A very dear Austrian friend bought this to my attention today, and I found it so fascinating, I thought you’d like to see it.
Literary Map of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
This literary map was designed and made by Geoff Sawyers and is for sale via The Literary Gift Company. It is really charming: intricate and beautifully penned. I loved searching for my favourites, and checking that my local notables-John Clare and Fanny Burney- are included.(They are.)
I have to confess it took me an age to find Jane Austen as I had expected her to be in Hampshire, not far from the Isle of Wight. She is in fact to be found near Bath, which I suppose she might have objected to, and the inhabitants of Hampshire will probably be most aggrieved at this placing:
Section from the Map showing “Jane Austen”
But at least she is “there”. There are other maps available: Wales
The Literary Map of Wales
and the United States of America
The Literary Map of the United States of America
Needless to say….one has now been ordered, and I do look forward to others. Perhaps Eire might be next?
15 comments
July 9, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Renee Adams
Wow! I absolutely L♥ve this!!! Thanks for posting. I always smile when I see your latest update in my inbox. I know I am in for a treat. They often find their way onto my Pinterest board “Austentatious”. Here’s link if you want to take a peek :) -http://pinterest.com/rsadams68/austentatious/
July 9, 2012 at 1:19 pm
jfwakefield
Isn’t it great? (Well they All are)Thanks Renee, thats very kind of you- but for once you have anticipated me. I’m writing about Pinterest tomorrow. I’ve started following you, with immediate effect ;)
July 9, 2012 at 1:38 pm
torirstewart
Oh wow, really? How wonderful Thank you! I have become some kind of Pinterest addict It’s great fun to share wonderful internet finds w/ like-minded others & browse all the lovely “pins” others have collected.. As if I didn’t spend enough time doing that.. :P
July 9, 2012 at 1:40 pm
jfwakefield
As I say…more on this tomorrow ;)
July 9, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Mimallone
That is not a map of England, it is clearly a map of Britain.
July 9, 2012 at 10:27 pm
penwithlit
Reblogged this on penwithlit and commented:
An intriguing and fascinating posting:-
July 10, 2012 at 8:14 pm
jfwakefield
Thank you !
July 9, 2012 at 11:49 pm
cathyallen
These are quite wonderful! I wonder how long it took to create them, considering the research, and the actual calligraphy? Also, I’m wondering about the color choices. Very interesting and quite lovely.
I was amused by seeing “Taliesin” in the one for Wales. I’ve always thought that was a word coined by Frank Lloyd Wright — I need to get out more… :-) (Yeah, I looked it up — another great story there!)
It surely IS curious that he placed Jane Austen at Bath. Too bad he didn’t ask us, isn’t it? :-) Thank you, Julie.
July 10, 2012 at 8:15 pm
jfwakefield
I hate to think. I have tried calligraphy in the past but my dyslexia didn’t really help! Imagine spelling a name wrong in the middle of the map……
July 10, 2012 at 10:26 pm
cathyallen
LOL (Literally!) What a sad thing that would be, after all the trouble of setting it up! I tried calligraphy a TINY bit, but gave up when Word-processing gave us so many choices of fonts and sizes. It does go to show what a triumph these are, though.
July 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm
imogen88
These are so effective! So many great minds, all side by side, it’s uplifting to think, writers may well take over the world, or have already done. Great, Julie!
July 10, 2012 at 8:09 pm
jfwakefield
Fascinating, and wouldn’t they be great in a classroom?
July 11, 2012 at 4:10 am
imogen88
Yes!!
July 10, 2012 at 8:32 pm
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July 12, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Caitlin
What fun these are – my teachers will love them! Thanks for the heads up!