Fifty literary feasts

Inspired by the somewhat uninspiring suggestions given on this website, http://flavorwire.com/403319/50-places-every-literary-fan-should-visit/view-all here is my own list of fifty places every fan of literature should want to visit. The original focuses rather heavily on America and merely staring at a house where somebody happened to be born. Mine is, to my mind at least, infinitely more interesting – although I am ready for the accusations that my list is, in turn, overly English in flavour... These are in no particular order, but it would be wrong to start without mentioning Shakespeare: I'm not quite sure how the author of the original list managed to justify eliminating him.

1) Shakespeare. You could visit Stratford-upon-Avon and wander around the grounds of Anne Hathaway's cottage, or head across to London and see a performance at the Globe Theatre. Alternatively, hop on up to Scotland and see Cawdor Castle – yes, Macbeth's Castle is open to visitors – http://www.cawdorcastle.com/. Or sidle over to Denmark and check out Hamlet's old haunt - http://www.kronborg.dk/english/
2) Austen. Since her home is really rather lovely and houses an excellent library (it is where I first stumbled across the works of Elizabeth Thomas, subject of my thesis) I will include this 'come and stare at a house' option - http://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/
3) Pemberly. Go and find your Mr Darcy emerging from the lake at Lyme Park: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lyme-park/ Incidentally, 'Pride and Prejudice' is 200 years old this year.
4) The Brontes. Here you get a bargainous 'four in one' offer if you visit the Old Parsonage in Haworth. It's a gorgeous old house in a great little village. The more morbid among you can even go and visit the grave of Bramwell Bronte, where Emily caught a cold attending his funeral; her cold rapidly developed into consumption and she died shortly after. http://www.bronte.org.uk/
5) Wilde. You can visit various homes of his in Dublin, but I'm more of a fan of Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Lather on the lipstick and add a kiss to Wilde's grave: http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/6784/Pere-Lachaise-Cemetery-in-Paris-France_Oscar-Wilde-messages_7697.jpg
6) Rimbaud. Yes, he really did wander off to Ethiopia, change his identity and try to eke out his life anonymously. Some pesky tourists recognised him though and blew his cover. Still, it's as good an excuse as any to visit a stunning country: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/164716940/
7) Hemingway. He went everywhere... My recommendation here, though, is a trip to Kilimanjaro – inspiration for 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'. Get there before the snow disappears completely. http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/kili.html
8) Hemingway and Orson Wells and Truman Capote – and a few others. Wander over to Venice and hang out in Harry's Bar. Drink a few gallons of mojito and maybe you'll come up with something akin to 'Farewell to Arms': http://www.harrysbarvenezia.com/
9) Umberto Eco. While we're in Italy, we'll make a quick mention of Eco. His most famous work, 'The Name of the Rose', is set in a monastery – arguably inspired by the Moissac Abbey in southern France, http://tourisme.moissac.fr/abbaye-moissac/
10) Browning and Browning. Another double whammy, get to see Robert and Elizabeth's home in Florence, the Casa Guidi. Not only can you see it, if you fork out a small fortune you can even stay there: http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/casa-guidi-5521
11) Joyce. It's impossible not to mention the annual Bloomsday Festival in Dublin, honouring Leopold Bloom from 'Ulysses'. Dress up in Edwardian costume and follow Bloom's route around Dublin: http://www.visitdublin.com/event/Bloomsday_Festival
12) Woolf. Stay in a cosy little chalet with perfect views reaching across to the lighthouse that inspired Woolf's famous book, 'To the Lighthouse'. http://www.chycor.co.uk/gwithian-towans-chalets-stives-seareach/
13) E M Forster. There are too many places to choose from, so I'm sending you back to Florence – this time, to follow in the footsteps of Lucy Honeychurch, heroine of 'Room with a View'. If Mr Darcy didn't show up on your 'Pemberly' visit, perhaps you'll find your own George in a field near Florence. Just don't forget your macintosh square: http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/21879_Room-With-1.jpg
14) D H Lawrence. I could send you to the somewhat 'grim north' where Lawrence lived most of his life, but I prefer to despatch you to New Mexico. See if you can also convince the curator to let you in to the now closed DH Lawrence Ranch: http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-7311-ghost-ranch.html
15) Dante. I really should have organised this list more effectively... You're now going back to Florence, and when you are done with the Brownings and Forster you can take a wonderful guided tour of Dante's world. His home is now an excellent little museum – you can buy 'The Inferno' on a single poster should you wish to ruin your eyes with the tiny print: http://www.walkaboutflorence.com/articles/dante-florence
16) P L Travers. Who the devil, I hear you ask, is P L Travers? Why, the author of 'Mary Poppins', of course! And you can visit her unbelievably cute home over in Australia (yes, she was Australian, not British – how many myths have I just busted for you?). There's a lovely article on the TravelBelles website: http://www.travelbelles.com/2013/05/mary-poppins-house-queensland/
17) Paul Scott. Again, I anticipate your eyebrows being raised. Paul Scott is author of the engrossing 'Raj Quartet', filmed by the BBC as 'The Jewel in the Crown'. If you haven't read it or seen it, move it to the top of the 'must experience' pile. Afterwards, you'll be hankering after a trip to India – I suggest heading up to Srinagar, where the British used to retreat to houseboats in the height of the summer. You can even stay on a boat called 'The Jewel in the Crown': http://www.thejewelincrown.com/
18) Confucius. Well, not an author of fiction but he did write some cracking lines, didn't he? And besides, I wanted an excuse to send you to China. His former home is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/704
19) Baudelaire. After you've left your mark on Wilde's grave, wander across to the cemetery in Montparnasse and see Baudelaire's grave. Yes, I'm a fan of cemeteries. That isn't morbid - they are just peaceful places where I like to sit and think: http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/baudelaire.htm
20) Dostoyevsky. Visit St Petersburg, arguably the most stunning of Russia's fine and dramatic cities; it's an easy train ride from many parts of Europe. And while you are there, head to the Dostoyevsky museum. You might not have waded through any of his tomes, but honestly, who the heck has? It's still worthy of a visit: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/dostoyevsky-memorial-museum/
21) Achebe. In 'Things Fall Apart', Achebe writes about the 'evil forest' where Christian missionaries have been given land to build their church; this was inspired by his time in Oba-Igbomina, where the school he taught at was built on 'bad bush', an area of land said to be haunted by unfriendly spirits. Head off to Oba-Igbomina and experience something of Achebe's fascinating life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oba,_Nigeria
22) Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Colombian writer, known for his use of magical realism (a technique that, in all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of – and indeed a literary term that I have issues with in itself, but that is for another day). Visit Aracataca, the hometown of Marquez and supposedly the inspiration for Macondo, setting for 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'. http://www.colombia.travel/en/international-tourist/sightseeing-what-to-do/colombia-thematic-routes/garcia-marquez/aracataca
23) Coelho. Some of Paulo Coelho's books are worth reading, but I have found that his interesting ideas are generally just repeated throughout all the books. Read two, and you've read 'em all. Nevertheless, he's a fascinating author and has dominated the international literary scene for over a decade. My personal favourite is 'Veronika Decides to Die', and although you might take Coelho as an excuse to make a pilgrimage to Brazil, I'm sending you instead to Slovenia. To Ljubljana, in fact, where the book is set: http://www.visitljubljana.com/
24) Neruda. (See? There is some sense of order here – three South American authors in a row.) Visit the home in Santiago he built for his secret love, and while there be sure to learn enough Spanish to read 'Tonight I can write the saddest lines' - http://allpoetry.com/poem/8497013-Tonight_I_Can_Write__The_Saddest_Lines_-by-Pablo_Neruda - in the original language: http://www.fundacionneruda.org/en/la-chascona/history.html
25) Antal Szerb. One of my favourite authors by far, the few books he managed to write before his murder (let's just say he was Jewish at a bad time in history to be Jewish in Europe) are little segments of perfection. You'll have to go to Budapest in Hungary if you want to see where he grew up. One excellent spot for a pilgrimage would be to visit the beautiful University of Szeged where he worked for a few years, http://www.inf.u-szeged.hu/~chollo/Kepek/rektori.jpg
26) Goethe. While wandering around Europe, you may as well hop up to Frankfurt and visit the birthplace of Goethe. I'm not a great one for staring at a house where somebody was born, but architecturally this is really rather stunning: http://www.altfrankfurt.com/Goethe/
27) Lorca. The Spanish playwright gives us an excellent reason to wander through Andalucia (avoid those lemons Stewart warns us of while you're driving around). 'The House of Bernada Alba' could be set in any of the white-washed hilltop villages, so you can head off to a number of them and choose which you think is the most probable location. http://www.andalucia.com/
28) Lessing. Doris Lessing's 'The Grass is Singing' is an incredible read. And for this, I'm posting you off to a little known game park in southern Zimbabwe. Us literary geeks want an excuse to go on safari, too: http://www.expertafrica.com/zimbabwe/gonarezhou-national-park
29) Westminster Abbey. I am of course referring to Poets' Corner, the ultimate site to visit when searching for the tombs of famous authors. Tennyson, Dickens, Shakespeare, Kipling and Hardy jostle for elbow room here, and there are memorials to Blake, Milton, Gray, Keats – oh, everyone. They charge a fortune to get in, but I guess it's worth it for the sheer number of literary greats you'll be in close quarters with: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/highlights/poets-corner
30) Waugh. I can't get enough of Evelyn Waugh (and particularly love the fact he was married to somebody called Evelyn, too). There are so many places you could visit in honour of 'Brideshead Revisited' – the botanical gardens at Oxford to 'see the ivy', or Morocco to find where Sebastian ended up, or Venice to follow their footsteps through the galleries – but I love the film as much as the book so am sending you up to the gorgeous Castle Howard in Yorkshire: http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/
31) Derek Tangye. Yet more querying looks shot my way, but I love Cornwall and I loved Tangye's books telling the tales of his life running a daffodil farm on the Cornish coast. I visited him for my 13th birthday and we exchanged letters for a while, with him sending me photos of his donkeys Merlin and Suzy from time to time. Head down to Lamorna Cove in Cornwall and, for a truly perfect day out, finish round the corner watching a play at the Minack Theatre – a stone amphitheatre cut into the rocks with the sea serving as a dramatic backdrop. http://minack.info/ and http://www.minack.com/ will help you plan.
32) Du Maurier. While in Cornwall, take a chance to visit some of the sites du Maurier wrote about. You can hop in a small motorboat and head up the Helston River, inspiration for 'Frenchman's Creek': http://www.falriver.co.uk/things-to-do/walking/frenchmans-creek
33) Hans Christian Andersen. He penned the fairytale 'The Little Mermaid', and whether you're a fan of the book or the Disney film it's worth heading over to Denmark to see the statue in Copenhagen harbour: http://www.mermaidsculpture.dk/
34) Anne Frank. If you are in Europe and longing to see anything of importance to writers from the past, it would be wrong to miss out on Anne Frank's home in Amsterdam. It is a haunting, sobering experience: http://www.annefrank.org/
35) Agatha Christie. Stroll around the grounds and sit at her desk at Christie's beloved summer home down on the Devonshire coast. It is a beautiful home and well worth a visit for anyone who has ever been caught up in one of her twisting plots: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greenway/
36) The Eagle and Child. I like to give value for money, and by visiting The Eagle and Child in Oxford you get to spend time in the pub where The Inklings used to meet – that would be CS Lewis, JR Tolkien and their other literary friends. http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theeagleandchildoxford/
37) Scott Fitzgerald. He spent plenty of time being horrifically drunk in Paris, and he offers yet another good reason to go to the ultimate romantic city. On one occasion, he hijacked a baker's bike and went on a joyride down the Champs-Elysees, wielding a baguette at the doormen as he sped by. Take a literary tour if you can't be bothered to find all the places by yourself: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/travel/slideshow/city-walks-f-scott-fitzgeralds-paris/?image=0
38) Klein Constantia. Including a vineyard could come as a surprise – but I have good reason to. Klein Constantia in Cape Town was mentioned in books by both the Bronte sisters and Charles Dickens, and that seems like a viable excuse to head down to sample some of their finest wines: http://www.kleinconstantia.com/
39) J G Ballard. Typically known for his gripping dystopias, 'Empire of the Sun' tells the story of his childhood growing up in war torn Shanghai. It's a city worth visiting anyway, not least because it features a railway that 'floats' thanks to scary magnet technology that I don't even want to think about, but this book gives you another reason to head off to China: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56674.Empire_of_the_Sun
40) McEwan. He went from writing saucy short stories to some of the most beautifully crafted novels of the present day. I'm not generally a fan of the authors who are currently churning work out, but Ian McEwan is formidable. 'Chesil Beach' is a perfect novelette, and you can wander along the beach too. Stay here for some stunning views of the beach: http://chesilbeachlodge.co.uk/
41) Orwell. Born in India, raised in Henley, and spending his life travelling to some wonderful far flung corners, I've decided to whisk you away to Myanmar where he spent the war years. He was initially stationed in Pyin Oo Lwin, now known as the 'city of flowers': http://www.pyinoolwin.info/
42) Larsson. Head over to Stockholm to take a tour of the places featured in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. The Telegraph have summed up the options pretty well, so I'll just link to their article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/9111563/Stockholm-on-the-trail-of-the-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo.html
43) Kundera. He was born in the Czech Republic but now insists he is French. Still, his love letter to Prague, 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being', means you have an excuse to visit the Czech Republic after all. Go to the Globe Bookstore for top tips on where to go and what to see on a literary tour of Prague: http://www.globebookstore.cz/
44) Kafka. While you are in Prague, you'll doubtless want to take the time to see the endless sites devoted to Kafka. Go everywhere from his place of birth to his tombstone, and use this site to help you find the bits that matter in the middle: http://globaltravelauthors.com/145-2/
45) Camus. Visit sprawling Algiers and follow Meursault's footsteps to the beach. Perhaps try to avoid any particularly bright patches of sunshine if you're in a tetchy sort of mood... http://0.tqn.com/d/goafrica/1/0/o/E/dv676195.jpg
46) Tolstoy. Go to Moscow and visit the train station, where Anna Karenina first met Vronsky, and where she threw herself under a train. Alternatively, if you actually liked the recently released film, you'll have to go to the slightly less glamorous Didcot Railway Station that was used: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/filmandfunction/filmtv_credits.html
47) Borges. I love Buenos Aires – it is a city that is alive with an unashamed and intense passion – and a pilgrimage to see something of where Borges lived much of his life means you'll get to experience it, too. The NY Times has done this better than I can in a few short sentences: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/travel/14foot.html?pagewanted=all
48) Somerset Maugham. 'The Painted Veil' will send you over to Hong Kong, where the expat lifestyle today is dubiously unchanged from that described in the novel set in the 1920s. (In fact, it was so close to the truth that with the threat of being sued hanging over him, Maugham changed the name of the city to Tching-Yen.) John Le Carre's 'The Honourable Schoolboy', sequel to, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', is also set in Hong Kong. Wander through the streets and see where they drew their inspiration from: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/login.html
49) Tennessee Williams. Finally, I'll put in something truly American. New Orleans has an annual literary festival dedicated to this formidable writer, and while you are there you can wander round and try to find where you think Stella and Stanley may have been living – and, although it doesn't follow the original route, you really can ride on the streetcar named Desire (albeit in San Francisco): http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/ and http://www.streetcar.org/streetcars/952/
50) St Vincent Millay. Her poetry often brings me to tears... And you can wander around her former home in upstate New York. https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-preservation/gardenpreservationservices/preservation-projects/steepletop?view=standardlayout&title=68

And there you have it. If you actually read through all of those, congratulations. I apologise for not having the fancy skills to put photos for every place, but hopefully the weblinks suffice for now. I would love to lead a tour of all these sites... Ah, some day!