“The low green hills were dotted with sheep and criss-crossed with blackthorn hedges faintly frosted over with buds … He began to explain the view.” (March 15, 1814)

Although Hawksfield Manor is modelled on Firle Place, the surrounding landscape is that of Northamptonshire, not Sussex, and I hope readers familiar with the area will be able to place Hawksfield Manor with some precision.

“The Eleanor Cross from which Nelly’s Lea derives its name…” (Chapter 9, p. 108): Nelly's Lea is fictitious, and the cross itself is missing, but the monument still stands.

The historical Ordinance Survey maps were a helpful tool in navigation, and the relevant tome in The Victoria History of the Counties of England provided valuable background: A History of the County of Northampton not only gives a detailed description of St Edmund’s, its extensive sections about fox hunting also tell you a great deal about the local agriculture, and it's where this picture hails from. Don’t anyone tell me writing isn’t physical work! These books weigh a ton. Agriculture and Economic Growth in England 1650–1815  (1967), edited by Eric L. Jones, is light and small enough to borrow and read at home, and full of substance. That’s one of the things I love about writing – you get to read such a lot, and browse around all sorts of libraries.