Exeter is a real-life city located in Devonshire, England. The narrator tells us it is 4 miles northward from the fictional village of Barton.
Because Exeter is fairly close to Barton, characters travel back and forth throughout the novel. Sir John Middleton attends “the club” there. Mrs. Jennings also visits friends in the city and comes back with the Steele girls in tow, who appear to be staying there.
Other characters discussed as coming from Exeter include:
- Mrs. Burgess, who provides shelter for Miss Steele after her sister’s marriage
- Mr. Rose, a clerk to a Mr. Simpson, who appears to be courting one of the Steele girls.
- We also know that the brother of Sally, a maid from Barton Park, is working as an errand-boy at the New London Inn in Exeter
