Novel Destinations

Categories: Travel

Sometimes we travel in order to get away from everything.  Sometimes we travel in order to re-connect with people or places that have meaning in our lives.  Either way, a good trip can be rejuvenating.  For anyone who might like to entertain the notion of a literary pilgrimage, this little book is packed with delightful ideas.

Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West, published by National Geographic in 2008, features information about the homes and haunts of classic writers in the US and abroad.  You can visit the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Missouri, follow the footsteps of Dickens in London, or imbibe where Papa Hemingway imbibed in Paris and in Key West.  Included are tips on where to stay and where to dine, as well as mentions of certain festivals, e.g., the annual Jane Austen Festival in England.  I spotted right away the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl that takes place every evening at 7:30 - that in itself may justify a trip to Ireland sometime soon. 

One can imagine that authors Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon must have had a great time doing research for the book.  Their inclusion of interesting literary sidebars serve to further entice book lovers and armchair travelers to dream of voyages to come.