Some fictional settings intrigue. Others delight. Some are so compelling they become a part of your inner landscape. The stuff of daydreams. Maybe it’s the characters that make the setting so appealing. It could be a culture (real or imagined) or a different time period or, in the case of fantasy worlds, their epic scope and adventure. We all have our favorite book settings. In no particular order, these are 10 of mine.
1. Mitford, North Carolina from At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. While I love the setting (Karon based it on Blowing Rock, NC, where I’ve been and I can certainly see the inspiration) it’s most definitely the characters who make me want to visit the little town of Mitford tucked high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Who wouldn’t want to drop in on the Turkey Club at the Main Street Grill, or hear an Uncle Billy joke, or visit with Miss Sadie and Louella at Fern Bank, or peer over Cynthia’s shoulder as she’s illustrating one of her Violet books?
2. Rivendell from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Rings and The Hobbit (as well as Peter Jackson’s visual interpretation). “[Elrond’s] house was perfect whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.” Couple that description from The Hobbit with Peter Jackson’s Rivendell movie set, and it’s starting to feel like how I sometimes envision the Kingdom of God, and what I hope to be doing there for a very, very long time.
3. Narnia from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (and series). These books were my earliest introduction to fantasy literature and these stories set the bar. There are very few places in these books I wouldn’t want to visit (that underground kingdom with the mole-men creatures in The Silver Chair being one of them; it gave me nightmares), but some of the places that top the list are the wardrobe and Lantern Waste, Mr. Tumnus’s cave, and Cair Paravel. And of course it, too, is now a movie.
4. Hobbiton from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit. Because round windows and round doors and full larders and Hobbits are such jolly good hosts and know how to throw a party. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” And the best thing about this setting is that we can actually go there. I know people who have. When Peter Jackson finished shooting the Hobbit movies in New Zealand, they turned the Hobbiton set into a place where people can visit. Bilbo’s home at Bag End and the Green Dragon pub, they are still there. I want to go… on an adventure!
5. Medieval Shrewsbury, England, near the Welsh border from One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters (and the whole 20 book series). I’d love to have a nice long chat with Cadfael in his herb garden, or the wood-scented herb shed where he brews his medicines–and maybe a tour of the town of Shrewsbury and all its shops, then a tour of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, where Cadfael lives and works (best of all would be a sojourn into Cadfael’s native Wales). But only if I didn’t have to be entangled in that English civil war that forms the backdrop of the series!
6. Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Not the movie version. The version that’s in my head from reading the books (quite a few times). But I’d like to go as a guest of someone on staff, preferably Professor McGonagall, who seems consistently formidable, sensible, and capable, three qualities it strikes me as good to have about oneself at Hogwarts.
Or else an invisibility cloak.
7. The Hallelujah Mountains from the film Avatar. Floating mountains? Yes please! And I’d fly there on the back of one of those creatures they fly on in that movie.
Maybe…
8. Meduseld, King Theoden’s Golden Hall from The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. This one is most definitly the movie version. The hall itself as well as its setting on Mount Sunday in New Zealand are unbeatably epic and wild and so very Celtic/Anglo Saxon. My first love, historically speaking, is Pre-Roman Briton culture, and Meduseld puts me right there in my Celtic-loving heart–though I know full well the actual Celtic halls of chieftains up in those hill-forts were more likely constructed of wattle-and-daub. This is fantasy! And if I had any sewing skills at all I would make copies of those horse banners that hang behind King Theoden’s throne.
9. Beorn’s House from the second Hobbit movie The Desolation of Smaug. Yes, even with those giant honey bees because the woodwork! The craftsmanship! Such beautiful carvings all over that place. Although I think I’d like to visit when Beorn is away from home as he’s actually a little alarming; he does turn into a bear, after all!
And since I’ve chosen predominantly Lord of the Rings fictional settings to visit (can’t help it, they’re just too cool), I’ll end with something closer to home…
10. 18th century Scottish Highlands from Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott (and pretty much any other 18th century Scotland-set story) because I’m endlessly interested in this time and place, and particularly about Clan MacGregor, and would like so much to see it for myself, for a very brief visit. This includes the area in Scotland called The Trossachs.
And speaking of 18th century Scotland, I’m giving away TEN SIGNED COPIES (with bookmarks)** of my latest release, The King’s Mercy which begins in… wait for it… 18th century Scotland
Update: Drawing is ended as of Dec 6. I’ll post the winners in a new blog post. Stand by….
Read the first two chapters of The King’s Mercy
Back Cover Copy for The King’s Mercy
**USA Addresses Only Please
I’d always want to go to New Zealand because of The Hobbit and Lord of the rings I love all the mountains and woodsy areas. I’d also love any settings in the 1800…. maybe a time frame I couldn’t live in forever but something I’d like to experience. I can’t remember the exact title of the book but about a year ago I read a story about a girl who lived in Maine and harvest blueberries…. That sounded magical because she had the ocean she could visit but also the wilderness and farming aspect in her life. Sounds like The Best of both worlds!
I feel the same about 1700s settings. I would love to experience them for a bit, but never to stay. Thanks for sharing. New Zealand is so beautiful, and as someone I know from NZ told me recently, all those beautiful places are no more than a few hours away when you live there.
I loved the Mitford books too, Lori, so I’ll take a visit to Mitford! ๐
I should have mentioned Meadow Gate Farm. That’s another Mitford setting I’d love to visit.
I LOVE the Appalacian/Smoky/Blue Ridge mountains and I’m fascinated with Native American culture. I have been since I was a small child checking out books about the Indians in Mrs. Blackstone’s library ๐ I would love to visit the New York Frontier in the 1700s…The Woods Edge and A Flight of Arrows are my favorite books. My dream is to ride my horse in the VA/ WV Blue Ridge Mountains. I have already pre-ordered Laura Frantz’ book An Uncommon Woman. Thank you for your stellar writing. They take me on so many great adventures!
You will enjoy An Uncommon Woman. I was fortunate to read an early copy this past year. Can’t wait for readers to get this one.
Someone asked recently what books of mine would I want to see made into a movie or tv series and though it was hard to pick I chose the two you mentioned as your favorites. Not sure a movie could handle it all. Maybe a mini-series.
The New York frontier of the 1700s grows more interesting the more I research….. I’m still at it.
Like youโScotland is where I would like to revisit. But it is Orkney Isle . My Motherโs maiden name is Orkney and there is a story of a shipwreck and the only survivor was a wee boy. They- the Laird of Orkney named him John Orkney and thus-the beginning of my family. They migrated to Scotland and my grandparents lived in Montrose. My sister and I took a trip and took the train fro Glasgow to Montrose. Visited the house of my grandparents and it was very Surreal walking down the start to the harbor where many of my relatives worked. I have a story in me and it will take me back to Orkney !
I love all your books.and how you include so much history !
That’s an awesome family history, Elsie. Orkney is pretty fascinating just for its archaeological sites, like Skara Brae (I think that’s how it’s spelled). I’d like to visit there too.
The Scottish highlands, I read some George MacDonald books as a teen and fell in love with the idea and have sought out Scottish based novels since then
I’ve read some of his stories too. Scottish Highlands… I think if I was gifted the chance to travel anywhere on this earth, real, fictional, whatever, that would be the place.
Definitely! <3
I love Forks Washington from the Twilight books. I enjoy the rain and fog so reading about a town that rains almost 100% of the time was wonderful. I love scenery that is foggy, such as Ireland. The rolling hills with fog drifting over the creases.
Now there’s one fictional setting I’ve actually visited but…. it didn’t rain! I didn’t see any glittering vampires though. I agree with you about moody foggy weather, it’s my favorite.
Fairacre – I love Miss Read’s account of her life in this Cotswolds village.
I’d love to visit the medieval castles in Tamara Leighs books. The whole knights in armour and castles fascinate me as they seem like something from a fantasy but were actually very real.
Not only would I love to visit a medieval castle, I would love to learn how to build one, and weave the tapestries, and carve all the woodwork, and cast the silver candlesticks and just everything. As a child I had books about castles…
That’s one I haven’t read, but you had me at Cotswolds! Beautiful country.
I would love to visit Israel. Iโve read Of Fire and Lions and Isaiahโs Daughter & Isaiahโs Legacy by Mesu Andrews These books renew my interest to visit. And of course I would love to visit Scotland, Australia, England and so many other places I read about.
I have friends in Israel and went to visit them some years back. That was very different than going on a tour (though I did a bit of that too while I was there, he was a tour guide). I lived with them for two weeks in Jerusalem. Those memories are vivid. I hope you get to go! Of course we all will in the Kingdom. ๐
I’d love to visit Regency England countryside like in Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson!
Oh, I like Julianne’s books. I’ve read Edenbrooke. Her settings are vivid. She’s a great writer.
I have had 4 trips to Scotland and I just can’t get enough. I love the Trossachs area which I believe is near your Rob Roy location. I also love Ft. William and Ben Nevis. Think Braveheart on this one! I also love Colonial America and would love nothing better than a transport back to colonial Virginia where the ancestors lived along the Holston River.
Ditto to all those. Got any favorite books set in any of those places? I’m always looking for more of either. ๐
The moors of England for sure, from Wuthering heights and so many other beautiful novels. Narnia is a definite, and Prince Edward Island from L M Montgomery’s books. I love traveling through fiction <3
Prince Edward Island would have made my list had the list been any longer!
Settings I would love to visit are Alaska and Australia. I have always loved books set in both locations. Narnia would be awesome to visit!
Do you read Dani Pettrey’s books set in Alaska?
I love the setting of the Mitford series by Jan Karon. I also love Scotland, which is the setting of several books by Liz Curtis Higgs. Thanks for the generous giveaway!
Mitford is like home, especially since we’ve listened to all the books (many times) read by John McDonough. He does a masterful job, giving every character a recognizably different voice. He can talk like 11 year old Dooley and sing like Louella, crack his voice over an Uncle Billy joke, fuss like scary Miss Rose, speak like polished Andrew Gregory and twang away like Homeless Hobbs. And everyone in between. I’d love to have that talent.
I would also love to go to Scotland. Most of my life I thought that a large branch of my family was from Ireland. I was in my thirties when my aunt, who had been a newspaper editor finish an extensive amount of research on our ancestry and published a book for us. It was then that we all discovered that our “Irish” great grandfather was the son of a poor Scottish father and wealthy British mother who married against their families’ wishes and moved to Ireland.
It’s fun learning family history. Mine traces back to Scotland too. Do you have any favorite books or movies set there?
Generally Iโd love to go visit anywhere thatโs in whichever book Iโm currently reading, but if I had to choose one place, it would be the time of King Arthur. King Arthur stories have always been among my favorite, Mists of Avalon being the very best!
That reminds me of another setting I would have added to this list had I made it even longer: the Celtic world of Stephen Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle, which is his version of the Arthurian legend. It starts with Atlantis! These were the books that, back in the late 80s, started me on my love of all things Welsh, Celtic, and Scottish.
I would want to go to early America as America was first settled.
Do you have any favorite fictional settings from books or movies in that time period?
Blessing, North Dakota, where the Red River of the North series took place in Lauraine Snelling’s historic fiction.
Good one! Fun fact: Lauraine drove me to my very first writing conference when I was in my twenties, way back in something like 1994.
York, England. It’s my favorite part of England with such rich history in a walled, small town.
The coast of Maine, because I’ve never been there. It’s so dramatic and wild.
Ireland, because it’s the land of my ancestors.
Charleston, SC, because it’s my favorite city.
Savannah, GA, because … it’s Savannah!
Edinburgh, Scotland because it’s filled with rich history.
Austria, because of The Sound of Music (lol)
New Orleans, because it’s filled with ghosts and history. And because it’s been nearly 40 years since I’ve been there. lol
Okay, that’s 8.
What are the books or movies (I caught Sound of Music) that drew you to those settings? And I feel the same about Maine!
Scotland via Outlander novels. So much rich history and vibrant landscape.
Agreed. And I would add to that 18C North Carolina, Fraser’s Ridge.
One day I’ll make it to New Zealand…one day!!!
Me too! I even have a friend there. ๐
All the more reason to go!!
The Alps because of the Sound of Music, I imagine I could hear the world revolving there.
The Great Lakes because of James Fenimore Copper’s Leatherstocking Tales.
Pike County, where West Virginia and Kentucky meet. Your Many Sparrows reminds me of a combination of what I read in the Deerslayer and what my Mom has told me of where her family is from – a hollar in Pike Co.
The cabin in the Little House on the Prairie series. I just love the way the rooms are arranged, practical.
The place where Parliament was filmed for Amazing Grace.
Can I add one? The mountains in the Man From Snowy River ๐
You’ve named one of my favorite movies ever, Amazing Grace. Comparing my books to Cooper’s in any way totally makes my day, thank you! I’m actually writing about his family in the current work in progress….
And those Little House book settings, yes! That would have eventually shown up on my list. Those were some of my favorite childhood reads. The show as well, but I saw the books so very differently in my head than what the show created. That usually is the case. Very rare for a book adaptation to match my imagination.
I love books set in Ireland and it would be great to visit. Recently I read Deadly Deceit by Natalie Walters and I would like to visit her fictional town of Walton, GA where this series takes place.
It’s so fun when fictional towns become places we want to visit!
Jenny Lang, Phyllis, and Liz, I’m waiting to hear from you. You’ve won a copy of The King’s Mercy, but I neglected to ask for contact emails in your comments. If you could contact me with your mailing address at lori_benton26 at hotmail dot com, I can get your books to you. Also if you’d like me to sign them to someone besides you, let me know that too.