While ‘write what you know’ may seem like a cliché, for these writers, it was excellent advice. From the quaint Canadian cottage that inspired Anne of Green Gables to the spooky German castle which is thought to have sparked Mary Shelley's imagination when penning Frankenstein, these properties may look familiar from the pages of your favourite reads.
Click or scroll on as we step inside the real-life home's that inspired some of the world's most treasured books...
This quintessentially ‘New England’ clapboard-clad home was once the residence of the Alcott family, and where its most famous member, renowned author Louisa May Alcott, spent her formative years.
It was here that Louisa penned her acclaimed work, Little Women, based on her youth spent in Concord, Massachusetts. Today, the home is a museum, which attracts countless fans of Alcott’s works every year.
The house itself was built in 1650 but was purchased by Louisa’s father, Amos Bronson Alcott, in 1857 for £474 ($954) – approximately £27,100 ($34.4k) in today's money. The property included 12 acres (5ha) of land which encompassed an expansive apple orchard, from which the estate derived its name.
The house became the Alcott family homestead for the next 20 years, and it was here that Louisa wrote Little Women at her famous 'shelf desk' (pictured) in 1868.
Today, the rooms in Orchard House remain largely as they would have been during the family’s residency, and 80% of the furniture on display was owned by the Alcotts, including this melodeon belonging to Elizabeth Alcott (the inspiration for Little Women’s Beth), which sits below her portrait in the hall.
There have also been no structural changes to the home, allowing visitors to truly immerse themselves in Louisa’s inspirational surroundings.
In this archival image, Abigail May Alcott, or “Marmee” in the novel, sits comfortably in the family living room. The photo provides a rare glimpse back in time into the Alcott’s home as Louisa would have known it, and depicts a cosy family space in which one can easily imagine the March sisters gathering on a chilly evening.
Originally known as Fort House, this striking coastal home in Broadstairs, Kent, was once the summer retreat of literary giant Charles Dickens. The celebrated author holidayed here from the 1830s to the 1850s, finding inspiration in the property's unique aesthetic...
The fortress-like property towers above the ocean, offering uninterrupted views over Kent's Viking Bay. As well as penning the illustrious David Copperfield here, the summer home is said to have inspired the creation of one of Dickens' most celebrated literary works, Bleak House.
Many have drawn comparisons between the Broadstairs property and John Jarndyce’s iconic home, as depicted in Dickens’ writing: “It was one of those delightfully irregular houses where you go up and down steps out of one room into another, and where you come upon more rooms when you think you have seen all there are, and where there is a bountiful provision of little halls and passages, and where you find still older cottage-rooms in unexpected places with lattice windows.”
Following a fire in 2006, the home is now a bed and breakfast, where you can walk the very hallways that Dickens himself once meandered. In 1853, Fort House was renamed Bleak House in honour of one of the best-loved novels of the 19th century and to pay respects to the author.
The prognostic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was inspired by many things, including George Orwell's crippling tuberculosis. Yet one location, in particular, became Orwell's main muse.
Ironically, this remote farmhouse on the quiet Scottish island of Jura was the place where Orwell created the Thought Police and Big Brother, for one of his greatest literary achievements. This isolated property fed Orwell's wild imagination in stark contrast to the novel's themes.
Set in the Inner Hebrides, Barnhill was, and still is, almost entirely off-grid. From his desk by the window, Orwell looked out over the deserted landscape and imagined a world with no privacy or freedom. Here, he penned the entirety of his dystopian classic.
Fiercely private and wanting to maintain the home's tranquil beauty, Orwell was said to have shouted "cannibals" at anyone caught trespassing near his gate.
Remaining virtually untouched ever since, the home is still owned by the same family who rented the property to Orwell some 70 years ago. And although you can no longer stay at the house, The Orwell Society arranges trips to the home every one to two years according to The Guardian.
In 1908, L.M. Montgomery published her most famous work, Anne of Green Gables; a story said to be inspired by her own rural childhood in Canada. The book immediately captured the hearts and imaginations of the public, warranting seven sequals, three cinematic adaptations and five television series.
Located on Canada's idyllic Prince Edward Island, it’s easy to see how Montgomery took inspiration from this stunning rural farmhouse. The ideal setting for a charming children’s tale, the property became the centrepiece of Anne Shirley's world.
Montgomery lived in the stunning coastal cottage in the late 1800s and penned much of the Anne of Green Gables series here. Now a dedicated heritage museum, you can explore the rooms and gardens that influenced Montgomery's iconic children's stories.
Those who visit this iconic property can step straight into Anne Shirley's world and explore famed locations from the novel, including Haunted Woods and Balsam Hollow: “I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness.”
Little House on the Prairie epitomises rural American life in the late 19th century and was inspired by the pioneer lifestyle of its author, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Constantly on the move, a whole host of Midwest homes influenced the iconic series. This is a replica of Wilder's birthplace in Wisconsin, as described in Little House in the Big Woods.
In 1880, 13-year-old Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family moved to this cabin in South Dakota, fictionalised in the fifth book in the Little House series, By the Shores of Silver Lake. Her father, Charles, built the small shanty homestead himself, lured to the location by the plentiful supply of water.
Now with a husband and young daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder moved to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894. The family cultivated 200 sprawling acres (81ha) of farmland and eventually built a farmhouse, called Rocky Ridge Farm on the plot. It was here that Wilder began committing the Little House series to paper.
This stunning historic property in the heart of the Peak District National Park was a major influence on Charlotte Brontë, who visited the home several times in 1845.
Known as North Lees Hall, the building became the inspiration for Thornfield Hall, the iconic residence of Edward Rochester in Brontë’s most enduring novel, Jane Eyre.
Surrounded by the stunning rolling hills of the Peak District National Park, North Lees Hall beautifully captured the solitude of country life in England during the 19th century.
In the book, Brontë describes the hall quite suitably: “three storeys high; a gentleman’s manor house; battlements round the top gave it a picturesque look."
Though not open to the public, this enchanting property is a truly captivating piece of literary history. The author even named her acclaimed novel after North Lees Hall's architect, Robert Eyre.
A further grand Yorkshire property that is said to have inspired Charlotte Brontë's timeless novel, Norton Conyers was visited numerous times by the author in 1839, some eight years before the book was published.
Brontë had heard stories about a mad woman confined to the building’s eerie attic, a tale that is thought to have inspired her infamous character, Bertha Mason.
Beyond its connection to a beloved novel, Norton Conyers is a Grade II-listed property, recognised as having 'special interest' to the United Kingdom.
Two kings, Charles I and James II, both spent the night here and many of its 18th-century furnishings, including paintings, have been well maintained.
In 2004, a hidden stairway was discovered at Norton Conyers, further linking the historic property to Thornfield Hall. The attic remains intact to this day, though there is no public access to the space, which helped create one of the greatest literary twists of all time.
After an extensive renovation, the house and gardens reopened to the public in the spring of 2024, allowing guests to stroll through one of the most famous landmarks in literary history.
When you take a look at the chocolate-box childhood home of Beatrix Potter, it's easy to see where the inspiration for her most iconic character was born...
That's right, the beautiful gardens and surrounding landscape of Beatrix Potter's former home were the main inspiration for the adventures of mischievous Peter Rabbit.
It's easy to imagine mischievous Peter hopping around this quaint English garden, and you can almost see Beatrix Potter herself, sitting by her window watching the animals play outside.
Known as Hill Top, this quintessentially English property in the heart of the Lake District is now owned by the National Trust and is open for visits by fond fans, eager to see the dwelling that inspired some of literature's best-loved characters.
Located in historic Edinburgh, Scotland, it's easy to see how this dramatic castle-like property ignited an idea in the mind of J. K. Rowling.
Though not technically a home, this grand building was designed by Renaissance architect William Wallace in the mid-1600s. Initially opened as a hospital, the building is now home to the prestigious George Heriot's School.
Founded by Heriot, who had no children of his own, the school was set up to help families similar to his own, the children of deceased tradesmen facing hardship. Funds came from the majority of Heriot's fortune, worth tens of millions today.
J. K. Rowling is rumoured to have taken inspiration from the property's dominant turrets and towers for her famed fictional institution, Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: "A huge, rambling, quite scary-looking castle, with a jumble of towers and battlements."
Speaking in 2002, Rowling said: "Hogwarts is a very real place to me... I've always imagined it to be in Scotland... which... it was never made explicit in the books but the British reader will know that because if you do travel for a day from King's Cross Station in London and you go north, you end up in Scotland. So it was always supposed to be here."
Fans have enjoyed finding similarities between George Heriots and Hogwarts, delighting in the four houses the boys would have been sorted into: Lauriston is Slytherin; Greyfriars represents Hufflepuff; Raeburn is Gryffindor, named after a famous former pupil Sir Henry Raeburn who was an acclaimed portrait painter; and Castle stands as Ravenclaw.
By night the building is hauntingly magical, commanding the landscape in the same way that Hogwarts is said to in Rowling's adored Harry Potter series.
With a name like Frankenstein’s Castle, it’s no mystery which famous gothic horror novel this imposing edifice inspired. The abandoned castle dates to the 1600s, and with its dramatic turrets and crumbling ramparts, would certainly make an appropriate backdrop for a historical thriller.
The castle was formerly owned by Johann Konrad Dippel, a noted alchemist who was born in the Burg of Frankenstein in 1673, and was rumoured to conduct gruesome electrical experiments and concoct strange potions.
Dippel is believed to have inspired Shelley’s 1818 novel, which similarly features a ‘mad scientist’ conducting a desperate experiment to reproduce human life.
Nestled in the mountains of Mühltal, Hesse, the castle is now abandoned and decaying, with its semi-exposed interior at the mercy of the elements. With its two towers, chapel, and restaurant still intact, the site has remained a popular tourist attraction.
As one might imagine, Castle Frankenstein is usually a particularly hot destination around Halloween, when the Burg Frankenstein Halloween party attracts visitors dressed as ghosts, vampires, werewolves and witches for various spooky-themed events.
The legendary event, which started in 1977, will be finding a temporary new home at Königstein Castle while renovations take place.
This historic estate on the coast of Cornwall has been the family seat of the Rashleighs since the 16th century. Known as Menabilly, the Grade II-listed country house is believed to have been the inspiration behind Manderley in Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel, Rebecca.
Like Manderley, Menabilly is set back in the woods, near the sea but not visible from the shore. The remote setting provided ample opportunity for the haunting encounters which dominate the gothic novel.
Du Maurier, pictured here in the home, had long coveted Menabilly, which is a sprawling stone structure in the Georgian style. However, it was not until 1943, five years after she penned Rebecca, that du Maurier became the new tenant of what was by then a very dilapidated and neglected building.
Du Maurier set about lovingly restoring the home before returning it to the Rashleighs at the end of her tenancy in 1969. Today, the majority of the house and grounds remain under private ownership, although three cottages on the estate are available as holiday lets.
While Victor Hugo is celebrated for iconic works like Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, his literary oeuvre expands far beyond these two novels, including several books written during his time spent in exile in the Channel Islands.
In 1855, Hugo was exiled from France for opposing Napoleon III, and took up residence in this lavish home in Guernsey, where he wrote several novels inspired by the island, including Toilers of the Sea.
The spectacular house, which was donated to the city of Paris in 1927 and now operates as a museum, is in itself a work of art, with rooms dripping in damask brocades, hung with ornate tapestries or clad with fine china. While it was here that Hugo penned Les Misérables, it’s difficult to imagine anyone being miserable in such lavish surroundings!
Having been damaged by years of water and sea air, the home recently underwent a substantial restoration thanks to billionaire, businessman and art collector François Pinault. Hugo’s residence of 14 years and the place which inspired so many of his works is now ready for guests and open to the public once more.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s gothic thriller The Shadow of the Wind became an overnight sensation when it hit the markets in 2001, topping the best-seller lists not only in the author’s native Spain, but around the world, and becoming one of the most successful Spanish novels of all time.
The novel is set in Zafón’s own Barcelona, and includes several of the city’s iconic landmarks, including Tibidabo, a steep hill which soars above the town lined with turn-of-the-century mansions. It is likely a combination of these homes which inspired Torre Aldaya in The Shadow of the Wind.
However, the most prominent of these structures is El Pinar, which was built between 1902-1904 by famous local architect Enric Sagnier as the summer residence for prominent banker Manuel Arnús. The stately home towers over the city from an enviable position on the mountainside, plainly visible from much of Barcelona.
With distinctive turrets and galleries inspired by a combination of medieval castles and traditional Catalan farmhouses, the home is built from local Montjuïc stone, offset by ornate cornicing and topped with a traditional tiled roof.
It’s not hard to see how this dramatic façade might have captured Zafón’s imagination!
One of the most distinctive pieces of Swiss literature ever written, Heidi was a work of children’s fiction by Johanna Spyri between 1880 and 1881. The story follows the adventures of a five-year-old girl, Heidi, as she grows up in the care of her grandfather in the picturesque Swiss alps.
In writing the novel, Spyri was inspired by her own childhood in Switzerland in a rural area near Zurich, as well as summers spent in Chur in Graubünden, which would feature in several of her stories.
While the village in which Heidi grows up in the novel is fictitious, today, lovers of the book can visit Heidiland, a high-altitude region of Eastern Switzerland peppered with picturesque villages perched between the lakes and mountainside. It was this bucolic landscape that inspired Heidi’s home, and the region has in fact been renamed in honour of Spyri’s story.
Within Heidiland, tourists can also visit Heididorf, or Heidi’s house, a cottage which has been staged to look exactly like Heidi’s might have, and which will be familiar to fans of the film or TV show adaptations.
The cottage is somewhere between a set and a living history museum, and occasionally offers demonstrations of period farm chores, so visitors can experience rural 19th-century Swiss life just as Heidi would have.
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