About this world

Words and pictures

Every estate illustration has a short passage and a caption showing what connects them. Open the full passage whenever you want to read further. The illustrations are original interpretations: some follow Austen’s descriptions; others combine details or imagine what she left unspecified. The gallery identifies each approach.

This collection includes 62 cited chapters. Neighbourhood scenes also link to complete novels on Project Gutenberg when their chapter is outside that local collection.

Yearly figures

The listings show annual means associated with each household, not the house’s price or rental yield. Six amounts come from the novels and link to their sources. The other twelve are rounded editorial guesses, marked Est. on the cards. We compared Austen’s stated incomes with each household’s land, position, and spending. These are illustrative brackets, not amounts Austen gives or measured historical budgets.

• Donwell Abbey: £4,000 a year Estimated range £3,000–£5,000. Knightley’s Highbury landholding and substantial Abbey suggest more means than Longbourn, but no amount is stated. Read the novel.
• Northanger Abbey: £8,000 a year Estimated range £6,000–£10,000. The General’s extensive property and provision for his children suggest a grand household; the novel gives no annual sum. Read the novel.
• Mansfield Park: £7,000 a year Estimated range £5,000–£8,000. Sir Thomas has a large income and West Indian property, but the Bertram household’s annual amount is unstated. Read the novel.
• Norland Park: £5,000 a year Estimated range £4,000–£6,000. John expects £4,000 a year in addition to his existing income; the total is not given. This range is a rough floor-based guess. Read the novel.
• Kellynch Hall: £5,000 a year Estimated range £4,000–£6,000. Kellynch is a good estate, but Sir Walter’s spending exceeds its unquantified income. Read the novel.
• Hartfield: £2,000 a year Estimated range £1,500–£3,000. Emma’s £30,000 is capital, not yearly income; Hartfield’s land is small and Mr Woodhouse’s other means are unknown. Read the novel.
• Rosings Park: £7,000 a year Estimated range £5,000–£9,000. Rosings is portrayed as a grand park estate with an elaborate household, without a stated annual income. Read the novel.
• Uppercross: £3,000 a year Estimated range £2,000–£4,000. The Musgroves have a large fortune and a hospitable country household; no annual amount is supplied. Read the novel.
• Woodston: £500 a year Estimated range £400–£700. Henry’s clerical living is described as sufficient provision, but its value is not stated. Read the novel.
• Randalls: £1,500 a year Estimated range £1,000–£2,000. Weston makes an easy competence in trade and buys a small estate; his annual means are unstated. Read the novel.
• Barton Park: £2,000 a year Estimated range £1,500–£3,000. Barton Park is a large squire’s house with frequent guests and local hospitality, but no income figure. Read the novel.
• Cleveland: £3,000 a year Estimated range £2,000–£4,000. The Palmers maintain a spacious modern house and pleasure grounds; their annual income is not stated. Read the novel.

A world between the lines

The neighbourhood maps are imagined views, with real history and scenes from the novels layered above them. Highbury, Barton and Bath have their own illustrations; other estates share a country setting with their own houses and places to explore. The arrangements invite you into the story.

Bath’s historic landmarks and the country-life notes draw on Historic England. Each note links to its source. Contains Historic England data under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Map sources

Estate locations are literary approximations. The national atlas uses Natural Earth’s public-domain land data, data from the Historic County Borders Project, and GeoNames town points under CC BY 4.0. The map is built with Leaflet.