This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Booking a holiday can be completely overwhelming. The world is a very large place, how on earth are you supposed to pinpoint an area to stay for a week or so? Well, by turning to literature. By delving into the pages and settings of your favourite novel, you'll discover that, not only is the book real in your head, but it is real to touch too. You see the characters walking down the street, you eat in the same restaurants and sleep in the same beds. I asked the Novelicious team if they'd been inspired to visit somewhere because of a book, and this is what we came up with.
1. The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick – Ever since I read Liz's first novel, about Maddie who inherited a house in Cornwall after the death of her husband, I wanted to go to that exact place. Liz describes Cornwall so beautifully in her writing. It is based in and around Helford, a tiny but beautiful village tucked away at the end of winding, narrow, Cornwall lanes, and opening out onto the Helford River. As I stepped out of the car near the sailing club (mentioned in the novel) and soaked up the amazing view of the river, I felt like I was stepping into the novel. It was a surreal and poetic experience.
2. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres – Victoria chose to visit Kefalonia after reading about Captain Corelli and even hired a car so she could visit all the locations from the book. The novel is set in the early days of the Second World War. Captain Antonio Corelli is the Italian officer in command. It isn't long before he and the doctor's daughter, Pelagia, are having an affair. Victoria loves the book so much, she not only visitied the setting, but also called her cat Corelli!
3. A Room With A View by E. M. Forster – Debs was inspired to visit Florence and the Ponte Vecchio specifically because of A Room with a View. In the book, Lucy lives a rigid, middle class life, but finds everything she knows thrown off balance when she visits Florence. She meets some wonderful characters, who are completely alien to her ordered and repressed upbringing.4. Dracula by Bram Stoker – The vampire story of Count Dracula inspired Kay to visit Whitby to and the Royal Hotel, where Bram Stoker wrote his famous story. There is even a Dracula Experience in Whitby.
5. Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella – Rebecca Bloomwood's life is pretty peachy. She has a boyfriend, a job, a healthy bank balance (for now) and the lovely boyfriend has asked her to move to New York with him. Of course she says yes. Think of the shops there! Sephora, Bloomingdales, Barneys, Century 21. And it is these shops that Susan hunted down on a recent visit to New York, just so she could follow in Rebecca's footsteps.
Have you ever travelled to the locations featured in one of your favourite books?