TRAVEL BY THE BOOK
While spending more time at home, many of us have turned to books for a sense of adventure. Now you have the chance to step inside the pages on your next trip with these literary-themed escapes
A SUITABLE BOY, INDIA
Recently adapted for TV, Vikram Seth’s panoramic coming-of-age tale is a love letter to the lavish setting of India. From the colossal river Ganges to powder-paint mansions and crumbling temples, the novel paints a vivid picture of this fascinating country, while also interrogating its political and social landscape. Set in the fictional town of Brahmpur after the dissolution of the British Raj, the book also takes in the cities of Calcutta, Delhi and Lucknow, capturing the pulse of a nation waking up to a new dawn. Explore Seth’s India on an escorted tour with Titan Travel. The India’s Golden Triangle itinerary takes you in a loop from Delhi, ticking off the Taj Mahal, the pink-hued palaces of Jaipur and a visit to Ranthambore National Park, where you’ll drive in search of leopards, sloth bears and the elusive Bengal tiger.
NORMAL PEOPLE, ITALY
From weather-beaten Irish beaches to sub-zero Sweden, Sally Rooney’s bestseller trots gleefully around the globe. But it’s the passages set in Italy – Connell and Marianne cycling through stubbled farmers’ fields; heated alfresco dinners in gardens bursting with fragrant bougainvillea – that are the most evocative, and the ones that make us dream of sun-smattered sojourns. Follow in Connell and Marianne’s footsteps on Titan’s Grand Tour of Italy, a winding journey through the alluring cities of Venice, Florence and Rome, as well as sweeping, scenic countryside and the enchanting island of Sicily.
THE LUMINARIES, NEW ZEALAND
Another novel that recently received the BBC treatment, Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries portrays the lush landscapes of New Zealand in exquisite detail. Its events take place in Dunedin and the gold-rush settlement of Hokitika on the country’s staggeringly beautiful South Island, where mountains rise like ogres and seabirds cruise the thermals above wide, inky fjords. Visit South Island on Titan’s Best of New Zealand tour. It includes time in Dunedin, gateway to the Otago Peninsula, which is home to colonies of endangered yellow-eyed penguins and albatrosses.