In Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters lose their family estate and move into a small cottage in Devon. With a new film version opening in U.S. theaters Oct. 16, you can sleep in the kind of houses Austen wrote about, including one that belonged to her own brother.
Georgia Oakley directed the new adaptation, with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as sisters Elinor and Marianne. The film opened in the U.K. on Sept. 25, and vacation rental company Oliver’s Travels has pointed fans toward a group of period homes that could pass for settings in the novel. The lineup runs from sprawling country estates to a modest gatehouse cottage, and several date back to Austen’s era.
Henry Austen’s Marylebone Townhouse Takes Overnight Guests
Henry Austen, Jane’s brother, once owned Austen House, a Georgian townhouse in London’s Marylebone neighborhood. Its interiors draw on the Regency society life he shared with his wife, Eliza.
One room goes by Jane’s Sitting Room. The house also has seven bedrooms, and no two look alike. It’s the only London pick here, which suits the chapters where Elinor and Marianne head to the city with Mrs. Jennings.
5 More ‘Stays for Sense’ and Sensibility Fans
These five aren’t film locations, though each one fits Austen’s world. One sits on the same Devon moor where the new “Sense and Sensibility” was shot.
- Dartmoor Tea House, Devon: This hilltop house in Belstone has formal gardens and an indoor pool, and it sits on the edge of Dartmoor. The film shot on another part of the moor, around Sheepstor and Yelverton.
- Colleton Hall, Devon: Austen sends the Dashwoods to Devon, and this country house gives you 38 acres of woodland and parkland in the same county. Inside, you’ll find a sweeping staircase, a baby grand piano and a Regency dining table.
- Georgian Gate House, Norfolk: It sits at the entrance to Wolterton Park, with a columned portico and an open fire. Its small scale recalls Barton Cottage, the Dashwoods’ new home in the novel.
- Featherstone Manor, Bath: A mayor of Bath once lived in this 1700s manor, which has an original staircase and four-poster beds. You can walk to Bath’s historic center in about 20 minutes.
- Earnshill House, Somerset: The manor dates to the early 18th century and holds a Grade I listing. The estate covers 700 acres and includes a rose walk and a walled garden.
Watch the movie first, then figure out which sister you’d travel like. Marianne would probably fall hard for Earnshill’s rose walk, while practical Elinor might settle into the Norfolk cottage and call it plenty. If your group can’t agree, you’re already living the plot.