This year marks 250 years since the birth of novelist Jane Austen and while Devon is better known for being the home of Agatha Christie – she isn’t the only popular writer to have been inspired by the county.
Jane Austen was born in Hampshire and spent most of her life there and in Bath, but she is also known for the quote: “Sidmouth is now talked of as our summer abode.” Jane, along with her parents and her sister, Cassandra, often visited Devon during the summer months and avid readers will recognise parts of Mid Devon in the novel Sense and Sensibility. The adaptation was mostly filmed in the county, with several locations in South Devon being used. It is also said that Jane fell in love in Devon, so why not combine your romantic trips with the celebration of her birth and see if you can have your own epic love story in Devon?
In 1801, the Austens visited Sidmouth in East Devon. They were invited to the region by Richard Buller, a newly wed vicar who had taken up residency in the rectory in Colyton. He had previously studied under Jane’s father, himself a clergy man and had lived with the family for a time in Hampshire. At his invitation, the Austens made their way to East Devon and while here, Jane is said to have met the love of her life. Not much is known about the young man in question, it is speculated that he was a member of the clergy and was likely introduced to Jane by Richard Buller. According to later biographies, Jane spent two weeks with this gentleman and the pair were inseparable. In the early 1800s when Jane was falling in love, Sidmouth had an elegant ballroom, tea room and some shops, so there were plenty of places to go and socialise. Sadly for Jane, after those two weeks, her beau had to depart and not long after, she heard that he had died suddenly. Despite other marriage proposals, Jane never did settle down with anyone, perhaps ironically for someone who wrote some of the greatest romances in literary history.
Image: Sidmouth Beach
If you want to relive Jane’s wild love story, Sidmouth is full of incredible Regency era buildings and the history of the Jurassic coast gives it a romantic air that is hard to replicate elsewhere. The town stays in Jane’s mind as well as her heart, it makes a brief cameo in her novel Persuasion!
The year after the failed love story, the Austens were back in Devon, visiting Teignmouth near Torquay in 1802, staying at a place known as the Great Bella Vista. Teignmouth is another great place to visit for a romantic, nostalgic trip to Devon – the pier is Victorian and it has traditional seaside town vibes. The neighbouring area of Dawlish has black swans swimming through the town centre and of course, Torquay is the home of fellow novelist Agatha Christie.
It is this part of Devon that featured in the 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant. Compton Castle near Paignton is one of the locations used, as well as several locations near Plymouth, like Saltram House, Berry Pomeroy and Mothecombe House. Find out more about film locations around Devon here.
Want to find out more about Devon’s literary connections? You can see the Devon Read List here.
