Actual places in fiction

[bertromero]

I have been struck recently by the power that the use of actual places gives to works of fiction. I have been reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy and A Fateful Aberration by Les Jones. All are based in actual places that I know, and the familiarity that one gets with the characters and plot is indeed forceful. It also gives an ambiance to the whole novel, it's difficult to see how one could engender such feeling in any other way. Have any other contributors read similar books?

 

[MadBen]

I remember a book where they used Stonehenge. It really quite amplified the story in my opinion

 

[onstanleyon]

Characters as products of their backgrounds

I too have read two of the books mentioned by Bert, (Far From The Madding Crowd and A Fateful Aberration). I have visited parts of Hardy's Wessex, and one cannot fail to be struck by the way the place adds to the history and atmosphere of the characters. A character is not just a name on a page, but what that name means, his 'take' on the world, all developed from the context of the character.
Similarly in 'Aberration' the major characters are products of their time and background, which are evoked by the physical aspects of their world. Many of these aspects can be seen today by a short walk around Clayton le Moors and Accrington, and particularly evocative by the Leeds Liverpool canal.

 

[abecedarian]

I'm currently reading a book about a fictional Kansas town, written by a local author. Cottonwood by Scott Phillips. While the town of Cottonwood might be fictional, Philips uses plenty of very real Kansas towns and historical characters to flesh out his story. This story includes Kate Bender and her murderous clan, which keeps things lively. So far one traveling salesman has gone missing and Kate Bender uses her 'talents' as a medium to accuse the saloon owner, whose cheating wife 'entertained' the salesman shortly before he went missing.(I'd forgotten she claimed those powers). I'm looking forward to reading some other titles from Phillips' shelf, also set in Kansas.

 

[pontalba]

James Lee Burke certainly brings Louisiana and environs to life in his Dave Robicheaux series. The opening paragraph in Heaven's Prisoners is one of the most beautiful descriptions of the Gulf of Mexico off the La. coast I've read.
He knows the land, and the people inhabiting it.