The greatest novels have a transportive power that can take you to worlds outside your own. In my time as a reader, I have been a soldier, a spy, in Pompeii as ash fell from the sky, a dressmaker, a royal and so much more. A good book is all encompassing, and you should find yourself ever so slightly disorientated when you look up from the story and find yourself in bed, or on the sofa under a blanket.
But with some clever planning, you can look up from your novel and find yourself slap bang in the middle of the scene still. You can look out on the same vistas the characters are, visit the same restaurants, and swim in the same waters. Luckily, we've done the hard work for you, compiling a list of 31 novels to read depending on your destination. Scroll on to see the list.
France
Many novels are set in heatwaves, building tension through the persistent presence of oppressive heat, but few do it as well as H. E. Bates in his 1944 novel. It begins with pilot John Franklin, who crashes his Wellington Bomber plane in German-occupied France, injuring his arm in the process. Franklin and his crew make their way to an isolated farmhouse, before being taken in by the farmer's family. There, they plot their return to England. A love story is layered on top of the wartime narrative when Franklin meets the farmer's daughter, Françoise. Ultimately, it's a perfect read for a sweltering summer in France. -AB
The final complete novel written by beloved American author F. Scott. Fitzgerald takes place on the French Riviera during the late 1920s. It's a devastating portrayal of a marriage breaking down, alcoholism and mental illness, but it also paints a beautiful portrait of France in the Jazz Age. Despite the heavier themes, Tender is the Night is a great read for anyone whose idea of a holiday is bouncing between local bars and the beach. -AB
Based on a true story, Narrow Dog to Carcassonne tells the tale of two pensioners and a whippet who sailed their narrowboat from Staffordshire to Carcassonne. It's a humorous tale that straddles the line between digestible writing and travel memoir. Naturally we recommend this for anyone who is sailing the Canal du Midi, visiting Languedoc, or owns a whippet. -AB
Italy
If you want to immerse yourself in Venice, Donna Leon’s extensive series of murder mysteries is a perfect place to spend some time. The American author lived in Venice for decades, and her fictional detective Commissario Brunetti tackles murders that illustrate various aspects of life in the city. The first in the series deals with the death of a famous conductor at the opera house, La Fenice. Equally, if you’re headed to Sicily, try the absorbing Commissario Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. -VC
You could find a whole sub-genre of literature based around the concept of buttoned-up Brits encountering Italy, and this is surely one of the best stories about the transformative effect such an encounter can have. The central part of the novel is set in Florence, where the young Lucy Honeychurch starts to free herself from the constraints of her Edwardian upbringing. The Merchant Ivory film adaptation is just as enchanting as the book, with swoony shots of a young Helena Bonham-Carter and Julian Sands in the Tuscan countryside. -VC
This classic novel is a dreamy entrée into the world of the Sicilian aristocracy during the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy in the mid-19th century. The modern world is on the horizon, and everything is changing for Prince Fabrizio (who was based on Tomasi’s great grandfather, the Prince of Lampedusa). Garibaldi’s forces are heading for Sicily, soon to overthrow the kingdom and absorb the island into Italy, while Fabrizio’s position in society is threatened by the rise of the nouveau riche in the persons of Don Calogero Sedara and his daughter Angelica. There’s a constant tension between a feeling of regret for the loss of Fabrizio’s world, and the sense that progress is necessary, but it’s also a beautiful way to immerse yourself in the palazzos and landscape of Sicily. -VC
This much loved psychological thriller was first published in 1955, and given a new lease of life following the release of the 1999 film. It tells the story of Tom Ripley, a young con man living in New York City, making ends meet by running small scams and fraudulent schemes. When he's contacted by Herbert Greenleaf, the wealthy father of an acquaintance, looking for his itinerant son, Ripley pretends to be a trusted friend and travels to Italy to bring him home. What happens next? You'll have to read on to find out. The book is set in ‘Mongibello’, a fictionalised version of the coastal town, Positano, making this the ideal accompaniment to a holiday on the Amalfi coast. -AB
The first in the ‘Neapolitan Novel' series, My Brilliant Friend chronicles the close friendship, and bitter rivalry, between childhood pals Elena Greco and Raffaella Cerullo. Set in 1950s working class Naples, it's also a searing portrait of a place where violence, passion and poverty are rife. With beautiful, lyrical writing, and complex, fully-formed characters, Ferrante's novel is a must read for any Italian holiday–and you don't just have to take our word for it, as it was recently crowned the number one book of the 21st century by The New York Times Book Review. -AB
A powerful coming-of-age novel that transports you to a crumbling Italian villa filled with art, music and political debate. Set in the 1980s, the story follows Elio Perlman, a young student, whose world unravels when American scholar, Oliver, comes to stay at his family's holiday home. Whilst the relationship between the men initially runs cold, things heat up throughout the summer as Elio begins to understand and recognise his bisexuality. It's a stunning examination of obsession, desire and sexuality that plays out against the beautiful backdrop of a coastal town in Liguria. -AB
This gorgeous book has the effect of transporting you to an orangery or citrus garden in Italy. It tells the history and significance of citrus in Italy, going back as far as the Medici gardens. It also documents the varieties they grew, and their artistic significance. While it's not a novel, it is a lovely, bucolic piece of writing that is made even better when read amongst the orange groves. -CC
Greece
Historical novels are a brilliant way to bring the history of a place to life, and if you’re doing the tourist rounds in Athens, Mary Renault’s books are the place to start. This one takes us right into the heart of the classical world, to the mid-5th century and Athens in the midst of war with Sparta. The story, which (remarkably for its publication date of 1956) follows the homosexual love story of the young Athenian noblemen Alexias and Lysis as the events of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath unfold. It was a time of massive political upheaval in Athens, and the story allows readers to learn a huge amount about the figures of the time, such as Socrates, and the political history of 5th-century Greece. But it’s also a great read, no dry lessons here. -VC
This classic memoir is a must-read if you’re Brit travelling to Corfu (or any Greek island really). Durrell’s lyrical descriptions of the landscapes and fauna of the island are interspersed with extremely funny memories of his family and their adjustment to Corfiot life, as well as the various locals and visitors that came into their lives. The bossy Spiro who comes onto the scene early on and becomes the family’s fixer is a particular highlight - every Greek holiday should involve a Spiro. -VC
Mary Stewart wrote most of her charming romantic mystery-adventures in the 1950s and 60s, usually featuring a plucky heroine getting caught up in smuggling, murder or other bad behaviour, and finding love along the way. If you enjoyed Nancy Drew or The Famous Five as a child, this is more or less the grown-up version. They’re very well written and sweep you up into a rollicking plot, but one of the best things about them is always the location. The south of France, the Scottish islands, and in this case Corfu, come vividly to life in each. The title is a quotation from The Tempest, and the island’s supposed connection to Shakespeare’s play is explored throughout, but there are also dazzling descriptions of beaches and ocean, and an important plot strand involving a friendly dolphin. -VC
This is Victoria Hislop's best known book set in Greece but Those Who are Loved would appeal more to those who want to learn more about post-Second World War Greek history. It's set against the backdrop of World War II and with Crete as its setting, explores love, family, loss and secrets. -CB
Set on the Greek island of Kefalonia, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is an historical novel that takes place during the Second World War. When the island is occupied by Italian and German forces, Pelagia, a doctor's daughter, becomes close to an Italian officer stationed in her house. The book handles love, war and pride with sensitivity.
Turkey
This is a rather eccentric book, written in 1956 and following the adventures of a small group of high Anglicans travelling down the Turkish coast. Narrated by the young Laurie, it follows her and her aunt, the camel-riding Dorothea ffoulkes-Corbett (Aunt Dot), who is attempting (with no success) to convert Turkish ladies to Anglicanism. Things go wrong (Aunt Dot and her clergyman friend end up in the Soviet Union) and Laurie ends up solo in Trebizond accidentally taking hallucinogenic drugs. -VC
Take a trip to 16th-century Istanbul with this sumptuous, hard to define book, which opens with the murder of a miniaturist, Elegant Effendi. The murder is related by the corpse himself, and the story leaps from narrator to narrator throughout, taking us through an intriguing murder mystery and reflecting on the nature of art. -VC
England
The artistic, distinctly Bloomsbury-esque Ramsay family spends the summer of 1910 at their house on the Hebridean island of Skye in the first part of To the Lighthouse (one of Woolf’s more accessible novels), and we shift between varying perspectives on the central couple, Mr and Mrs Ramsay, as well as their children and guests. The subsequent sections follow up after the passage of time, meditating on how memories and experiences can shift from person to person. The book may be set on Skye, but it draws heavily on the experiences of Virginia’s childhood spending summers at Talland House in St Ives, Cornwall, and is absorbing reading (if a little depressing) for anyone spending a summer in a cottage on the British coast. For a lighter read set on Skye, try Mary Stewart’s Wildfire at Midnight, which is brilliant on the landscape of the island, and features some creepy mountaineering deaths and allusions to the human sacrifices once thought to take place in the Hebrides. -VC
There are plenty of murder mysteries set in Oxford, but this is one of the earliest and best. Sayers’ heroine Harriet Vane heads back to her college for a gaudy (reunion), where murder eventually ensues and Lord Peter Wimsey appears to investigate. It’s an interesting insight into life at a women’s college (none are now left in Oxford), and we also get Lord Peter punting on the river, which is delightful. -VC
Rebecca tells the story of an unnamed woman who spontaneously marries Maxim de Winter, a wealthy young widower, after a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo. The bride returns to ‘Manderlay’, the de Winter family seat, only to find that her new spouse, the staff and the house itself are haunted by the memory of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca. A classic for a reason, Daphne Du Maurier's Gothic tale is a twisty, tumultuous read. Ideally enjoyed in Cornwall, where Du Maurier lived, wrote and set the novel, the craggy coastline and looming country house are all part of the excitement. -AB
Another ‘big house’ English novel, Joanna Quinn's debut took the Sunday Times Bestseller list by storm thanks to its charming characters and lyrical storytelling. The Whalebone Theatre follows Cristabel Seagrave, the novel's gusty young heroine, from toddler to undercover operative during World War II, as her family estate, Chilcombe, and the Seagrave family itself crumbles around her. Quinn writes Dorset at its best: chalky cliffs, wide beaches and endless sky, making it the perfect staycation read. -AB
Spain
Written in his trademark sparse prose, Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises is a timeless tale of love and loss. Described by many as the quintessential ‘Lost Generation’ novel, the story follows a rag tag group of expatriates as they travel across the continent from 1920s Paris to Spain, hitting every bar and bullring in the process. As good to read in Madrid as by the sea, Hemingway's story will stay with you long after your flight home. -AB
Published in 2022, Andrea Abreu's punchy, slightly absurdist novel offers a glimpse into mid-noughties working class Tenerife. It's a coming-of-age novel that follows two friends - who are as obsessed with each other as they are competitive - over one summer, as they long to leave their village and head to the beach. Dogs of Summer is at once tender and brutal, grounded in the body and the countryside of Tenerife. -AB
Sri Lanka
You will probably know Michael Ondaatje better as the author of The English Patient, but this memoir of his Sri Lankan Burgher family is just as fascinating. The main characters are Ondaatje’s alcoholic father Mervyn and his grandmother Lalla, whose lives are told through a series of highly entertaining anecdotes. They come spectacularly to life, with all their flaws and eccentricities, and provide a glorious insight into this narrow section of Sri Lankan society in the 20th century. -VC
Cyprus
Set in 1974, The Island of Missing Trees follows the love story between two teenagers from either side of a divided Cyprus. Kostas, who is Greek, and Defne who is Turkish, meet in secret at a tavern hidden underneath the leaves of a fig tree. When war breaks out, Kostas and Defne vanish, leaving behind the country they love, and the tree that has watched over them. The second half of the novel is set in north London, where sixteen-year-old Ada seeks to unravel the mystery of her family. A beautiful novel that sensitively handles the conflict that has divided Cyprus for decades. A must read for anyone seeking to learn more about this wonderful island's history. -AB
Egypt
An acclaimed Agatha Christie tale that needs little introduction. Death on the Nile is a mystery novel, lead by the much loved Hercule Poirot and set on board the Karnak steamer. The boat travels from Aswan, along the Nile, via Abu Simbel and other key cultural stops. Whilst there aren't many descriptions of Egypt's landscape, it's the perfect read for a sleepy Nile cruise. -AB
One of the most culturally important novels of the last 30 years, The Yaccoubian Building was the best-selling Arabic novel in 2002 and 2003. It's a roman à clef set in downtown Cairo in 1990, against the backdrop of the burgeoning Gulf War and tracks the evolution of the country since the 1952 revolution. It's both gripping and informative, making it an ideal companion for an Egyptian holiday–plus, you can visit the actual building. -AB
Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy follows a Cairene family from the Egyptian revolution against Britain in 1919 to the Second World War in 1944. The protagonist is Kamal, who is a child in the first book, a university student in the second, and finally an unmarried teacher in the final book. It is a careful portrayal of the socio-political climate in early 20th-century Egypt, set against the evocative soundscape of the call to prayer, ringing out from the city's minarets. -AB
A rich and mesmerising memoir from novelist André Aciman (eagle eyed readers will note this is his second book on this list). Written in Aciman's lyrical and poetic style, he traces his family's history across the three generations they spent in Egypt. A Jewish family with Italian and Turkish heritage, Aciman makes the reader fall in love with Alexandria, just as he did before the Government exiled his family in the 1960s. -AB
Morocco
An engrossing trip, Hideous Kinky takes you through the souks, bohemian hotels and desert campsites of 1960s Morocco. Narrated by a precocious five-year-old girl, whose mother has decided to move her and her sister from England to Morocco on a whim.
Charlie Redmond and Maurice Hearne are ageing Irish gangsters, with dwindling bank accounts and existential questions about their former lives in crime. Their hunt for Dilly, Charlie's 23-year-old daughter, takes them from Spain and across to Morocco, where she has joined a group of ‘new age travellers.’ Long-listed for the Booker Prize, Night Boat to Tangier is a darkly comedic examination of the effect a life of crime takes on the soul.
