Lyme Park: First Impressions

good adaptation

bad adaptation

I first read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in 2005. I became a fan immediately and therefore, I became a hater of that same year's film adaptation - with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen-. It's a beautiful film but not well adapted. I think most people (who have read the book) would agree that the best adaptation, incredibly loyal to Austen's words, is the 1995 series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

It is not a secret that Jane Austen was inspired by Chatsworth House to describe Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's humble flat. And though the actual Chatsworth house was used in the 2005 film and even the mini-series Death comes to Pemberley, it was not used in the 1995 series. Pemberley in that series was "played" by Lyme Hall in Lyme Park. You can watch here a little video from the 1995 adaptation, to see the locations I am talking about, and compare it to the photos you will see further on.

What did Jane see?

In the last 9 months, I have visited Lyme Park 3 times. A lover of the 19th century British literature like me cannot but walk up and down those hills, and around that astonishing manor, and put oneself in the shoes of one of those writers. I know Lyme Hall is not Jane's Pemberley, but it will do until I visit Chatsworth house.

Can you see yourself in the story?

Lyme Park is part of the National Trust.Visiting the house or the gardens (and the lake) requires paying a ticket. Prices vary depending on whether you visit only the house, only the garden or both. So far, I have visited only the gardens and that has been enough to let my imagination fly.

Yeah... I could live here.

Or even in a tent here

If you have seen the video I mentioned before, you have probably seen the lake in which supposedly Mr. Darcy likes swimming,

Mr. Darcy is there, diving.

also the gardens where Lizzy and her aunt and uncle walk,

Aren't these roses beautiful, Mr. Gardiner?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man...

... in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

But Lyme Park is not only beautiful architecture, gardens, lakes, etc. They also care for us: book lovers. Next to the shop, there is a lovely little reading room. You can take any book from the shelves, sit down in one of the sofas and read for as long as you want... well, until 5pm, when they close. Some of the things I like the most from this room are the quotes on the walls. There are 5 quotes from different books. I guessed 3 out of 5. Can you guess them all without cheating?

 Give it a try! I will post the right answers in a few days.