As the central hub of British high society, London plays a key role in virtually all of the novels of Jane Austen. Through each story, we meet a wide range of individuals who live in a diverse spread of neighborhoods throughout the city. These include the following:
Mayfair & Westminster
- Sense and Sensibility
- Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have a house in Hanover Square
- Mrs. Ferrars lives on Park Street (almost certainly by Grosvenor Square). We’re told Edward lives there and it’s likely Robert does too.
- After getting kicked out by his mother, Edward lodges at #---, Pall Mall.
- Sir John and Lady Middleton live in Conduit Street
- Willoughby lodges in Bond Street when he’s in town.
- Brandon lodges in St. James’s Street when in town.
- Fanny is friends with a Mrs. Dennison who hosts a musical party in London, likely somewhere in the West End.
- Pride and Prejudice
- Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy has a London house, which we can assume is in Mayfair.
- Miss Georgiana Darcy lives primarily in London "in an establishment" with her companion Mrs. Annesley. It is unclear whether she stays at her brother's house or in a separate space.
- Though we are never told as much explicitly, it is likely that the Fitzwilliam family, keeps a house in the West End.
- Mr. Hurst and Mrs. Louisa Hurst have a house in Grosvenor Street. Charles Bingley appears to stay with them when in town, suggesting that he does not own a London house of his own.
- Lady Metcalf, acquaintance of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, may maintain a home in London with or without her children and governess Miss Pope
Marylebone
- Sense and Sensibility
- Mrs. Jennings has a house in Upper Berkeley Street, near Portman Square
- Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood rent a house in Harley Street when they stay in London.
West End
- Sense and Sensibility
- When the Miss Steeles come to town, they stay with a cousin at Bartlett’s Buildings, Holborn.
- Presumably Miss Sparks and Miss Godby, Nancy Steele’s acquaintances, live in London. Given the Steele’s status, it is likely their friends would live in a similar neighborhood to their own.
The City
- Sense and Sensibility
- The narrator tells us that Mrs. Jennings’ late husband traded with success in “a less elegant part of town,” suggesting they once lived in the heart of trade themselves
- Pride and Prejudice
- Mr. Edward Gardiner and Mrs. M. Gardiner live in Gracechurch Street with their children.
- Mr. Gardiner's business associates Haggerstone and Mr. Stone likely also live in the City
Soutbank & Southwark
- Pride and Prejudice
- We know Mrs. Younge has a "large house" in Edward Street where she lets lodgings. This area is south of the Thames and could be a brothel, though it is by no means in the red light district.
Unplaceable
- Sense and Sensibility
- Though we are never told of where Brandon finds Eliza Williams, it is presumably in very poor accommodations, likely either Southwark or East End.
- Mr. Donovan appears to be a London medical professional of some kind. He treats Charlotte’s baby and has all the gossip about Edward and Lucy.
- Mrs. Jennings is going to have the Parrys and the Sandersons over for dinner the day that the news of Willoughby’s relationship breaks. They could be West Enders or Mrs. Jennings’ old friends from the City.
- Pride and Prejudice
- Sir William Lucas likely rented a space in the West End when he attended St. James' Court, though we are given little evidence on where precisely and none that he maintains a home there.
