These are just a few of the topic areas that we follow in our tours. We have enjoyed these books,
and welcome
further suggestions. Write to us at contact@travel2books.com
*"On the Writer's Trail" by Christina Hardyment - 20 great literary journeys.
This book includes details of National Trust properties with literary connections -
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
*"Literary Trails" - Writers in their Landscapes by Christina Hardyment -
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
This theme is continued in *"Literary Landscapes - Walking tours in Great Britain and Ireland".
By L.N.
Franco published by George Braziller, and in
* "The Spirit of Britain - an illustrated guide to Literary Britain" the editor Susan Hill
and Piers Dudgeon
include literary pieces about different places in Britain.
*"Literary Lodgings" by Elaine Borish published by Fidelio Press links writers to hotels, houses
and other places -
it is a useful insight into where they went and stayed. For example we are told of Vita Sackville West's
accommodation at
The George Hotel Cranbrook where she stayed during renovations at nearby Sissinghurst in Kent - where she wrote
and gardened superbly.
*Jane Austen
Books and web sites about Jane Austen are many and various. Her books, read many times over by her fans, are pithy
commentaries on
the life of her
time, somehow highly relevant to our own very different era. Two books that tell us a lot about Jane Austen are<
*"The World of Jane Austen" by Nigel Nicolson published by Wiedenfield and Nicolson and *"A Portrait
of Jane Austen"
by David Cecil published by Penguin Books. A more recent and fascinating commentary on Jane Austen is
*"The Jane Austen Book club" by Karen Joy Fowler published by Putnam Adult.
*Agatha Christie
Her life was one of privilege both in childhood and in her second marriage. She traveled widely for her time (including Iraq)
and
visited many parts of Britain, being especially associated with the South West and later with Harrogate during her period of
apparent amnesia.
*"Agatha Christie - an autobiography" published by William Collins and Co ltd.
*Murder Mystery Focus on Murder Mystery writers
Colin Dexter and Oxford, Ellis Peters and Shropshire, Kathy Hogan Trochek and Atlanta, Georgia -
many mystery writers are strongly associated with a particular place or places. Any books by these authors take the reader
into their world
and link to the places with which they are associated. Of particular interest is *"Literary Oxford" by Nancy Hood
published by Sutton
Publishing Limited.
Two books *"Mystery Readers Walking guide to London" and *"Mystery Readers Walking guide to England"
both written by Alzina
Stone Dale and Barbara Sloan Hendershott and published by Passport Books tell of the associations with places in different
mystery stories.
*Fantasy and Wizard Tours relating to the adventures of Harry Potter - of course read the books themselves by
J.K. Rowling.
You may enjoy a biography
of the writer too, J.K. Rowling - The Genius Behind Harry Potter, by Sean Smith. The films by Warner Bros
complete the
picture of the Wizard boy and his adventures.
There are also many books available pertaining to the world of Lord of the Rings and the films.
*Shakespeare
Read the plays and visit the theatre in London and many other parts of the world where his plays are performed.
*"In Shakespeare's Land" by A.L. Rowse and John Hedgecoe published by Wiedenfield and Nicolson,
links Shakespeare's life to places in England - in Stratford on Avon, London and the countryside, well illustrated
with the many places
from Shakespeare's time still there in England to day.
*Northern English Writers Beatrice Potter, Wordsworth, the Brontes, A.S. Byatt and many others.
The book *"Lake District" by Norman Buckley a Landmark Visitors Guide is a useful description of
the places to be visited.
The web site www.golakes.co.uk or
www.visitbritain.com
give much
information on travel to Britian.
*Cotswolds writers Jilly Cooper, Flora Thompson, Laurie Lee and many others lived and worked in this
lovely rural area west of London. Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie evokes an era when traveling 7 miles was a
long journey. Flora Thompson's Lark Rise also touches a time long gone. In the English Cotswolds we can still
experience a sense of life as it used to be.
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