Great Literary Walks

Walk in the footsteps of 20 literary figures from Chaucer and Dickens to Austen and Bronte, and find out how these routes inspired some of their most famous works.

Long (and sometimes fairly short) walks have been part of the writing process for many of English Literature’s greatest figures, from Chaucer to Dickens and Wordsworth to Jane Austen, Emily Bronte and Simon Armitage. This book takes readers in the footsteps of our literary giants along their favourite routes, whether it’s Byron’s rocky route up Lochnagar, Dorothy Wordsworth’s ascent of Scafell Pike or Virginia Woolf’s walks through central London.

Each chapter explores and celebrates an author along one of their specific routes, informed by Ronald Turnbull’s own walk in their steps. Lively historical background, quotations and contemporary illustrations place the walks in the context of the literary tradition of their time, and show how the landscapes inspired the authors’ writing. We follow Sir Gawain on his long winter journey to the Chapel of the Green Knight, we admire Elizabeth Bennett as she sets out on one of her many country walks, and we immerse ourselves in the lush landscapes of Tolkien's Shire.

The book includes practical route descriptions and simple sketch maps which readers can use as the basis for following the route themselves. What better way to give fresh insight (and fresh air) to some of our best-loved works of literature?