Literary connections in London and the South East

The South East has some really exciting literary connections. So if you like the works of Jane Austen or Virginia Woolf, or have watched the film adaptions of some of literature's great works, take some time to explore our special places.
Jane Austen on and off screen
James Austen, the brother of Jane Austen was the vicar of Sherborne St. John, the parish church for The Vyne from 1791 to 1819. Edward, Jane's nephew, married Emma Smith, the niece of the Chute family who lived at the Vyne, in 1828. Jane and her sister Cassandra attended dances here - perhaps these dances inspired some of her famous ball scenes in her books?
Basildon Park took a starring role in the 2005 production of 'Pride & Prejudice', starring Keira Knightley as Lizzy and Matthew MacFadyen as Darcy. The 18th-century Palladian mansion 'played' Mr Bingley's house, ‘Netherfield’, a suitably grand residence for a 'young man of four or five thousand a year'.
The 2009 the BBC TV version of 'Emma' starring Romola Garai as Emma and Jonny Lee Miller as George Knightley, features Box Hill as the backdrop for a picnic in the final episode

The homes of Vita Sackville - West
Vita Sackville-West, the poet and writer, moved to Sissinghurst Castle Garden in the 1930s with her diplomat and author husband, Harold Nicolson.
The structure of the garden rooms, and the lush planting in the gardens by Vita and Harold reflect the romance and intimacy of her poems and writings.
Inpiration for Victorian writers
Follow in the footsteps of Dickens, Ruskin, Tennyson with a visit to Carlyle's House, hidden in the quiet back streets of Chelsea.
Lesser known now, a twist of fate turned Thomas Carlyle into a star of the 19th-century literary world.