David Masters/Flickr
By Kimberley Lovato
Whether imagined or plucked from the author's experience, book settings often play a key supporting role to the colorful characters and intriguing storylines. Be it a small cottage and garden in England's Lake District, a stretch of street in a San Francisco suburb, or the city of Paris itself, here are 10 cities with inspiring literary locations for travelers of all ages.
Photo Caption: Literary classics. By David Masters
Where: Newport, Rhode Island
F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic character Jay Gatsby and his tragic longing for the beautiful (and married) Daisy Buchanan unfold in scenes of lavish parties, bootlegged gin, and giddy girls in flapper-style party frocks at a swank Long Island abode.
Imagine yourself as a guest of Gatsby and party like it's 1925 with a tour of Rosecliff Mansion (https://www.newportmansions.org), the Newport manor that served as Gatsby's festive party palace in the 1974 film starring Robert Redford.
Photo Caption: Rear view of Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island
Where: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Though L. M. Montgomery wrote 20 books and more than 500 short stories, she is best-known for her Anne of Green Gables series that accompanies the orphaned and red-headed main character around Canada's smallest province.
Book one of the 26 rooms at Dalvay-by-the-Sea (www.dalvaybythesea.com), a historic property whose exterior was depicted as the White Sands Hotel in the series "Road to Avonlea." Or visit the manicured Avonlea Village (www.avonlea.ca), a replica of the village described in Montgomery's books. Of course Green Gables (https://www.pc.gc.ca), the green-roofed house originally belonging to relatives of the author, is not to be missed.
Photo Caption: The Original Green Gables House on Prince Edward Island, by David Mertl
Where: Lake District, UK
Beatrix Potter penned her tale of a rascally rabbit in 1902, and Peter has hopped through the hearts of children the world over ever since. Potter's home, Hill Top (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top) in England's Lake District, is one of the country's most popular literary pilgrimages. It's also where Potter's other famous characters (Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers, and Jemima Puddleduck) were put to page.
Stroll through the author's garden and home, with original furnishings and sketches, or visit Hawkshead, a picture-perfect village that's home to the Beatrix Potter Gallery (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery/) and the grammar school attended by poet William Wordsworth.
Photo Caption: Beatrix Potter's house, Hill Top, in England
Where: Bath, UK
Jane Austen set two of her six published novels (Northanger Abbey and Persuasion) in Bath, where she lived between 1801 and 1806. These days, Bath is as popular for its beauty and world-famous bathhouses as it is for its Austen-themed itineraries. Download a free audio guide and walking map from www.visitbath.co.uk, or visit the Jane Austen Centre (www.janeausten.co.uk),a costume-clad Disneyland for Austen lovers, created with the help of local enthusiasts and members of the Jane Austen Society.
Photo Caption: The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England
Where: St. Petersburg, Russia
Set during the final days of the Romanov Empire, Kathryn Harrison's latest novel transports readers to a Russia that's both fantastical and real, with vivid scenes swirling around St. Petersburg.
Harrison's heroine, Masha, shares the story of her father's murder on the Petrovsky Bridge in the book's opening, and later is sent to live at the Alexander Palace (https://eng.tzar.ru), located outside the city. Though Alexander III and Nicholas II both set up their family residences in suburbs, the Winter Palace (www.hermitagemuseum.org) was still used for official ceremonies and receptions by the imperial family. It was declared part of the State Hermitage Museum in 1917 and several of the opulent and embellished staterooms are open to the public.
Photo Caption: The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
Where: Madrid, Spain
This quintessential novel of post-WWI hedonistic expatriates in Europe set Ernest Hemingway on his legendary literary trajectory, and several watering holes and restaurants proudly pay homage to frequent tippler and Madrid regular "Don Ernesto" (as Hemingway is called in Spain).
Botin (www.botin.es) is the setting for lunch between main characters Jake and Brett. Hemingway wrote, "We lunched upstairs at Botin's. It is one of the best restaurants in the world. We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta." Or drop a cocktail at the bar of the Palace Hotel (www.westinpalacemadrid.com), also mentioned in the book and appreciated by "Papa."
Photo Caption: Restaurante Sobrino de Botín in Madrid, Spain
Where: Paris, France
Twelve books later, the intrepid detective Aimée Leduc is still at it in Paris. In her latest book, author Cara Black brings Leduc and readers back to the Marais where it all began to unravel a mystery set in the city's smallest and oldest Chinatown, made up of just two streets -- Rue Marie and Rue Volta, lined with Chinese restaurants and merchants. The Arts & Métier Museum (www.arts-et-metiers.net) anchors the neighborhood, and it's here where Leduc is hired to digitize the exhibits. There's a chase scene that takes place later in the book in the museum's library, also open to visitors.
Photo Caption: Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France
Where: Hannibal, Missouri
No one curates memories of youthful summer days of mischief and mayhem better than Samuel Clemens, a.k.a, Mark Twain. Want to trace the Mississippi River adventures of precocious Tom Sawyer and his best friend Huck Finn? Take a cruise down the Mighty Miss where Clemens was once himself a riverboat pilot (www.marktwainriverboat.com), or visit the various locations around town like Clemens's boyhood home (www.marktwainmuseum.org) with that famous picket fence, or the homes of friends Tom Blankenship (Huck Finn) and Laura Hawkins, immortalized in print as Becky Thatcher.
Photo Caption: The Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, is the site of the writer's boyhood home.
Where: Winnipeg, Canada
It was Winnipeg resident Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, en route to England during WWI, who named an orphaned and adopted black bear after his hometown. Years later, "Winnie" was presented to the London Zoo where she became the favorite attraction of Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne, and later the world's most beloved stuffed-with-fluff teddy. Kids will treasure Winnipeg's newly opened pocket-sized Pooh Gallery (https://www.tourismwinnipeg.com/) in the lush and sprawling Assiniboine Park featuring signed books, sketches, and "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot," a painting by Ernest H. Shepard, the original illustrator of the books.
Photo Caption: The Pooh Gallery at the Pavilion Gallery Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Whether imagined or plucked from the author's experience, book settings often play a key supporting role to the colorful characters and intriguing storylines. Be it a small cottage and garden in England's Lake District, a stretch of street in a San Francisco suburb, or the city of Paris itself, here are 10 cities with inspiring literary locations for travelers of all ages.
Photo Caption: Literary classics. By David Masters
F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic character Jay Gatsby and his tragic longing for the beautiful (and married) Daisy Buchanan unfold in scenes of lavish parties, bootlegged gin, and giddy girls in flapper-style party frocks at a swank Long Island abode.
Imagine yourself as a guest of Gatsby and party like it's 1925 with a tour of Rosecliff Mansion (https://www.newportmansions.org), the Newport manor that served as Gatsby's festive party palace in the 1974 film starring Robert Redford.
Photo Caption: Rear view of Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island
Though L. M. Montgomery wrote 20 books and more than 500 short stories, she is best-known for her Anne of Green Gables series that accompanies the orphaned and red-headed main character around Canada's smallest province.
Book one of the 26 rooms at Dalvay-by-the-Sea (www.dalvaybythesea.com), a historic property whose exterior was depicted as the White Sands Hotel in the series "Road to Avonlea." Or visit the manicured Avonlea Village (www.avonlea.ca), a replica of the village described in Montgomery's books. Of course Green Gables (https://www.pc.gc.ca), the green-roofed house originally belonging to relatives of the author, is not to be missed.
Photo Caption: The Original Green Gables House on Prince Edward Island, by David Mertl
Beatrix Potter penned her tale of a rascally rabbit in 1902, and Peter has hopped through the hearts of children the world over ever since. Potter's home, Hill Top (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top) in England's Lake District, is one of the country's most popular literary pilgrimages. It's also where Potter's other famous characters (Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers, and Jemima Puddleduck) were put to page.
Stroll through the author's garden and home, with original furnishings and sketches, or visit Hawkshead, a picture-perfect village that's home to the Beatrix Potter Gallery (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery/) and the grammar school attended by poet William Wordsworth.
Photo Caption: Beatrix Potter's house, Hill Top, in England
Jane Austen set two of her six published novels (Northanger Abbey and Persuasion) in Bath, where she lived between 1801 and 1806. These days, Bath is as popular for its beauty and world-famous bathhouses as it is for its Austen-themed itineraries. Download a free audio guide and walking map from www.visitbath.co.uk, or visit the Jane Austen Centre (www.janeausten.co.uk),a costume-clad Disneyland for Austen lovers, created with the help of local enthusiasts and members of the Jane Austen Society.
Photo Caption: The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England
Set during the final days of the Romanov Empire, Kathryn Harrison's latest novel transports readers to a Russia that's both fantastical and real, with vivid scenes swirling around St. Petersburg.
Harrison's heroine, Masha, shares the story of her father's murder on the Petrovsky Bridge in the book's opening, and later is sent to live at the Alexander Palace (https://eng.tzar.ru), located outside the city. Though Alexander III and Nicholas II both set up their family residences in suburbs, the Winter Palace (www.hermitagemuseum.org) was still used for official ceremonies and receptions by the imperial family. It was declared part of the State Hermitage Museum in 1917 and several of the opulent and embellished staterooms are open to the public.
Photo Caption: The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
This quintessential novel of post-WWI hedonistic expatriates in Europe set Ernest Hemingway on his legendary literary trajectory, and several watering holes and restaurants proudly pay homage to frequent tippler and Madrid regular "Don Ernesto" (as Hemingway is called in Spain).
Botin (www.botin.es) is the setting for lunch between main characters Jake and Brett. Hemingway wrote, "We lunched upstairs at Botin's. It is one of the best restaurants in the world. We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta." Or drop a cocktail at the bar of the Palace Hotel (www.westinpalacemadrid.com), also mentioned in the book and appreciated by "Papa."
Photo Caption: Restaurante Sobrino de Botín in Madrid, Spain
Twelve books later, the intrepid detective Aimée Leduc is still at it in Paris. In her latest book, author Cara Black brings Leduc and readers back to the Marais where it all began to unravel a mystery set in the city's smallest and oldest Chinatown, made up of just two streets -- Rue Marie and Rue Volta, lined with Chinese restaurants and merchants. The Arts & Métier Museum (www.arts-et-metiers.net) anchors the neighborhood, and it's here where Leduc is hired to digitize the exhibits. There's a chase scene that takes place later in the book in the museum's library, also open to visitors.
Photo Caption: Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France
No one curates memories of youthful summer days of mischief and mayhem better than Samuel Clemens, a.k.a, Mark Twain. Want to trace the Mississippi River adventures of precocious Tom Sawyer and his best friend Huck Finn? Take a cruise down the Mighty Miss where Clemens was once himself a riverboat pilot (www.marktwainriverboat.com), or visit the various locations around town like Clemens's boyhood home (www.marktwainmuseum.org) with that famous picket fence, or the homes of friends Tom Blankenship (Huck Finn) and Laura Hawkins, immortalized in print as Becky Thatcher.
Photo Caption: The Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, is the site of the writer's boyhood home.
It was Winnipeg resident Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, en route to England during WWI, who named an orphaned and adopted black bear after his hometown. Years later, "Winnie" was presented to the London Zoo where she became the favorite attraction of Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne, and later the world's most beloved stuffed-with-fluff teddy. Kids will treasure Winnipeg's newly opened pocket-sized Pooh Gallery (https://www.tourismwinnipeg.com/) in the lush and sprawling Assiniboine Park featuring signed books, sketches, and "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot," a painting by Ernest H. Shepard, the original illustrator of the books.
Photo Caption: The Pooh Gallery at the Pavilion Gallery Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.