Literary Road Trip Through the USA

Welcome on our literary road trip through America, where we bring you nine different destinations for bookworms, located in nine different states! Travelling to visit locations that have a connection with your favourite book or author is not only a great way to satisfy your inner literature geek, but also allows you to experience new places you might otherwise have overlooked on your holiday. Let's get started!

1. Key West, Florida

We start off at the southernmost point of the state of Florida in Key West. The island city, only 90 miles from Cuba, is famous for its relaxed atmosphere and great snorkelling opportunities, but was also where Ernest Hemingway stayed and wrote from 1931 to 1940. You can take a tour of his house and meet the descendants of Hemingway's cat Snowball, and enjoy the Hemingway Days Festival in July.

Ernest Hemingway House
907 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040

2. Montgomery, Alabama

Though it may come as a surprise, Montgomery was home to American literary giant F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Though these icons of the Jazz Age may seem out of place in the American South, the Fitzgerald Museum, its surrounding neighbourhood and the city of Montgomery are well worth a visit. The past home of the Fitzgeralds has been carefully preserved and houses hundreds of fascinating items from letters and manuscripts to photographs.

The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
919 Felder Ave # 919, Montgomery, AL 36106

3. New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans still retains its reputation as a cultural melting pot with a bustling arts scene, and has attracted artists and writers for centuries. The Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone is a particularly fitting spot for our road trip, as it was frequented by numerous influential authors, including Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams. The bar is a sight to see in itself, with its circle of bar stools rotating around the bar, resulting in a spectacle that feels very uniquely New Orleans.

Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130

4. Richmond, Virginia

Now we have made our way from the southern states to the eastern coast, and to Richmond in Virginia. Edgar Allan Poe lived and worked here in the 19th century, and though the building that serves as the museum was never his home, it houses the largest collection of his original manuscripts, first editions, and letters in the world, and lots of Poe memorabilia. The museum building, the 'Old Stone House', is considered by many to be Richmond's oldest original building, built in approximately 1740. The museum also fittingly has exhibits showing life in 19th century Richmond.

Edgar Allan Poe Museum
1914 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23223

5. Hartford, Connecticut

In Hartford, you will find the wonderful three-story Gothic Victorian mansion, once the home of author Mark Twain. The grand house is not only a treat for fans of Twain, as it has been well preserved and gives an insight into the architecture and interior design of the time. The Billiards Room is particularly worth a look, as it is where Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, among other works.

Mark Twain House
351 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105

6. Amherst, Massachusetts

One of the most enigmatic figures of American poetry, Emily Dickinson, was born and lived most of her life in the Dickinson Homestead, now a museum, in Amherst. The museum encompasses the homestead as well as a neighbouring property, and may help shed some light on the life of Dickinson, who was a recluse most of her life, leaving her home only out of necessity. Her poems were discovered locked away in her bedroom after she had passed away.

Emily Dickinson Museum
280 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002

7. Bangor, Maine

The only contemporary author on our road trip, master of horror and suspense Stephen King has not only set many of his novels and stories in Bangor (called Derry in his fiction), but also lives in the town himself. His giant Victorian mansion fittingly features gargoyles and bat themes. Other highlights of the town include Mount Hope Cemetery, both the inspiration for King's Pet Sematary, but also used in the film based on the novel. Another creepy location to visit is the Thomas Hill Standpipe, a water tower surely familiar to those who have read the novel IT...

8. Las Vegas, Nevada

Love him or hate him, Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a modern classic. Though times have certainly changed since the publication of the novel in 1972, Las Vegas still oozes an intoxicating mixture of endless parties, vice, and adventure. The only way to get an idea of the environment that inspired the creation of this book is to visit the 'Sin City' yourself!

9. San Francisco, California

San Francisco has for long been a place of inspiration for artists and writers from far and wide, but perhaps never as famously as during the 1950s and 60s. The Beat Generation movement was particularly influential, and centred around the City Lights bookshop in North Beach, where Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, among others, were known to meet. The bookshop is still operating and hosts readings as well.

City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133