Question:
What do you do if you have been back from your holiday for a week and area already suffering from withdrawal symptoms?
Answer:
Book another one of course!
Yep, we have just booked a campervan for a week in early August and plan on travelling round Cornwall and Devon, parking on cliff tops to watch the sun set and rise, exploring quaint fishing villages and chilling on little beaches (weather permitting – it is the UK afterall!)
So, I have a question:
What books do you recommend that are set in Cornwall?
I obviously know of Daphne du Maurier (but I have only read Rebecca and Jamaica Inn) so what others of hers are set there and are good holiday reads? I am open to all options: chicklit, mysteries & crime fiction, historical fiction, sagas etc. I would prefer something that is not too heavy going as I like my holiday reading light and fun and page-turning.
The Book Whisperer 
I found this great list while searching for books set in Cornwall
http://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2009/06/books-set-in-cornwall.html
Hope that helps! From the list, I have read and enjoyed all the Daphne Du Maurier books and The Lighthouse by P.D James (actually I have enjoyed all books by this author. She writes mystery/suspense novels similar to Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George).
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Misha, this is brilliant, thank you!
I have read a few books from this list too but I haven’t read any P D James so I will look up The Lighthouse as well as some others that caught my eye 🙂
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Du Maurier’s Frenchman’s Creek would be quite good for holiday reading – it’s a kind of literary historical romance, with pirates and salty sea air! I love Cornwall, shame it’s eight hours away really… 😦
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Pirates and salty sea air – sold! 🙂
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I loved this one too, Boof it would be a perfect read in Cornwall of course !So romantic…I devoured it a long time ago.
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One of my favourite Daphne du Maurier books is The House on the Strand – a mixture of historical fiction, science fiction and time travel set in the Cornish countryside. I loved it! Have you read Penmarric by Susan Howatch? I enjoyed that one too. Have a great holiday!
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I have Penmarric at home, Helen – forgot about that one 🙂
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Hi There, I don’t have any suggestions for you, but I just had to comment, because I tend to do the same thing…I love to read books set in and around the area that i love to vacation in…and when we returned from our most recent vacation I immediately set about trying to convince my DH to book the place for Thanksgiving vacation…still working on that one…
Enjoy your reading! Pinkim.
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That’s me, Kim! I love reading the books set in the places I visit 🙂
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How lucky are you? Something to look forward to!
The first novel coming to mind in Northanger Abbey for the Bath section. The other one is Love Lives by Emlyn Rees and Josie Lloyd, a light and entertaining read. I’m not sure where it is set, but it is somewhere in the South of England…
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Thank Em 🙂
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This is such a coincidence because over the weekend I Google exactly the same thing. I’m going there in a couple of weekend. Will start at Lyme Regis and then visit Cornwall.
I’ll try to read Daphne de Maurier’s Jamaica Inn and The French Lieutenant’s Woman. For Devon I would recommend Austen’s Persuasion, partially set in Lyme Regis. I read somewhere that there’s a Sherlock Holmes story also set in Corwall, have to look for it.
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How funny! Hope you have a lovely time 🙂
For another book set in Lyme Regis you could try Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier – it’s a beautiful book.
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As others have mentioned, Jamaica Inn if you haven’t read it already – it’s one of my favourite books. 🙂
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I have read that one Polly but will probably go for one of her others.
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It won’t help you this year but my début novel THE CORNISH HOUSE will be out next May from Orion. For this year the books of Emily Barr are set in Cornwall too http://www.emilybarr.com/.
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What a lovely title, Liz. Good luck next year 🙂
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The only one I can think of is Mists of Avalon-it is the reason that I want to visit Cornwall if I ever get to the UK. I know The Hound of the Baskervilles is set in Devon…
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Ooh yes, a book about King Arthur – thanks for reminding me about this one Heather.
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this might appeal to you, Boof:
“Murder on the Cliffs” and “Peril at Somner House” by Joanna Challis featuring a young Daphne du Maurier solving crimes and mysteries ! Action takes place in Cornwall from what I have read.I have them at home but have yet to read them.
Lucky you, Cornwall is a very pretty place I visited with my husband one summer right before we got married, it was fantastic!
I have “Daphne du Maurier’s Cornwall” with gorgeous pictures of the places where she lived and that inspired her so much.
I would definitely recomend “Frenchman’s Creek”.
Maybe “Daphne” by Justine Picardie(own but have not read) as well or a du Maurier biographie( I have one by Magaret Forster but of course bios are not as light as fiction so maybe not something you want to read for a holiday).
Anyway, you have a wonderful time there Boof, enjoy !
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The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley is set in Cornwall and then moves to London. It’s a great read. I share your love of Cornwall, too. I was in Polperro last month – beautiful!
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Thanks Nicola. I will look up Polperro too – haven’t heard of that place so curious now. 🙂
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If you’re still looking for Cornwall set novels… there’s The Mystery Writer, by Jessica Mann if you like the sound of it? http://www.allisonandbusby.com/book/mystery-writer-the
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Thanks for stopping by, Chiara – I will check that one out 🙂
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The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartright is set in Cornwall. I read it a few years back and, whilst its nothing spectacular, its a pleasant enough read. I hope you enjoyed your holiday!
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For a little light-hearted fun, The Enchanted Noose by Linda King is definitely a page-turner. This parody of a cliff-hanger is set in Cornwall and can be found on Amazon’s Kindle as an eBook. It was certainly something different and I found it quite enjoyable and fast-paced. It’s made me wish I had the time to visit Cornwall!
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Thanks for that recommendation, Ed 🙂
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Try A Perfectly Good Man, and Notes from and Exhibition both by Patrick Gale, and both well worth a read. Also really good is Going Down to Burgois by Mandy Baldwin…. tht is set in Cornwall and Southern France, so may inspire a Gallic holiday next time? 🙂
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