Home
Cornish Novels to Read Whilst On Your Holiday

Cornish Novels to Read Whilst On Your Holiday

Our beautiful Cornwall has inspired countless works of fiction, and we’ve picked out just a few favourites that you could choose for your holiday reading. A mixture of old and new titles across genres, set in the present day or right back in the 18th century, we hope there is something for everyone…

Author – Daphne du Maurier

Perhaps the most famous Cornish writer is the excellent Daphne du Maurier – author of “Rebecca”, “Jamaica Inn”, and “Frenchman’s Creek”, amongst others. Although not on our exact stretch of river at Mylor, Frenchman’s Creek is in fact a real inlet that you can visit on the Helford, just 20 minutes drive away, and then you can reach it by kayak, boat or paddleboard. The story follows a wealthy Lady running away to her husband’s country home in Cornwall, where she soon encounters pirates, smugglers and a certain amount of drama!

“Rebecca” is a dramatic 1930’s gothic love story set in a coastal valley country estate, recognisable to many from the 1940 Hitchcock film and the 2020 remake starring Lily James. We mustn’t forget about the original novel though, well worth a read and one we struggled to put down until the dramatic plot twist was revealed!!

“Jamaica Inn” is another of Du Maurier’s most famous tales, all about smuggling and mystery on Bodmin Moor! Set much earlier in the 1800’s, it’s a darker tale of unsavoury characters, inspired by the real life inn that you can still visit today. Lookout for signposts as you drive down to Cornwall on the A30…

A Year Of Marvellous Ways – Sarah Winman

“A Year Of Marvellous Ways” is a contemporary novel by Sarah Winman, all about a mysterious 89-year old lady living in a secluded Cornish creek. The tale winds through her life’s memories, and sees a troubled soldier arrive on her doorstep seeking solace through connection with the natural world. It’s a beautiful and whimsical story, lovely and lighthearted but poignant as well. Celebrated as ‘beautiful prose that ebbs and flows’ by The Independent and ‘one to read slowly so you can savour every beautiful sentence’ by Good Housekeeping.

The Poldark Series

“The Poldark Series” by Winston Graham has of course been made famous by the incredibly popular TV programme, but did you know that they were a series of novels first? As historical fiction, they take you back to the 18th century mining and fishing days in the county, following the main character Ross Poldark returning from war to find himself in charge of his ruined family estate. There are twelve books in total, so once you get stuck in, there’s a whole world to get lost in!

Author – Liz Fenwick

In stark contrast to the Poldark series, Liz Fenwick is a contemporary commercial fiction writer living near Falmouth, with a wide selection of titles set in Cornwall to choose from. Her light, easy-reading novels include “The Path to The Sea”, “One Cornish Summer”, “Under A Cornish Sky”, “A Cornish Stranger”, “The Cornish House”… just to name a few! An American writer, she describes in interviews how she quickly became captivated by the Cornish landscape and began to set many of her novels here, capturing the county’s charm. In 2017 was named “the queen of the contemporary Cornish novel” by the Guardian!

Rosamunde Pilcher

Rosamunde Pilcher is another famous writer who always comes to mind when we think of novels set in Cornwall! “The Shell Seekers” is perhaps the most famous of her Romance novels, selling over 10 million copies and being converted into a stage show.

“Coming Home” follows the story of a lady returning to Cornwall after many years away, whilst “Winter Solstice” and “The End of Summer” follow similar themes and – as the titles suggest – tie in strongly with the seasons and nature connection. Although she received an OBE for her services to literature in 2002, Rosamunde Pilcher’s books are even more famous in Germany, as their national television station has turned more than 100 of her stories into TV shows (which is why we often welcome German tourists to Cornwall!)

If you’re after smaller chunks of reading, “The Blue Bedroom and Other Stories” is a short story collection of hers, some of which are set in Cornwall and some venture elsewhere!

The Lamplighters – Emma Stonex

“The Lamplighters” is an excellent debut novel by Emma Stonex, following the dramatic story of three lighthouse keepers who mysteriously vanish from a remote lighthouse offshore. “The entrance door is locked from the inside, and the Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week…” All is not as it seems, and the novel hears the stories from the keeper’s families twenty years later as the mystery begins to unravel. The novel was inspired by a true story and has been described as “a wonderfully smart and atmospheric story” by The Observer.

Author – Virginia Woolf

And finally, did you know that Virginia Woolf is said to have been inspired by ? Her so-called ‘St Ives Trilogy’, includes “Jacob’s Room”, “To the Lighthouse”, and “The Waves.” Although not as explicitly situated as some of the other titles in our recommendation list, many critics have said they can feel the essence of Cornwall shine through in these three novels of hers.

The Lake House – Kate Morton

“The Lake House” by Kate Morton is a novel set across two time periods: present day Cornwall where a young woman (a detective running away from her life in London) visits her grandfather and starts to uncover secrets from her family’s past, 70 years ago. A child went missing at a Midsummer’s Eve party in 1933 and Sadie uses her investigative skills to work out what happened. ‘Compelling . . . Morton’s plotting is impeccable, and her finely wrought characters . . . are as surprised as readers will be by the astonishing conclusion.’ — Publishers Weekly. This is an easy-to read mystery which captures the essence of old Cornish country estates as well as modern day village life in the county.

13 Cornish Ghost Stories

As we are featuring Liz Fenwick, we’ll mention that she is one of the contributing writers making up a collection of “13 Cornish Ghost Stories” which was published in June this year (2024). As the publishers say; ‘Cornwall is the perfect setting for tales, myths, and legends. The wild moors, the granite, the clay, the rebellious sea, and flat calm coves make the county a vast and inspirational canvas.’

The other writers are Emily Barr; Emma Cowell; Tony Cowell; Jane Johnson; Marie Macneill; Graham Mitchell; Annamaria Murphy; Joanne Ella Parsons; Kate Riordan; Pauline Sheppard; Nicola K Smith; and Roz Watkins. So, if you dip into these tales and like what you read, you could have a handful more Cornish writers to explore!

For even more recommendations on Cornish novels to suit your reading tastes, we can’t recommend Falmouth Bookseller enough! They are situated on Church Street in the centre of Falmouth town, and will always be happy to help you with suggestions of titles to read whilst you’re on holiday here.