Ah, the last few weeks of the Spring semester. There’s so much left to learn and do, and yet we find our minds, on occasion, straying to thoughts of vacation. So, in no particular order, here are 10 of our favorite literary vacations. They will sweep you away… and have you back home just a few hours later!
- Stay at a pensione in Florence and go sight-seeing with fellow travelers alongside Lucy Honeychurch in Forster’s A Room with a View.
- Travel with Jake Barnes in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises from Paris to Pamplona for the running of the bulls (and some fishing on the side).
- Sneak along with poets on a secret romantic journey to Yorkshire in A.S. Byatt’s gorgeously-written tour-de-force, Possession.
- Tour Europe while learning about art with Amy March in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (or its sequel, if you’re in the U.K.).
- Follow the madcap adventures of Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) as they row down the Thames in Jerome K. Jerome’s comedy classic.
- Join Thea Kronberg for an idyllic southwestern retreat in Willa Cather’s Song of the Lark.
- Visit Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, and sleep in the sparest of spare room beds along with Anne and Diana in Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
- Cut a rug in Italy with fresh-faced American gal Daisy Miller in Henry James’ novella of the same name.
- Follow a group of hippies as they set up a memorable getaway commune in Lauren Groff’s powerful novel Arcadia.
- Tour the Peak District of England with Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Do you have any favorites to suggest?