Mary C. M. Phillips

Jane Austen didn’t tell us the name of the Meryton inn where Elizabeth Bennet first observed a “proud, disagreeable gentleman” at the Assembly ball in Chapter 3 of Pride andPrejudice. I needed a name for that inn when writing Charlotte Lucas’ backstory since I imagined her father owning the establishment. I felt that Mr. Lucas, a social climber, would have named his inn for the highest possible social class, royalty, and so—consulting a list of the most popular names for 18^th century English inns—The Rose & Crown seemed an obvious choice.

Country inns in Jane Austen’s time had evolved from rough coaching inns meeting only
travelers’ needs into places that also could serve as a town’s club, place of assembly and general resort. Of course, the local English inn continued to serve travelers, evoking this favorable commentary from an Englishman: “Neat inns, well-dressed and clean people keeping them…