to return and once again walk the halls where Charlotte and her sisters lived and wrote!

 

 

 

 

 

We were treated to a visit to the museum celebrating veterinarian James Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small fame, and a tour of the Yorkshire Dales, countryside which is so beautiful and remote it felt like stepping back in time a hundred years.

 

 

 

In York, it was a delight to visit locations from my recent historical mystery/Gothic romance novel, THE SECRETS OF THORNDALE MANOR, which is partially set there, and to have afternoon tea with my longtime friend David Dore, a mason and house builder from Doncaster who was an invaluable resource when I was researching the subject of roof repairs on ancient English manor houses for that book.

 

 

Among the many other manor homes and estates we visited were Shibden Hall, home of Anne Lister, and the ancient and fascinating Haddon Hall,  a filming location for numerous movies and TV shows. (Our guide regaled us with fun stories of the movies that had been filmed there.)

 

 

 

On our own again, Erna, Jeanne, and I visited Victorian author Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell’s house in Manchester, before driving north to the gorgeous Lake District, where we took boat rides on two lakes and visited one of the oldest stone circles in Britain.

 

 

 

 

We also toured the charming Lake District homes of famous poets, authors, and artists including Beatrix Potter, whose house and gardens served as inspiration for many of the illustrations in her books.

 

 

 

 

The Lake District was a fabulous finale to an unforgettable 4-week holiday in England. I came away with lovely memories and my head full of ideas for future novels.

I capped it off by flying directly to Baltimore for more Jane Austen fun — to attend the Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting.

 

 

Here I am in my new Regency gown and turban, in front of a backdrop of Jane Austen’s House–which I was lucky enough to have visited in person only a few weeks before. It was a delight to dine and dance with friends old and new, to hear insightful talks from breakout and plenary speakers, and to celebrate our love for Jane Austen in style with 950 attendees. As Jane Austen said, “One cannot have too large a party.” The 2025 AGM was so much fun, I’m already looking forward to next year’s gathering in Tucson.

Are you an Austen and Brontë fan like me? Have you been to England and visited any of the places I did? If so, which one/s? If not, are any on your wish list? I hope you’ll have a chance to go someday!