If you are a writer, you will want to learn about successful works that have achieved widespread acclaim. This will inspire you and assist you with the development of your ideas. Even if you’re not a writer, it’s still fun to visit museums and appreciate the stories behind great creators. This guide will list some of the most spectacular literary museums on earth and give you some insight into some writers with which they are concerned.
Firstly, I will begin with museums which contain artefacts and material related to particular writers.
Chawton, England
Jane Austen’s House Museum
- Learn about the novelist famous for works such as Pride and Prejudice
Haworth, England
Bronte Parsonage Museum
- Learn about the sisters famous for novels such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre
Nottingham, England
Newstead Abbey, Lord Byron’s house
- Learn about the poet famous for works such as Don Juan
Near Sawrey, England
Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s House
- Learn about the children’s writer famous for works such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Great Missenden, England
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
- Learn about the children’s writer famous for works such as The Witches and James and the Giant Peach
Salinas, United States of America
National Steinbeck Centre
- Learn about the novelist famous for works such as Of Mice and Men
Hartford, United States of America
Mark Twain House & Museum
- Learn about the writer famous for works such as the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Yasnaya Polyana, Russia
The National Leo Tolstoy Museum-Estate
- Learn about the novelist famous for works such as War and Peace
Prague, Czech Republic
The Kafka Museum
- Learn about the novelist and short story writer famous for works such as The Castle
Paris, France
Maison du Victor Hugo
- Learn about the novelist famous for works such as Les Miserables
Secondly, I will list museums which contain artefacts and material related to a number of writers.
Newcastle, England
Seven Stories
- This national centre for children’s books has archives of works by Enid Blyton and Philip Pullman. I remember going here as a small child and thoroughly enjoying this place where everyone was passionate about books and reading.
Edinburgh, Scotland
The Writers’ Museum
- This museum is devoted to teaching you about the famous Scottish writers: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.
New York City, United States of America
The Morgan Library and Museum
- On display here, you can view the first editions of Lord Byron, Nabokov, Plath, Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe.
Aside from these more informative and traditional museums, there are those which attempt to visually recreate scenes from famous works of literature. It is these that I shall conclude this blog post with.
Copenhagen, Denmark
H.C. Andersen Fairy-Tale House
- Journey through scenes from Anderson’s children’s tales which include the Ugly Duckling. Copenhagen is also famous for a statue of his other well-known character, the Little Mermaid.
Oxford, England
The Story Museum
- This place is great for children as it allows them to enter scenes from classic books.
I hope that this guide to the world’s top literary museums will be useful for you.
I have lots of special memories associated with a few of these museums. If you have any particular associations with any of these museums, writers or textual artworks, comment below. We would love to read your thoughts.
See also: A Guide to Galleries
Happy exploring!
Amber Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels
One comment