Regency England--the Age of Austen
The Edinburgh and London Royal Mail (1838) by John Frederick Herring
In Jane Austen's day, one could travel only six to eight miles per hour depending on the quality of the roads. Distances of 60 miles, an hour's trip by car today, took seven to ten hours, sometimes requiring an overnight stay to rest the horses. Compared to our global world today, life in Regency England was smaller and more insular.