Top 10 Books that launched some amazing trips.
- Sue Madill
- Apr 11, 2016
- 4 min read
Getting to our favourite travel destination is sometimes a waiting game. But there are some wonderful writers that can take us there before the date on our boarding pass. Here are 10 writers I live vicariously through.
10)
Author: Martin Walker
Title: Bruno, Chief of Police Series:
Genre: Crime
Walker lives in the Perigord region of France. His crime novels intertwine french food, local wine and french history in a fine balance. Bruno is the only policeman in St Denis a ideal french town that finds itself at the center of mystery and intrigue. The characters in the series become your friends that you want to sit down and have a meal with as well as share a glass of wine.
9)
Author: Edward Rutherfurd
Locations: Paris, New York, London, Ireland.
Genre: Historical
These epic historical novels that span over long periods of time are set in cities such as London, Paris and New York. The stories follow generations through the years and are historically accurate due to Rutherfurd’s extensive research. You will want to read these novels before leaving on your next adventure. The knowledge you gain will make you feel like you have already been there in another time.
8)
Author: Karen Wheeler
Locations: France, England and Portugal
Genre: Women’s fiction
Ms Wheeler writes in first person. She is living the life so many of us dream off. A London based fashion writer that uproots herself and moves to a small french village . Her pursuit of Happiness takes her and Biff her dog around France to hidden gems such as Il de Re. If we can’t have the life at least we can live vicariously through Karen.
7)
Author: Sarah Moss
Location: Reykjavik
Genre: Travel and Autobiography
This is a absolute gem of a book. Sarah is a wife, mother and UK based professor that moves her family to Reykjavik for a job at the University of Iceland . Sarah and her family travel through out Iceland on a tight budget exploring the country and understanding it’s culture. It is a wonderful book to read before you head out on your next adventure to Iceland.
6)
Author: Joanne Harris
Location: Rural France and Paris
Genre: Adult fiction
Ms Harris writes beautifully about Paris and rural France, with her descriptive writing you can picture yourself in the areas of Paris like Montmartre and along the Seine. The movie Chocolat was filmed on location is the picturesque village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain .
5)
Author: Bill Bryson
Titles: Notes From a Small Island ,The Lost Continent and Neither Here Nor There
Location: England.
Genre: Fiction and Travel
Bill Bryson’s humour shines through in his writing. An American that moves to England then back to America.He writes of his last adventure around the country he had called home for 2 decades . His depictions of the English culture and its people are brilliant. Everything from the full English breakfast to litter is written with humour.
4)
Author: Tessa Hainsworth
Titles: Up with the Larks, Seagulls in the Attic and Home to Roost
Location: Cotswold England
Genre: autobiography and non fiction
Tessa Hainsworth leaves her high flying London job with the Body shop and moves her family to the Cornish countryside. She starts her job with the Royal Mail in the bitter darkness of midwinter, faced with the perils of the Christmas rush, a van with a mind of its own and a host of unfamiliar routes, local characters – and their animals, large and small. But, day by day and month by month, she meets and learns to love a wonderfully colourful cast of characters until her second Christmas in Cornwall is entirely different from the first, as the community goes out of its way to thank her with small gifts and other tokens of their affection.
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3)
Author: Peter Mayle
Location: France.
Titles:
Toujours Provence,
A to Z Provence,
The Vintage Caper,
French Lessons,
Encore Provence,
Chasing Cezanne,
Hotel Patis and The Marseille Caper
Genre: Travel, non Fiction and humour
This best selling author brings rural France to life for his reader. You can taste the wine and smell the truffles leaping off the pages. Mr Mayle has inspired many to head to France through his writing including myself. Such books as Provence A to Z are essential reading before you head out on your journey
2)
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Location: Guernsey.
Genre: Historical Drama
This is a remarkable story about the isle of Guernsey during the German Occupation. The characters are so captivating that you will not want to put this book down .This book is charming and witty a true gem
1)
Author: Chris Stewart
Location: Spain
Titles:
A Parrot In The Pepper Tree,
The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society
Last Days of the Bus Club.
Genre: Travel, humour, autobiography and culture.
Mr Steward was the original drummer and a founding member of Genesis. He moved his family from England to Andalucia in southern Spain to become a sheep shearer and travel writer . This series is beautifully written about his families adventures and adjustments of living in Spain.
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