A Day in Jane Austen’s Chawton: Part I

Dear Friends, I’m writing to you from my hotel room in the small medieval town of Stratford-upon-Avon. It has been yet another glorious day here in England. Each day on this trip continues to be as enchanting as the last! I am so moved by the history of this country and the way in which they celebrate it. There’s some time to spare before tonight’s showing of Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Royal Theatre so I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about our first day of the trip, Sunday, September 24th, 2023, when The Enchanted Book Club ventured to Chawton together.

Our group met on Sunday morning and excitedly kicked off our literary tour. When we boarded our private motor coach, I gifted a custom Enchanted Book Club travel journal to each of our guests. With so many treasured memories to be made, I knew it would be the perfect place to collect them.

When we arrived in Chawton, we met our delightful guide in the front of Chawton House. Chawton House is a beautiful manor house in the English countryside that belonged to Jane’s brother, Edward. After their father passed, Edward gave Jane a much more humbly-sized place across the way. Although Jane didn’t live in Chawton House herself, she visited her brother there and lived in the village for the last eight years of her life. Additionally, while in Chawton, Jane revised Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey as well as wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.

I’ve dreamed of visiting the English countryside for many years and I had always imagined how it might feel to be here. I knew it would be beautiful, breathtaking, and completely serene. However, setting foot in Chawton for the first time, there was one thing that surprised me: I felt something I can’t quite put into words. The best way I can put it is that everything feels like it is meant to be here. The sheep are grazing, the flowers are growing, the people are warm and cheerful—it is more than idyllic, rather it feels like harmony.

When we stepped into Chawton House, our guide described the history of the house and discussed how unhappy Jane was living in Bath before she came to Chawton (spoiler: I visited Bath the next day and have quite a bit to say about whether Jane was indeed unhappy in Bath). Regardless, she truly loved Chawton and the moment you do so little as breathe in the air here, it is simple to understand why.

The remainder of the tour throughout Chawton House was self-guided. I explored each room and was taken by how wonderfully grand it was. While the interior of the house was beautiful, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the greenery framed by historic window panes.

After the house tour, our group was welcome to enjoy lunch in Chawton House’s courtyard. However, the English countryside was calling my name and I couldn’t help but wander off to explore even more. I walked up a staircase right outside the courtyard to discover a winding path lined with trees eagerly awaiting their new colors. I was about halfway down the path when a realization quite literally stopped me in my tracks: I was alone in the English countryside. A moment I had deeply yearned for had suddenly arrived all at once and it became very clear to me that this was the place that surrounded some of the most prolific storytellers of all time. Would Pride and Prejudice or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe be the treasured stories they are today without the existence of the English countryside? We will never know (thank goodness) but I can’t help but believe that the English countryside co-authored the stories we hold dear.

As I continued on (slightly teary-eyed, I must admit!), I came upon a spiraled garden gate. I slowly pulled it open to be met with what I can only describe as enchantment in every sense of the word. There were apple trees, pumpkins, a variety of herbs, lavender, and my favorite part: The Pride and Prejudice Rose Walk. Needless to say, if you visit Chawton House, don’t miss the garden! I spent as much time amongst the flowers as I could, feeling closer to the storytellers and the characters who inspire me more than ever before.

I know I’ve said it plenty of times but it truly is a dream to be here. And what’s even more, to be here with the sweetest souls, true kindred spirits ❤️ If you aren’t on the trip with me in real life, I want to take you along for a vicarious adventure — keep an eye out for my next blog post all about Jane Austen’s house!