This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Remember Milly-Molly-Mandy? Her stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley were a big part of my childhood. And when you opened the book, there was a map of Milly-Molly-Mandy's village. You could, with your finger, trace a path from The Nice White Cottage with the Thatched Roof to Moggs' Cottage (where Little-Friend-Susan lived) and all the way round to the school, via Miss Muggins' Shop, where you could pick up some raspberry drops.
So I was delighted to find as I opened up a brand new Christmas novel that, tucked away inside, was a village map. It reminded me so much of Milly-Molly-Mandy's. And once again I could trace the path of the main character as she walked around the village. So it got me thinking. What other novels are there with maps inside?
1. The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown – Yes this is the brand new Christmas novel which reminded me so much of Milly-Molly-Mandy's map. The village of Tindledale with the Duck & Puddle Pub, Hettie's House of Haberdashery and the Spotted Pig Cafe & Tearoom can all be clearly seen. This novel is the story of Sybil, who, after being jilted at the altar and then making a huge mistake at work, decides to leave her flat for a long weekend at Tindledale where her friend Cher has just taken over the pub. Her love of knitting creates changes – not just for herself.
2. Country Pursuits by Jo Carnegie – The Churchminster series of books from Jo starts with a village map. With the Village Green at its centre we can trace a path from Clanfield Hall to The Jolly Boot and St. Bartholomew's Church. This raunchy and romantic novel is the start of the Churchminster series followed by Naked Truths, Wild Things, Dirty Tricks and Horse Play.
3. Rivals by Jilly Cooper – In Rivals we are provided with a map that has Rupert Campbell-Black's house with its lake at the top. Then we can see where Paul and Sarah Stratton live as well as Lake House where James and Lizzie Vereker live and The Priory where Declan O'Hara lives. The novel sees the return of Rupert Campbell-Black, after his showjumping exploits in Riders, who is now the Tory minister for Sport.4. The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan – This Christmas novel also has a map looking very much like Milly-Molly-Mandy's. It shows the Main Street of Lipton with Lilian's House, the Sweet Shop and it curls round to Lipton Hall. The novel returns to the life of Rosie Hopkins and her sweetshop. She is looking forward to an exciting year but fate has other ideas.
5. Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien – Of course no post with the theme of maps in novels would be complete without mentioning the map to end all maps of Middle Earth.
What other maps in fiction can you think of?