Short read: Exactly what it says on the tin. With sense, sensibility, pride but no prejudice we’re on the trail of the great novelist. Her time in London.
Long read: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has no pleasure in a good walk, must be intolerably stupid.” Ok, it’s the teensiest of paraphrases – a one-word alteration – but it’s no less true for that bit of sub-editing. Says it all, really. Well, not quite all. Mustn’t forget “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Jane Austen devotee in possession of the good fortune of a couple of free hours today must be in want of this walk.” Or, “‘My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.’ ‘You are mistaken,’ said he gently, ‘that is not good company, that is the best.'” If you’re a Jane Austen buff you’ll have pleasure in a good walk and be clever and well informed. Welcome to the best company! (Your fellow walkers and indeed London Walks!)
Bonus read: Kevin – a distinguished, retired Museum of London Archaeologist and Curator – may work a classy old pub or two into the weave. Makes the walk that bit more social; give people a chance to compare notes re their “relationship” with the great novelist. Fun.
The what-the-guide-says read: People associate Jane Austen and her characters with a rural setting. But London is central to both Jane Austen’s real life and her literary life.
So, this tour will explore Jane’s connections with London and give the background to Sense and Sensibility, a good part of which is based in this very area. We begin with the place Jane’s coach would arrive from Hampshire, and then walk the streets haunted by Willougby; past shops visited by the Palmers, the Ferrars; visit the location of Jane Austen’s brother’s bank and see the publisher of Jane’s Books. The area around Old Bond Street was the home of the Regency elite and many buildings and a surprising number of the shops remain as they were in Jane Austen’s day.
JANE AUSTEN’S LONDON – THE PRACTICALS
Jane Austen’s London takes place at 2.30 pm on Sunday, April 2nd. The meeting point is just outside the Green Park exit (by the fountain) of Green Park Tube.
LONDON WALKS REVIEWS
“Best Tourism Experience in London”Gold Medal Winner, Visit London
“The best walking tours are organized by London Walks” USA Today
“London Walks has many copycats, but it’s the best”Frommer’s London by Night
LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS
If you can’t make the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, public Jane Austen’s London walk do think about booking one as a private tour. If you go private you can have Jane Austen’s London – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Noel or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. A private London Walk – they’re good value for an individual or couple and sensational value for a group – makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing.
GIVE THE GIFT OF LONDON WALKS
A private London Walk makes a special, thoughtful, and unusual gift – be it a birthday or anniversary or graduation or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.
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