I’ve been thinking about this list for months, but never wrote my thoughts down. So, now I need to start all over again. Thinking of my favorite country houses from books or movies is a wonderful topic on a hot summer day.
Feel free to add your own picks in the comments. I know I’ve missed some front-runners.
10. Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series
Ok, ok. I know this is a cheat, but Hogwarts is in the country. I’m just not sure what country. I always love the Hogwarts part of the books and movies best. Imagine going to a school with that amazing library, the spacious grounds, and all that food! To Harry, Hogwarts was his first real home.
9. Brinkley Court (Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Dahlia’s house)
There is almost nothing as fun as reading about (or watching) Jeeves and Wooster. I could pick many houses from P.G. Wodehouse’s series, but I chose Brinkley Court as a representative country house. Bertie mostly enjoys Brinkley Court because he is fond of his Aunt Dahlia and she, in her own way, is fond of Bertie also (unlike his Aunt Agatha who can hardly stand him).
Brinkley Court seems like a quintessential country house between the wars. Aunt Dahlia seems to have a never-ending stream of house guests. Many people come simply to taste the fine cuisine of her irascible chef Anatole. The whole family is rather bizarre (in a wonderful way) including Aunt Dahlia’s cow creamer collecting husband, Tom. Some critics despise Bertie Wooster for showing the British aristocracy in bad form. I am not one of those critics. I’d love to spend a weekend at Brinkley, eating Anatole’s food, writing articles for Dahlia’s magazine My Lady’s Boudior, admiring Tom’s silver collection, chatting with Jeeves, and laughing at Bertie.
8. Gosford Park
I must admit that Jeremy Northam makes me swoon, but he is not the only reason Gosford Park is on the list. If you have seen the movie, you understand why. A weekend at this house has everything–a good shooting party, murder, adultery, Hollywood, tragedy, a butler with a severe drinking problem, an obnoxious inspector, and, sorry, Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello.
The movie is a complete story of the weekend too–you learn just as much about those downstairs as you do those upstairs. The quiet desperation of both sets of people is what makes Gosford Park the real deal–an almost a complete picture of country house life during a memorable weekend house party.
7. Seal Court from Possession
When I first read this book, I literally could not put it down. I’m not sure why exactly, but I was semi-possessed by the novel. I’m not sure if A.S. Byatt meant us to become so engrossed by her work, but the novel itself tells many stories of the struggle of love and possession. Some of the best bits of the novel hinge on a country house, Seal Court. Sir George Bailey is currently the owner of Seal Court, and a far-flung relation of Dr. Maud Bailey, our 20th century heroine, but it was another Sir George Bailey who connected the house to Christabel LaMotte, the Victorian poet.
The story of these two women intertwine even though one is from the 20th century and another is from the 19th. Seal Court is a connection and a place that holds many secrets. We see the house during the Victorian era when it is a bustling hive of family activity–many children, servants and extended family. We also see the house in the modern parts of the novel–is it quickly deteriorating with the current Sir George and his ill wife living in a few rooms with the rest of the house shut up. Although I am not sure it was Byatt’s intention, Seal Court becomes part of the intertwined narrative. The past informs the present.
And….ok, Jeremy Northam is in the movie version, and he is dreamy as Robert Henry Ash, the fictional Victorian poet. The movie is not great–the best parts are the Victorian scenes between Northam and a luminous Jennifer Ehle. Their story breaks my heart every time. Keep reading and you will spy another Ash who is kind of dreamy himself.
6. Edbrook House from Haunted
Haunted is a movie that was based on James Herbert’s novel of the same name. To be honest, I’ve never read the book. I have to admit that. But the movie is one my favorite guilty pleasures. It is not that good, but it has some of my favorite elements. Beyond the country house, Edbrook, it has ghosts, an earnest hero, Aidan Quinn, Anna Massey, and a few bizarre twists along the way.
In the movie, Parham House is Edbrook which is part of the charm for me. Mr. Quinn plays Professor Ash who has a reputation for proving that ghosts don’t exist. See, his own twin sister died many years ago and when she never reached out to him, he went on a crusade. Dr. Ash arrives at Edbrook to help an elderly retainer calm her nerves (she is sure the place is haunted). Enter a young, nubile Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews….and well, strange things happen. Dr. Ash starts to lose his confidence and then the twists begin.
You may know where this movie goes from the first scene, but when I first watched it, I had no idea. The house itself had great atmosphere and it is the center of the plot. As a warning, the movie is much different from the book (and more offensive). I know I’ve just intrigued some of you, but I wanted to give a warning to those who may not like rated R movies.
5. Alconleigh from The Pursuit of Love
For many years, I’ve wanted to be a Mitford sister. I’m just never sure which one–I guess it depends on my mood. I’m definitely not feeling Unity ever nor the beautiful Diana who had the world at her feet, but chose love and fascism over marriage to a Guinness (that is a very long and complicated story that I am not doing justice to here). Perhaps Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, who, along with her husband, ensured that Chatsworth survived after WWII to flourish today. Some days I feel like Pamela, who one person called “the Rural Mitford.” Many days, however, I’d like to be Nancy.
Where is the house in all of this? To be honest, the house is secondary to the family in this pick. Nancy Mitford wrote many novels and histories, but perhaps her most famous is The Pursuit of Love. The story is narrated by Fanny, who is abandoned by her mother (nicknamed “The Bolter”) to be raised by relatives. Fanny eventually ends up at Alconleigh full time. Based on the Mitford’s ancestral home Asthall Manor, Alconleigh is full of funny and wild characters, each with his or her own quirks. Nancy based much of this novel on her own upbringing, so I love reading about the sisters and their shenanigans. I love to imagine the huge house, where there was always a sister or relative to amuse one, surrounded by countryside in which to roam.
4. Hetton Abbey from a Handful of Dust
Brideshead seems too obvious, no? I love Hetton Abbey and so does Tony Last. Actually, Hetton Abbey is a Victorian Gothic confection. A character says “I’ve never seen it, but I have heard it is huge and quite hideous” but we will forgive it that small foible. You can read Tony’s thoughts about the house in Chapter 2. As his life starts unraveling, the one stable thing in his life is Hetton. Things don’t end well….well, because this is Evelyn Waugh. There are many things that often come back to me from this novel–Tony’s selfish wife and his inherent goodness, even if it seems twisted to us. I won’t give any spoilers but you will never think about Charles Dickens quite the same way again.
3. Manderley from Rebecca
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” What a great story Rebecca is. There is mystery, romance, strange servants–all the ingredients for a fine novel (and 1940 movie) that mostly takes place at a country house. In my opinion Rebecca is much like Jane Eyre, with the same type of flaws that bother me. Why must both heroines truly win their hero through sacrifice–both physical and mental? And I won’t go into what happens to the houses.
Manderley is all about atmosphere to me. The Cornish coast, mists, and Mrs. Danvers. The name of the house itself is perfect.
2. Highnoons from The Reluctant Widow (see also The Priory from Footsteps in the Dark)
I love Georgette Heyer almost as much as I love Jane Austen, which is really saying something. The Reluctant Widow is my favorite Heyer novel and it centers around a house named Highnoons. Highnoons is run down, drafty, possibly haunted, and definitely creepy. Our heroine, Eleanor, inherits it under most unusual circumstances and it is the center of the action in the book. Like any good country house book, Highnoons seems like a character in the book itself. Eleanor finds herself in possession of a house of secret passageways, slightly bizarre servants, that spies and unwanted relatives like to invade.
Footsteps in the Dark is a more modern mystery from Heyer and centers on a house named The Priory which is also mysterious, creepy, and 100% fun.
1. Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice
Please! You should not be surprised. To me, Pemberley is the culmination of many things. It is the home of Mr. Darcy, first of all. That should be enough for any Austenite. Actually, that the house is the fictional home of Elizabeth Darcy counts highly for me also.
Although Austen does not describe Pemberley much, what she does describe through Elizabeth’s eyes is full of the natural wonders of the place. A lake, stunning grounds, walking paths, and beautiful gardens. Even the interiors function mostly as a place for her to look at portraits of people and look at the window at the wonderful grounds…what is not to like? Pemberley is also rumored to be inspired by Chatsworth. Again, that’s an easy for number one also.
I could really just fill up this list with great fictional houses from Austen. Emma’s home, Hartfield, sounds like a lovely home, as does Kellynch from Persuasion. I found this page on Country Houses in Jane Austen on the Jane Austen Society of America site where you can read about all the houses in Austen. Just try not to be frightened by Northanger Abbey!
For more reading on this topic, check out this article by Blake Morrison from the Guardian.
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