Chawton, Hampshire, England, June 1932, 1943, 1945–7

Chawton is the small English village where the majority of the novel takes place. American pilgrims of Jane Austen, like Mimi, travel to Chawton to see Jane Austen’s last residence. She first encounters Adam in 1932, and in 1943, Adeline and Dr. Gray are introduced. The majority of the novel takes place between fall of 1945 and spring of 1946, jumping a year later in the Epilogue to explain how the characters couple up and reach happy endings. Jane Austen’s legacy is revered by some and shunned by others, creating a major conflict for the Jane Austen Society. Setting the novel before, during, and after World War II provides a backdrop of loss and sacrifice to the character’s tribulations—especially Adam’s and Adeline’s. The small village setting preserves the natural beauty of the English countryside that Austen had experienced and preserved in her writing...