England

Upon arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport, travel west to the little village of Burleigh on the edge of the Cotswold Hills. Check into our fine country house hotel for the first of two nights and enjoy a welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant.

After a sumptuous English breakfast at our hotel, join Professor Treharne and fellow travelers for the first of several gatherings to discuss the assigned readings and establish the framework for the trip. After lunch, head to the nearby village of Slad where English poet and novelist Laurie Lee began and ended his life and which was the setting for his glorious evocation of Gloucestershire. Return to our hotel by road and enjoy dinner in the hotel restaurant.

This morning gather for another session of book discussions and talks. Check out of the hotel and depart for the Malvern Hills, which inspired W.H. Auden and many other famous writers and composers. Stop at the village of Dymock where Robert Frost, Rupert Brooke and the great Welsh poet Edward Thomas forged a lifelong friendship. We’ll have an opportunity to walk through Frost’s “yellow wood” and explore the forested trails that would have been familiar to these compatriots. Continue to the great city of Bath and check into our hotel, a striking Georgian townhouse.

This morning gather in our hotel for another seminar on our selected books. After a takeaway lunch we venture into the city of Bath for a guided walking tour, focusing on the city’s history during the Georgian era, familiar to many from the works of Jane Austen. Enjoy tea in the famous Assembly Rooms, built in 1771 and once the center of Bath’s rich social life where the likes of Austen, Samuel Johnson and Joseph Haydn would have gathered.

Early this morning travel to the Quantock Hills where we visit Coleridge’s Cottage and walk past the country house of Alfoxden where Dorothy Wordsworth wrote her seminal Alfoxden Journal. These hills spawned arguably one of the most important works of Romantic literature: Coleridge’s and Wordsworth’s collaboration on the slim volume of poetry, Lyrical Ballads. This afternoon check into our superb country house hotel in the heart of Dorsetshire and enjoy dinner.

Begin the day with literary discussion before paying a visit to Hardy’s Cottage on the edge of Dorchester. Later drive along the panoramic road above the famous Chesil Beach, the setting for Ian McEwan’s eponymous novel. Return to our hotel where we dine in the pub which is said to have appeared in Hardy’s novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Enjoy our last book discussions this morning before departing Evershot and driving east to the village of Chawton, where we visit Jane Austen’s home for the final years of her life. Later make our way north to the village of Hook where we spend our final night.

Transfer to London’s Heathrow Airport for outbound flights.