The Best Novels Set in England for Arts-loving Travelers
I'm Carol Cram, novelist, podcaster, and travel writer, and founder of Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2600+ novels inspired by the arts. Artsy Traveler contains affiliate links for products and services I personally use and recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the Disclosure for more information.
Looking for novels set in England to read before your trip or to enjoy while traveling through London, the English countryside, and historic literary towns?
These arts-inspired novels bring England’s rich creative heritage to life, from theater and architecture to bookshops and legendary writers, making them perfect companions for an artsy journey.
And yes, two of the novels set in England are mine! The Muse of Fire is my third novel, and it’s set in early 19th-century London and inspired by real events. My fifth nove, The Choir, is set in late 19th-century Yorkshire.
Table of Contents
- The Wildes by Louis Bayard
- From the Ground Up by Katherine J. Scott
- A Change of Location by Margaret Porter
- The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron
- The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
- Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
- The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
- The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox
- The Muse of Fire by Carol M. Cram
- Hamnet & Judith by Maggie O’Farrell
- The Choir by Carol M. Cram
- Guidebooks About England
- Literary and Arts-Inspired Tours in England
- Frequently Asked Questions About Novels Set in England
The Wildes by Louis Bayard
Oscar Wilde’s wife and two sons come out from the shadows of history in this emotional journey of a family grappling with their famous father’s legacy.
From the Ground Up by Katherine J. Scott
Listed in the Architecture category on Art In Fiction, From the Ground Up takes place in Elizabethan England and is Katherine J. Scott’s first Robert Smythson Mystery.
A Change of Location by Margaret Porter
In this contemporary romance, Hanna Ballard is a film location manager in pre-production for a film set in the Somerset countryside where she becomes involved with the local landowner.
The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron
From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.
The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
This wild and hallucinatory reimagining of Elizabethan London is a fever-dream full of prophecy and anarchy, gutter rats and bird gods that takes the reader on a wild ride from the rooftops of Elizabethan London to its dark underbelly.
Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
This compelling and heartwarming story is set in post-war London and revolves around three women working at Bloomsbury Books, an old-fashioned new and rare bookstore that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years.
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
Set in London in 1930, the five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy—the Queens of Crime.
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox
Set in the 1920s, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is described as a love letter to books. It’s a compelling rags-to-riches tale laced with betrayal and intrigue with a magnificent library and an enigmatic manuscript at its center.
The Muse of Fire by Carol M. Cram
Set in London in 1808-09, The Muse of Fire takes readers behind the scenes at Covent Garden Theatre where the intrigue, romance, and betrayal offstage rivals the drama in the plays performed onstage.
Hamnet & Judith by Maggie O’Farrell
This telling of the little-known story behind Shakespeare’s most enigmatic play is a luminous portrait of a marriage and the devastating loss of a beloved child. Set in Elizabethan England, the novel is especially meaningful for travelers interested in Shakespeare’s world and historic theater sites.
The Choir by Carol M. Cram
In a world that wants to silence them, one group of women dares to sing. In the dreary streets of 1890s Briarstown, a fictional Yorkshire mill town, Eliza Kingwell fights to survive in a home filled with hardship. When a devastating loss crushes her plan to escape with her five daughters, she turns to an unlikely lifeline: a local singing competition. With nothing left to lose, she gathers a feisty group of working-class women to form a choir-and sets her sights on a cash prize that could change her life forever.
Guidebooks About England
My favorite travel writer, Rick Steves, of course has produced an excellent guidebook on England. Rick’s suggestions are pretty much always on the mark. I also enjoy Lonely Planet books for their comprehensive accommodation guides, particularly for budget places.
Literary and Arts-Inspired Tours in England
Many of the novels on this list are inspired by real places you can visit in England, from historic theaters and bookshops to dramatic coastal landscapes. These arts-inspired tours offer a meaningful way to experience those settings in person.
I highly recommend a tour around Southwest England to give you a good sense of the beautiful English countryside described in some of my featured novels. This tour from Bristol visits many of the same locations I visited on the 4-day tour I took, including Minack Theatre, Durdle Door, Stonehenge, and St Ives.
Frequently Asked Questions About Novels Set in England
The best novels set in England for travelers are those that vividly portray real places, cultural history, and the arts. Historical fiction set in London, Elizabethan England, or post-war Britain can deepen your experience of museums, theaters, bookshops, and historic neighborhoods while you travel.
Yes. Many of these novels are ideal both before a trip to build anticipation and during travel to add literary context to the places you are visiting. Several are especially engaging when read on trains, in cafés, or in the very locations where they are set.
This list includes a mix of historical and contemporary novels. Many focus on periods central to England’s literary and artistic heritage, including Elizabethan England, the early 19th-century, and post–World War II London.
Several novels on this list are set in London, while others explore the English countryside, historic towns, and culturally significant places tied to theater, architecture, and publishing.
Have you read any arts-inspired novels set in England? Do you have a favorite guidebook? Share your recommendations with other Artsy Travelers in the Comments below.
Check out these posts containing suggestions for what to read in other European countries:
- The Best Novels Set in France for Arts-loving Travelers
- The Best Novels Set in Italy for Arts-loving Travelers
- The Best Novels Set in Europe for Artsy-loving Travelers
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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 2,600+ novels inspired by the arts, and the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast. She lives with her husband, artist Gregg Simpson, on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, BC.