Explore: Literary Places

This is a wonderful book for armchair readers and explorers.  25 fictional places are featured and paired with the novels that made them well known.  Some of my favorites were New York City/Catcher in the Rye; Yorkshire Moors/Wuthering Heights, Bath/Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, Naples/My Brilliant Friend, Alabama/To Kill a Mockingbird and really just about every place and book mentioned.  The author and illustrator are well matched; the text is informative and helps the reader to imagine the place described at the time that the book was written as well as now, while the drawings are just slightly whimsical and very appealing.

This book will inspire you to look at old favorites, find new ones and think about either real or virtual travel.  I recommend it highly.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-galley.  I enjoyed my journey!

YORKSHIRE MOORS

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)

Wuthering Heights is believed to be based on Top Withens, a long-abandoned 16th-century farmhouse a few miles southwest of Haworth. Its structure doesn’t match Emily’s creation, but its remote, windswept position fits the bill. Walk across the moor from Haworth parsonage – now the Brontë Museum – to reach the exposed stone ruin and it’s easy to think yourself into the pages of a Gothic romance.

DUBLIN

Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

Ulysses follows Leopold Bloom, a Jewish ad canvasser for The Freeman’s Journal, as he wanders around Dublin on 16 June 1904. He attends a funeral, goes to the pub, ducks into a museum (to avoid the man sleeping with his wife), pleasures himself by Sandymount Strand, enters the red-light district. The novel is a chaotic stream of consciousness, performing stylistic acrobatics to try to render the human experience.

#LiteraryPlaces #NetGalley
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Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

I love to read, recommend books and open the world of reading to others. I tutor to ensure that the next generation of readers will know the joys of a good book because their reading skills have improved. I am an avid reader, especially of mysteries and fiction. I believe that two of the world's greatest inventions were the public library and eyeglasses!

3 thoughts on “Explore: Literary Places”

  1. I need to read this book! It’s so cool to learn about places connected with literary books. I grew up with the Little House Series, and when I visited one of Laura Ingalls’ homes, it was so meaningful because I grew up with the series. I still really want to visit 221B Baker Street in London!

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    1. This is a lovely book. I agree that it is nice to visit places associated with favorite books.
      Have you tried the mystery series by Kathleen Ernst. Each one takes place in a real life location in Wisconsin. I learned a lot from reading them. I especially enjoyed the one about a Cornish ex-pat community. It was called The Lacemaker’s Secret.

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