Literature & Creative Inspiration

Last updated on June 22nd, 2026 at 06:40 pm

A world of travel, books, and creative inspiration.

For me, as both a novelist and a lifelong reader, travel and storytelling go hand in hand. I often travel to a place because I’ve read about it in a novel. Fiction connects us to people, history, and landscape in a way that no guidebook can.

This hub gathers my favorite artsy novels set in destinations I write about on Artsy Traveler. In addition, it includes posts about literary museums and pilgrimage sites, and creative reflections to help you experience destinations through story, imagination, and art.

How to Use the Literature & Creative Inspiration Hub

Browse the posts below to find novels set in specific countries, literary sites, and guides that bring destinations to life through story. Start with curated lists like Novels Set in England, Novels Set in Italy, or Top Ten Artsy Novels to Read in Europe to choose your next immersive read. And to inspire your literary travels, check out posts about literary sites such as the Keats-Shelley House in Rome.

Let this hub guide both your reading list and your travel plans to help you experience the world through the lens of literature and creativity.

The Best Novels Set in Spain for Arts-loving Travelers

Reading novels set in Spain is a wonderful way to spark excitement before a trip and to deepen your experience ...

The Best Novels Set in Netherlands for Arts-loving Travelers

Reading novels set in the Netherlands is a wonderful way to set the mood for travel and to enrich your ...

The Best Novels Set in England for Arts-loving Travelers

Looking for novels set in England to read before your trip or to enjoy while traveling through London, the English ...

The Best Novels Set in Germany for Arts-loving Travelers

Reading novels set in Germany is one of my favorite ways to prepare for a trip, or to deepen the ...

Visit Rome’s Best-Kept Literary Oasis: The Keats-Shelley House

If you're a fan of English Romantic poets, then you must make a pilgrimage to the Keats-Shelley House in Rome ...

Tina Overbury wearing a hat she bought in a local market in Ireland

Three Tips Every Writing Adventurer Needs to Buy The Damn Hat by Guest Poster Tina Overbury

How do you know you're a writing adventurer? That's what guest poster, writer, storyteller, performer (and fellow Bowen Islander!) Tina ...

The Best Novels Set in Europe for Arts-loving Travelers

Do you enjoy reading novels set in the countries you visit? I know I do. There is nothing quite like ...

The Best Novels Set in Italy for Arts-loving Travelers

It's no surprise that so many authors (including myself!) have chosen Italy as the setting for their novels. With its ...

The Best Novels Set in France for the Arts-loving Traveler

Looking for novels set in France to read before your trip or to enjoy while traveling through Paris, Provence, and ...

The Best Novels Set in Austria for Arts-Loving Travelers

I set my second novel, A Woman of Note, in Vienna in the 1830s, which meant spending a lot of ...

Book cover of Love Among the Recipes, a novel by Carol M. Cram

Love Among the Recipes: Paris Sights & Bistro Dishes

When her husband cheats on her, cookbook author Genna McGraw does what any self-respecting food writer would do: she books ...

About Carol Cram

Carol M. Cram is the author of five award-winning novels inspired by art and the women who shaped it, the creator of Artsy Traveler, an arts-focused travel blog, the founder of Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2,500+ novels inspired by the arts, and the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast. She also authored 60+ textbooks on computer applications and taught at Capilano University for over two decades. She lives with her husband, artist Gregg Simpson, on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, BC.