With the rolling hills and moorlands, the breathtaking coastline, and that often-felt sense of being the only person in the world, Devon captures many a writer’s imagination.
Whether the author has grown up in Devon or just visited once or twice, the beauty of the surroundings quickly seep into your heart, causing inspiration in the wildest of ways.
Here are the books that can transport you to our little piece of the countryside.
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo
The village of Iddesleigh in North Devon and its surrounding area is known as ‘War Horse Country’. Local author Michael Morpurgo gleaned inspiration for his 1982 children’s novel, War Horse, after talking to war veterans in his local pub in Iddesleigh.
The local area features in the book as Morpurgo sets the opening scenes on a Devon farm, before the young farm horse, Joey, is sold to the army and taken to the front line during WW1. The sequel to War Horse, Farm Boy, is also set in Devon.
The Hound of the Baskervilles – Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most iconic masterpieces. One of the most famous stories ever written, in 2003 the book was listed as number 128 of 200 on the BBC’s The Big Read poll of the UK’s “best-loved novel”. In 1999, a poll of “Sherlockians” ranked it as the best of the four Holmes novels.
Based on a local legend of a spectral hound that haunted Dartmoor in Devon, the story is set in the moors at Baskerville Hall and the nearby Grimpen Mire, and the action takes place mostly at night, when the terrifying hound howls for blood.
The Secret of Crickley Hall – James Herbert
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a supernatural thriller written by James Herbert about a family from London who temporarily relocate to North Devon with the husband’s work.
The village they relocate to, Hollow Bay, is based on Lynmouth in Exmoor National Park. The story brings together the story of WW2 child evacuees and the 1952 flood disaster that called 34 people in Lynmouth.
The book was adapted into a BBC three-part series in 2012.
The Salt Path – Raynor Winn
Raynor Winn wrote The Salt Path after walking the entirety of the 630-mile South West Coast Path, which spans from Minehead in Somerset, to Pool Harbour in Dorset.
The book is about Raynor and her husband Moth’s journey of walking the path after the two became homeless following Moth’s diagnosis of a terminal illness and a bad investment.
The uplifting story is a beautiful and inspiring read that won the 2019 inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize.
And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write.
In 2015 it was named the “World’s Favourite Christie” in a vote sponsored by the author’s estate, and is the world’s best-selling mystery novel, and with over 100 million copies sold is one of the best-selling books of all time.
Agatha Christie set many of her books in Devon after gaining inspiration from the county during her time living in Torquay. And Then There Were None is one of her most famous books set in Devon, along with The A.B.C Murders, and Evil Under The Sun.
The Dragonfly Pool – Eva Ibbotson
Another children’s novel on the list, The Dragonfly Pool was written by award-winning author Eva Ibbotson.
The boarding school in the book is based on Ibbotson’s own childhood school, Dartington Hall, a progressive school near Totnes.
The book is set in WW2, and is a story about a girl called Tally who is sent away to a boarding school in Devon and subsequently organises a trip to ‘Bergania’ where her and her friends rescue a Prince and smuggle him back to England.
Tarka the Otter – Henry Williamson
Award-winning Tarka the Otter is a 1927 novel by Henry Williamson that poetically describes the life of an otter within its habitat in the ‘Two Rivers’, of the River Torridge and River Taw in North Devon.
The novel is often characterised as a children’s book, however when it was first released it was aimed at adults so it’s the perfect Devon based novel for young and old alike.
The Long Call – Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves is an award-winning English crime writer, whose latest book series, Two Rivers, is based in North Devon.
The first book in the series is The Long Call, a story of local detective Matthew Venn who returns to his childhood home where the Rivers Torridge and Taw meet, after his father’s death.
Matthew’s first major case is a stabbing on a North Devon beach near his new home, and his investigation leads him to the secular religious community he turned his back on many years ago.
Lorna Doone – R.D. Blackmoore
Exmoor – specifically the tiny hamlet of Malmsmead – is known as ‘Lorna Doone Country’, after R.D Blackmoore’s 1869 novel.
Lorna Doone is a classic romance based in the 17th century in North Devon and Somerset, and it’s popularity means it has never been out of print since it’s publication.
The written accents and word-formations can be tricky to figure out and read at first, but it’s worth persevering!
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. The novel follows the three Dashwood sisters as they must move with their widowed mother from the estate on which they grew up, Norland Park.
Because Norland is passed down to John, the product of Mr. Dashwood’s first marriage, and his young son, the four Dashwood women need to look for a new home. They have the opportunity to rent a modest home, Barton Cottage in Devon, on the property of a distant relative, Sir John Middleton. There, Elinor and Marianne experience love, romance, and heartbreak.
Westward Ho! – Charles Kingsley
Westward Ho! Is another historical novel on this list, having been written by Charles Kingsley in 1855. The book is an adventure book initially set in Bideford, North Devon, before the main character sets sail for the Caribbean coast.
The novel is based on the real-life Elizabethan privateer, Amyas Preston, and follows his adventures in Elizabethan times to the New World, before ending back in England during the Spanish Armada.
Devon is an Inspiring Place for Authors
Although this list is in no way exhaustive, it should give you a good starting point for exploring the wealth of literature set in Devon. Devon is a beautiful county with a rich history and culture, with plenty of castles and historic houses, so it’s no wonder so many writers have been inspired to set their stories here.
Whether you’re visiting Devon for the first time or you call this corner of England home, we hope you enjoy reading about its people and places through the pages of these great novels.
Don’t forget that many of these books are available as e-books and audiobooks, so you can enjoy them wherever your travels take you. Happy reading!
