I recently read an article in The Guardian on the top ten homes in literature, and immediately I began to think of the literary places I’d love to visit. The columnist’s choices included Miss Havisham’s decaying home, Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights, and Dr Jekyll’s residence – intriguing, yes, but there are others I’d prefer…

1. The cottage in Sense and Sensibility: This is partly inspired by the 2008 BBC mini-series, where the tiny cottage is right on the coast, with waves crashing onto the rocks metres away. Yes, it doesn’t sound a particularly cosy place at the start of the book, but I’d love to visit it after the Dashwoods had made it home.

2. Dracula’s castle: Yes, this would be incredibly creepy, but how could you resist? I first read Dracula at university, thinking it surely couldn’t be very scary, but the scenes that take place in the castle did give me an eerie dream or two…

3. Thornfield Hall: The setting of Jane Eyre would be a must for me. There’s the downside of having a mad woman trapped in the tower, but I think I’d still enjoy wandering around the gardens and perhaps catching a glimpse of Mr Rochester.

4. Cephallonia: I am aware this is a real island, but I’d love to visit it just as described in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Hopefully one day I will get to explore the real island (I’ve been on a boat trip past it, but unfortunately not on dry land), but it would be even better if you could see the eccentric characters of the novel roaming about.

5. The Mortmains’ castle: Another castle – perhaps I secretly want to live in one. Exploring the home of Cassandra Mortmain from I Capture the Castle would be fun – I’d go and sunbathe on the roof like Cassandra, walk along the battlements in wind and rain, and maybe take a seat in the kitchen sink… (I hope some of you get that reference, and don’t just think I’m crazy).

I could probably come up with many more, now I think of it! If you could explore the settings of your favourite books, which would you choose?

Sara Magness, Editorial Administrator