Authors – where might you consider setting your next novel? Readers, which setting is your favourite?

30th October 2019

Authors – where might you consider setting your next novel? Readers, which setting grabs your attention?

We often get asked which, in our estimation, are the most popular settings in books? Which locations attract the greater readership? Which places do less well for an author? If you are indeed an author contemplating the choice of setting, then a bit of background information might help inform choice.

We often have discussions about setting in the TF office, as you can imagine. Tony, Andrew, Charlotte and Tina are all drawn to a variety of locales, all different, some near, some far flung….  yes, the pleasure of spotting a new novel with a vibrant setting that will transport the reader to a chosen locale is one of the delights of working at TripFiction!

We have done some light research, based on seven years’ worth of observation – on the responses to our giveaways, interactions across social media, popularity of books and more, and here we share our findings! Do not take them as gospel but perhaps allow yourself to be guided, just a little!

At no. 1  (and it’s no surprise, really )….*drumroll* …. is PARIS. Books set in the city of light and love are always popular, readers engage and turn dewy-eyed at the prospect of this setting. Many of the great historical authors set the precedent by making the city a great and vivid backdrop to some of the classics. In the modern day, Parisian-set Lullaby by Leïla Slimani, for example, racked up sales of 100, 000 last year, according to this article in the Guardian and if you really want to see how Paris as a locale can be beautifully done, then check out I love you too much by Alicia Drake.

I am sure, too, that France, as a setting overall, experienced a surge of popularity after the publication of Chocolat by Joanne Harris (which is now 20 years old, by the way)! Most people who have read the book or seen the film have a fondness for it (the book and chocolate, that is). France is always a popular choice too, just think of the lasting popularity of the Peter Mayle books as he charted his move to Provence all those years ago.

Hard on the heels of Paris is Venice and it is Donna Leon who, in recent times has surely given readers a greater appetite for this charismatic, mystical and beautiful city. Venice, as does Paris, always gets a great response when we blog about books set there. Books by Gregory Dowling and Philip Gwynne Jones,for example, continue to stoke the popularity of the city (check out their Twitter feeds too, always LOTS to see and learn about the city from them!). Naples is a quiet front runner, probably due to the books written by Elena Ferrante who incidentally has a new book coming out in 2020. And watch out for Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich (her writing and storytelling are likened to Elena Ferrante’s work) which is a love letter to the city. Tuscany, of course, is always a winner and so is Sicily, thanks due mainly to author Andrea Camilleri.

Australia as a setting has experienced an upturn with the popularity in the wake of author Jane Harper‘s thrillers, which are set there – the arid hinterlands – and Australian author Tim Winton laid the groundwork for promoting his country through fiction. His novel Cloudstreet is often cited as ‘the’ novel of Australia.

The setting of India, too, has great appeal, popularised through the epic tome of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, who tells his own story in a fictionalised account. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is still one of the great reads for the country.

Barcelona does well, Mallorca less so. Why, I wonder? Amsterdam is always pretty popular, as is Ireland. Russia has a wealth of rich literature which attracts readers and does well on historical fiction. Contemporary Russian literature? That is perhaps less popular at the moment but maybe the surge in sales of translated literature, as detailed here, in the UK and elsewhere, may change that.

Surprisingly Rome as a backdrop never does as well as one would imagine. I personally love to read books set there but my interest doesn’t seem to be reflected in the wider readership. It never creates the level of interaction and interest that other settings garner. Again, why I wonder? Berlin, too, a pulsating and vibrant city is still condemned to literature set in WW2 or during the Ostblock era and again, doesn’t garner the interest that other places do. That just amazes me, despite some cutting edge authors setting their books there. Sadly. Japan, with all its exotic flavour, hasn’t seen the uplift of, say, India, even with the publication of the top selling novel Memoirs of a Geisha. The Office of Gardens and Ponds by Didier Decoin, set in Honshu and Kyoto has been one of my favourite reads in 2019, though I kind of get why it doesn’t have mass appeal… but only kind of… (and it has one of the best book covers of 2019).

New York generally does well, though again not as well as one would imagine. Iceland is having a high at the moment because of its noir scene (and everyone in the book world favours the Icelanders anyway because they exchange lots of books at Christmas! They get bonus points for that!)

Edinburgh always features in the popular setting stakes. London less so, surprisingly, but Cornwall is always VERY popular! You can’t beat a bit of romance-cum-skulduggery, clotted cream and beautiful windswept scenery. Author Liz Fenwick has been crowned the “Queen of the Contemporary Cornish novel”.

South Africa is always steady and of course Alexander McCall Smith and his character Precious Ramotswe bring Botwana to life (and he is multi talented because his character Isabel Dalhousie is a great protagonist for Edinburgh).

Mexico has its moments and South America still basks in the indubitable glory of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Indigenous writers are garnering great interest beyond their borders. Some Western writers do choose South America as a beautiful backdrop for their work too. Locations that are more generic, like Central America, don’t seem to fly off the bookshelves as well as those set in specific countries.

Thailand – and let’s not forget that Bangkok Tattoo was one of the seminal novels that kicked off the idea of setting up the TripFiction website – is steady. Jake Needham does a good job at bringing the country to life in his thrillers as does Pitchaya Sudbanthad. And after Alex Garland’s seminal novel The Beach, well, anything can happen. China is a nascent setting for many readers across the world and it will be interesting to see how it captures the imagination of readers going forward!

Our research hasn’t been scientifically done, my thoughts shared here are largely brought together through observation and monitoring of movements on the TripFiction website as it develops and grows.

The choice of location for an author really can have quite a bearing on the popularity of a novel. There are plenty of corners in the world waiting to be discovered and brought to the attention of readers everywhere. Just think what Stieg Larsson did for Sweden as a setting, Kate Mosse for France (the photo to the left shows one of our readers following in the literary footsteps of Kate Mosse in the Carcassone) and Victoria Hislop for Greece (not forgetting the influence of the Durrells, of course 😉 ).

Here’s a hint: I am waiting for more books to be set in Bermuda and Bali (both locations need more books set there, and frankly, they are beautiful and exotic, so what’s not to like?!).

So, where will you be setting your next book if you are an author?

Which settings are you drawn to in a book as a reader?

Let us know in the comments below!!!

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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