Name: Constance Chatterley, a bonny Scotch trout of a lady, and Clifford Chatterley, baronet and member of the intelligentsia
Location: In the soulless ugliness of the coal-and-iron Midlands
Size: Massive enough for Connie to conduct an affair in her third-floor parlour without much trouble
Years lived in together: Since the autumn of 1920, after the end of all the death and horror (the pity of war, etc.); owned

Name: Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, bickering but affectionate siblings d’un certain age Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada, past Barry’s Pond (or the Lake of Shining Waters) and down the Avenue (or the White Way of Delight) Size: Appropriate and sensible Years lived in: Since their youth, which was spent nursing their dying father rather than courting When Matthew and Marilla decided to adopt a little orphan boy from the asylum in Nova Scotia, they had…

Previously in this series: Great House Therapy: Elizabeth & Darcy’s Neither Formal Nor Falsely Adorned Pad of Privilege This post is generously sponsored by Kaia Dekker, who has been working on creating a comfortable, beautiful keyboard that you can learn more about here. Name: Jay Gatsby (not his real name), former bootlegger turned fantasist turned dead man floating in a pool Location: West Egg, New York; less fashionable than East Egg, though this is a…

Previously in this series: Great House Therapy: Jane & Edward's Fire-Ravaged Gothic Ruin Name: Elizabeth, feisty heroine who nonetheless fully conforms to patriarchal expectations; Darcy, reformed grouch and scantily clad swimmer in lakes Location: Derbyshire, England Size: Bigger and better than all other houses in the county (ask anyone) Years lived in: Since Darcy was the sweetest-tempered, most generous-hearted boy in the world; owned One year ago, after…

Susan Harlan's previous work for The Toast can be found here. When I was in Paris recently, I wondered what would happen if I just never went home. Most people wonder this in Paris. It is not novel. When I graduated from college, I was all set to move there and start an internship at The International Herald Tribune. I can’t remember how I managed to get this internship. It seems that it should…

Susan Harlan's previous work for The Toast can be found here. Names: Jane, former long-suffering governess; Edward, ill-tempered member of the aristocracy Location: Yorkshire, England Size: Enormous enough to effectively represent inherited privilege Years lived in: Probably since William the Conqueror; Owned Jane and Edward’s charming ruin Thornfield Hall may no longer be their primary residence, but it persists as a reminder of the extraordinary beauty of the Great Houses of the English countryside.

I had been living in North Carolina for five years before anyone told me that Dirty Dancing was filmed at Lake Lure, a summery vacation spot just a couple of hours away from me. This information was shocking, like learning that God resided quite nearby and was up for visitors. 

I got out my atlas and circled the blue dot with a pencil. Just a small circle, so I could find

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