How Jane Austen’s landscapes mapped women’s lives

Saadaoui, Nada ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5496-4187 (2025) How Jane Austen’s landscapes mapped women’s lives. The Conversation UK .

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Abstract

Nada Saadaoui - PhD student in English Literature at the University of Cumbria - published an online article in ‘The Conversation’ website exploring Austen’s geography.

Jane Austen’s novels are often remembered for their wit, romance and sharp social critique. Yet they are also profoundly geographical works: cities, seaside resorts, country estates and naval towns structure the possibilities and limitations of her heroines’ lives. In Austen’s world, place equals power. Where a woman could walk, who she might encounter and how her movements were constrained often determined the course of her story. Tracing Austen’s fictional geographies – from Bath’s promenades to Brighton’s dangers, Portsmouth’s naval streets and the expansive grounds of Pemberley – reveals how these locations shaped women’s freedoms, reputations and choices.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	The Conversation UK
Publisher:	The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited
Departments:	Institute of Arts > Humanities
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	06 Nov 2025 11:24
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2025 11:45
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/9166

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