Among Jane Austen fans, January 28 is known as Pride and Prejudice Day, celebrating the novel of manners and romantic manoeuvres which is said to have sold 20million copies and is regularly ranked among the most popular works of fiction of all time.
Most of Austen’s life was spent in the south of England, and the Bennet family of the book hail from Hertfordshire, but a key turning point in the plot occurs when Elizabeth Bennet takes a trip to Derbyshire where she finally begins to realise her feelings for the dashing Mr Darcy.
Over the centuries there has been some debate among scholars about whether or not Austen spent any formative time in the county that might have influenced her writing, but a number of real-world locations are dotted throughout the book, and other imagined places bear a striking likeness to places we know and love.
In Austen’s time, the county was earning a new reputation as a wealthy heartland of the Industrial Revolution and a visitor destination for those with the means to travel, but many would still agree with one particular line of the book today: “There is not a finer county in England than Derbyshire.”
Reality and imagination have been entwined ever since, with film and television adaptations revisiting to the county and some of its most famous landmarks to shoot on location and showcase the beauty of our local landscapes to audiences around the world.
Here are just a few of the essential sights on a tour of Austen’s Derbyshire.

1. Pride & Prejudice Day 2024
Chatsworth is thought to be the inspiration for the book's estate of Pemberley, Mr Darcy's ancestral home: "‘a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills." Photo: Brian Eyre

2. Pride & Prejudice Day 2024
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire welcomed the cast and crew of the 2005 film adaptation, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, to shoot scenes on the estate and in the magnificent Painted Hall. Photo: Brian Eyre

3. Pride & Prejudice Day 2024
Just across the border in Cheshire, on the outskirts of the Peak District, the lake at Lyme found new status when Colin Firth took a dip in the lake for the 1995 BBC adaptation. (Photo: National Trust Images/Chris Lacey) Photo: ©National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

4. Pride & Prejudice Day 2024
The Pemberley interiors for the BBC adaptation were shot at Sudbury Hall. (Photo by English Heritage/Getty Images) Photo: Getty Images