Read All About It: Literary Locations
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There's a lot to be said for flouncing around town like your favourite protagonist. While most people seem to strut about on a daily basis with their headphones on, imagining that they're in some kind of music video, literary daydreams can be just as exciting. Not only are you likely to find yourself in an interesting place, in my case this was Central Park NYC, but you'll also have fun envisaging yourself as a character that is interesting enough to be worthy of page space; luckily for me this was the moody, angry, damaged teenage super protagonist, Holden Caulfield, in D.J Salinger's classic Catcher in the Rye. While I must admit that I didn't visit New York City in order to recreate Catcher in the Rye, it is true to say that wandering through Central Park reignited the same spark I felt reading the book. Visiting literary locations will almost certainly bring to life a landscape you sucked in off the book's pages, or, more interestingly, some feeling that you experienced when reading. Whether this enhances your love for a book or not it is likely to develop your understanding, or obsession. Aside from any great quest for revelation and meaning, there is some greater feeling to be unleashed when you visit a literary location: satisfaction. Swarm with the masses the streets of Prague, and in depth details of the 1968 Czech revolution will come crashing back to you, even though you could have sworn that you skipped all those historical bits and merely focussed on the romance in Milan Kundera's novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Visit Sri Lanka and prepare to be amazed by the wealth of knowledge about political tensions that you must have acquired after a sitting with Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy, because it's all effortlessly floating back now. Fiction may not be real, but it is a special place where we can find interpretations of our world and our heritage. Nothing quite beats engrossing yourself in a fiction that is set in a place that you're planning to travel to, and for some reason you're much more likely to remember the important factual stuff when it is hidden in what you thought was a love story, than if you read it from some standard guide book. Not many people can afford to spend the money to trot off to India because they love Salman Rushdie, but if you're into books then of course some of the greatest places are right on your doorstep. The United Kingdom, as the birthplace of great literature spills over with old country houses, meadows, coastal places, and street corners that are significant literary locations for one reason or another. Indeed, the sign 'Welcome to ………. (insert famous author here, in my case this is Jane Austen) Country,' as you're driving across county boarders is there for a reason; you just need to look. Every trip to a literary location may well have its downside, the niggling feeling at the pit of your stomach that you're not quite ready to admit to yourself or those around you: 'it's not like it was in the book…' Yet even if this may be the case, then fear not, for the best part about visiting literary locations may well be nothing to do with the book itself. If you're making that special voyage to Dracula's Castle, your own adventures and experiences while travelling are quite likely to match up to those that you've read (and if they don't well at least they're real). This may not always be the case though, so ensure that you pack a good book. |
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Top Literary Locations to visit » Locations from some of my favourite books...
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Sleeping Beauty's CastleLiterary Locations in Loire Valley, France For aspiring princesses everywhere this is the place you’re expecting your handsome prince to carry you over the threshold of to live in love and luxury until the end of your days after the tortuous dramas your love initially faced. Conveniently located in one of France’s prettiest regions, the Loire Valley, beside a dark, slightly intimidating wood, which adds to the fairy tale effect, Chateau d’Usse inspired Charles Perrault’s romantic 17th Century classic “Sleeping Beauty” (this is what all you boys have to live up to…). You get a feel for the delicate grace of the place just approaching it along the pretty drive, from its pale blue roofed towers and rounded pointy turrets and large windows. Parrault was a guest here during a period when the castle was shaking off its old heavy fortifications and expanding the focus of its vistas giving it a more wealthy, fairytale appearance. This has never been a castle of war, it’s more like a royal holiday home away from the bloody mess which Paris and the rest of France suffered periodically. Inside the salons are opulent and stylish to the best standards the French can manage. Not everything is originally from this castle though, some of the dresses and dressings are of the right era but have been obviously bought second hand. The chateau is private property and only a few well restored sections are open to the public, the rest is still their house! There is a sleeping beauty exhibit in the tower (it’s more of a little girl’s fantasy, but much less twee and sparkly than at Disneyland I hear.).
Review by Photo by flickr user Joe Shlabotnik |
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Robin Hood's Sherwood ForestLiterary Locations in Midlands, United Kingdom Though a legend (I’m including him in the list of literary characters), Robin Hood is responsible for the popularity of Sherwood Forest which has proven both its rise and downfall. Not as well managed in the last 200 years or so as it should have been, the thousand year old trees here are reaching the end of their natural lives and the smaller trees that would replace them have been cut down, leaving gaping holes in the forest. Though large sections have been recently replanted the time that it takes for these unhurried trees to develop is more time than the forest has, but because of Robin’s legend people come here and make use of the tourist centres etc. bringing much needed funds to the cause. Which isn’t really robbing from the rich but asking for a donation from everyone - much more egalitarian. Hood’s legend (historians are still arguing over whether or not he was a real man.) has been popular for around 700 years but it really began to draw a crowd to Sherwood during the 1800s. The main spectacle then and now is the major oak, a vast 800 year old oak tree Robin is supposed to have hidden in. This (though now unable to support its own heavy branches and is held up by poles) is a majestic sight something like 10 metres around the trunk with generously spreading branches. The rest of the forest is still beautiful but its gaps in growth are becoming more obvious. If you’re interested in an all over Robin Hood experience there is plenty of information in the eco-friendly visitors centre along with themed walks and rides through the forest. The whole region is a wealth of Hood related activities for those who like a good re-enactment, archery display or just a pint of green ale.
Review by Photo by flickr user soylentgreen23 |
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Gatsby's favourite hotelLiterary Locations in New York, United States The Plaza, 768 Park Ave Tom, Jordan, Daisy, Nick and the Great Gatsby get a suite at The Plaza to shelter from the summer heat after their drive up to New York and take some refreshing Mint Juleps while playing out one of the most confronting scenes of this brilliant novel where Tom and Gatsby compete for Daisy and ultimately Gatsby loses her. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a big fan of elegant 19 storey hotel, The Plaza, he was a resident for some time - Hemmingway famously advising him to leave his liver to Princeton and his heart to The Plaza and there were several stories published in the tabloids of the time about he and Zelda splashing around in the Pulitzer Fountain (donated by the journalist) after rowing in what is now called The Edwardian Room. In a fantastic location overlooking Central Park, it’s glamorous, luxurious and reassuringly expensive. The Plaza was first opened in 1907 and has been recently remodelled in the style of it’s Gatsby era heyday when it became so popular that well known names of the day were taking up residence and enjoying the mod cons, stylish décor and fantastic, plush public spaces. It’s pretty expensive to book a suite for Mint Juleps and in the recent remodel a lot of the front of the building has been made into swanky flats but you can still have a Mint Julep in the Oak Bar or you can see it in the film version (for once the proper location was used!). So many important events have happened in The Plaza that the exterior has been listed as an Historic Landmark and can’t be altered, but the guts of the building aren’t protected so you may not get quite the authentic experience you were hoping for. The good news is that the original reception foyer is supposed to have been kept intact so you can check in just like Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beatles and JFK (among others.).
Review by Photo by flickr user joiseyshowaa |
