Inspiration for an author can come in many forms such as children playing in a park or a childhood experience. For many of the most famous authors, inspiration came from the very places in which they call home, whether it be their hometowns or the places they decided to call home.
Many of these authors were able to create such amazing adventures within their writing that they would later become successful movie ventures that the world would come to love. It is a testament to how a small town, region, or country can kindle a story that will later touch millions, whether through print or on-screen.
Authors And Their Inspiration
Anne Rice
For Anne Rice, her inspiration came in the form of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her fame exploded in the 1980s and, like with many incredible authors, her books inspired movies like “Interview with a Vampire.” Such locales as the famed raised tombs of Lafayette Cemetery was the home to such characters as the Mayfair Witches and Lestat.
James Joyce
Dublin, Ireland is the place in which inspired James Joyce. His book, “Finnegan’s Wake,” is considered one of the most challenging books of the English language. Dublin and various locations throughout the city gave him the inspiration to create his adventures through words and images.
Jane Austen
Austen’s home country of England was the source of the inspiration for novels like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility.” These books would later be turned into critically acclaimed movies that are now considered American classics.
Amy Tan
San Francisco’s colorful Chinatown was the place that Tan called home. This area was so prevalent in her books that it almost became a character in and of itself in her books. One of her most famous books, “The Joy Luck Club,” became a successful Hollywood hit.
Stieg Larsson
The Millennium Series by Stieg Larson was inspired by his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. It would later be the source for the movie “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.” There are even a café and a tattoo parlor that would serve as the inspiration for correlated places within his novels.
Victor Hugo
Paris can inspire many to do many things and for Victor Hugo, it did just that. His beloved Paris would serve as the backdrop for such books as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Les Miserables.” Les Mis would later become a film and an internationally successful Broadway show.
J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien’s inspiration can get slightly skewed. He was raised in Birmingham, England, which is where he would get much inspiration for his phenomenal books “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Different places around Birmingham is where he was inspired to create such things as the Shire and Barad-Dur in Mordor. Many people associate these movies with New Zealand because that is where the movies were filmed.
Stephen King
Stephen King is arguably the most famous horror author of all time. His hometown of Bangor, Maine inspired the town of Derry in a number of his works. His incredible stories have been turned into such movies as “IT,” “Carrie,” and “Pet Sematary” and they have been scaring horror lovers for decades.
Ernest Hemingway
For acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway it was Cuba that gave him great pleasure and inspiration. This Caribbean island would lay as the catalyst for “The Old Man and the Sea” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Cuba is a place that Hemingway chose to call home after leaving the United States for the island nation during a difficult time in Cuba-United States relations.
The incredible stories by these authors have done more than inspire readers and moviegoers, they have inspired people to travel to these places. Lovers of fiction have been traveling to these places to experience the places that would serve these authors in their literary careers. Notre Dame, the Jane Austen Center, the Maison de Victor Hugo, the James Joyce Center are locations their fans go to walk in the steps of their favorite authors.
There are even a number of walking tours in these various destinations that take visitors to the specific places that these authors have visited and drawn upon to generate amazing fictional ideas.
I haven't even mentioned JK Rowling's Harry Potter series... See more here - HARRY POTTER'S LONDON.
And don't forget another of my favorites... Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series! READ MORE HERE.
If you are a fan of one or many of these authors, these places can serve as your inspiration to take a trip and retrace the steps of these geniuses of literature!
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