This book allows you to jump inside the pages of other books…  for me a dream come true!  ~ Sheila

It’s often said that a good book takes us somewhere we’ve never been before, and here’s the proof: a book-lover’s Baedeker to more than 500 literary locales across the United States and Europe. Novel Destinations invites readers to follow in the footsteps of much-loved authors, discover the scenes that sparked their imaginations, glimpse the lives they led, and share a bit of the experiences they transformed so eloquently into print. If you’re looking to indulge in literary adventure, you’ll find all the inspiration and information you need here, along with behind-the-scenes stories such as these:

After Ernest Hemingway survived two near-fatal plane crashes during an African safari, he perused his obituaries and sipped champagne on a canal-side terrace in Venice.

Washington Irving’s wisteria-draped cottage in the Hudson Valley was once occupied by members of the Van Tassel family, immortalized in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

A mysterious incident at a stone tower near Dublin made such a vivid impression on James Joyce that he drew on it for the opening scene of Ulysses.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle consulted on the mystery of Agatha Christie’s 1926 disappearance before she resurfaced under an assumed name in northern England.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables was inspired by a seaside manse in Salem, Massachusetts, infamous witch trials in which his ancestor played a role.

In My Opinion:

I seriously wanted to crawl inside this book and go!  I discovered this book on Amazon a while ago and had to have it.  I was curious in my travels throughout the years might I have been unknowingly close to an incredible literary landmark?  Might I have passed by where Walt Whitman once dined, or Ralph Waldo Emerson walked his dog (if he had a dog…). How about Checking into the actual hotel room at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho where Hemingway penned For Whom the Bell Tolls, or knocking back a “Papa Dobles” cocktail (invented by the writer himself) at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West, FL?  The thought of any of these gives my goose bumps!

I found the closest to me in this book would be Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald who was born on Summit Ave in St Paul, Minnesota.  There is a walking tour of landmarks associated with the writer and his works.  Sinclair Lewes was born in Sauk Centre MN where he wrote about his 1920 best seller, Main Street.

This book covers final resting places, to the bars that the likes of Mark Twain hung out in.  From childhood homes, to the big screen where a travel to England and see the Chateau House (where the exterior shots of the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice were shot) open daily mid March thru December.

I adored everything about this book.  I enjoyed reading it as informative as well as a road map to places to see!  This one is a keeper, a must take along for road trips and beyond!

Have you been to any famous author spots or places mentioned in books?

I purchased my copy of this book off Amazon