Pride and Prejudice Day in pictures: the Derbyshire sights in Jane Austen's beloved book including Chatsworth, Bakewell and home of Colin Firth's famous lake scene

One of English literature’s most famous works was first published on this day in 1813, conjuring an imagined vision of Derbyshire and the lives of its residents which still endures and attracts visitors from around the world every year.

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.

News you can trust since 1855
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice