Literary

South West England has inspired so many writers across the centuries. Here is a selection of some our most famous “literary” figures who were either born in the region or who were inspired whilst visiting.

Daniel Defoe 1660 - 1731

Alexander Selkirk, the voluntary castaway on one of the Juan Fernandez Islands whose 5-year ordeal inspired Daniel Defoe’s classic novel “Robinsoe Crusoe”, was one of the most celebrated residents in Oreston, Plymouth.

John Gay 1685 - 1732

Dramatist and poet – protégé of the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry who lived in Amesbury Abbey. Said to have written “Beggars Opera” whilst staying at Amesbury.

Henry Fielding 1707 - 1754

Author, playwright and magistrate, Fielding spent his childhood at East Stour, Dorset and his school holidays with his grandmother in St Ann Street, Salisbury.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 - 1834

Born in Ottery St Mary, Devon and one of the most brilliant, versatile and influential figures in the English romantic movement. Wrote “The Ancient Mariner” whilst living in Nether Stowey in Somerset. He used to roam the hills of Exmoor and there is now a walking trail which carries his name. See www.exmoor-npa.org.uk

Jane Austen 1775 – 1817

Jane Austen lived in Bath for approximately six years. Major parts of two of her novels - Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were set in Bath, and the life she herself led here is perfectly reflected in the pages of both of them. Visit the Jane Austen Centre to find out more.

Charles Dickens 1812 - 1870

He has connections around the South West. He stayed at the Oxenham Arms, South Zeal on Dartmoor for approximately 1 month and whilst snowed in was inspired to wrote some of his classic stories. His novel "Martin Chuzzlewit" opens in Aldebury, Wiltshire and moves to the White Hart and Cathedral in Salisbury. He rented a house in Alphington, Exeter for his parents and was a frequent visitor to the city where he was often seen drunk in the Turks Head on the High Street and many of the characters in his novels were based on fellow customers.

Anthony Trollope 1815 - 1882

As he stood on a bridge in Salisbury, he got the inspiration for the Barchester Chronicles.

Charles Kingsley 1819 - 1875

Author of many novels including the Water Babies, he was born in the pretty village of Holne on Dartmoor.

RD Blackmore 1825 - 1900

Lorna Doone is the most famous and celebrated of R D Blackmore’s historical romances where was written after he unexpectedly came into a fortune and took up gardening and writing.

Thomas Hardy 1840 - 1928

Dorset is the inspiration for much of Hardy’s work and he lived here for much of his life. There are references to the South West throughout his novels including Dorchester, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Sturminster Newton. Many of his settings cluster around his birthplace. He was born in an attractive thatched cottage in the hamlet of Higher Bockhampton within the parish of Stinsford, an area he named “Mellstock” in his writings. His heart is buried in his wife’s grave in Stinsford Churchyard. Visit his home at Higher Bockhampton, nr Dorchester.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 - 1930

As a young doctor, Doyle joined a Plymouth practice headed by a colleague with eccentric methods of diagnosis upon which he based his famous detective Sherlock Holmes. It is said that he was inspired to write “The Hounds of the Baskervilles” from tales he heard about Dartmoor while staying at the Duchy Hotel in Princetown.

Edith Olivier 1872 - 1948

Novelist, diarist and Wiltshire commentator – she lived in Wilton and for a short time during WWI in Salisbury Close.

Siegfried Sassoon 1886 - 1967

Poet and novelist, Sassoon lived in Bowerchalke and later at Heytesbury. He donated the outpatients clinic at the old Salisbury General Infirmary in memory of T E Lawrence.

T E Lawrence (of Arabia) 1888 – 1935

Lawrence lived in Clouds Hill, Dorset. Between the wars, he was stationed at Mount Batten, Plymouth where he used the name Aircraftsaman Shaw, to avoid undue attention.
There is a 11km walking trail dedicated to him starting at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset. For further information contact Purbeck District Council.

Agatha Christie 1890 - 1976

The Queen of Crime was born in Torquay and wrote over 80 “whodunits” as well as 100+ short stories and some romantic novels under the name of Mary Westmacott. Torquay was often used as a setting.

Dorothy L Sayers 1893 - 1957

Detective novelist and playwright, Sayers attended the Godolphin School in Salisbury 1909-1912.

Daphne du Maurier 1907 - 1989

She began writing short stories in 1928, and in 1931 her first novel, 'The Loving Spirit' was published. It received rave reviews and further books followed. Then came her most famous three novels, 'Jamaica Inn', 'Frenchman's Creek' and Rebecca'. Each novel being inspired by her love of Cornwall, where she lived and wrote.

William Golding 1911 – 1993

Novelist and Nobel Literary Prize winner in 1983. He taught at the local boys Grammar school in Cathedral Close, Salisbury. He lived for a time at Great Wishford and is buried at Bowerchalk.

Joanna Trollope 1943

The leader of the genre of “Aga Sagas” lives in Salisbury.

JK Rowling 1965 -

JK was born and brought up in Gloucestershire living in various places including Winterbourne and Tutshill. She later attended Exeter University where she studied French. The landscapes and landmarks of her Gloucestershire childhood still crop up in her books and films.

TS Eliot 1888 - 1965

Eliot has been one of the most daring innovators of twentieth-century poetry. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he later settled in England, and his ashes are buried in the church of St Michael's, in the village of East Coker, near Yeovil, Somerset, Eliot's ancestral home.