Armchair Travel Opportunity, #literarydatesbookclub

Travel

 

Like my annual trips to New York? Want more? Boy, do I have a deal for you.

Lauren at Literary Dates reads books set in New York, reviews them, and then goes on tours around the city to places mentioned in the book. All the fun of New York, without having to take three trains to haul in from Newark Airport.

Last December, Lauren was kind enough to allow stragglers to tag along on one of her tours. Before the trip, we read A New York Christmas by Anne Perry. Places in the book ranged from Fifth Avenue to Hell’s Kitchen to Little Italy. The book was set in 1904. I wondered how Lauren would arrange a tour 114 years later. Lauren and New York did not disappoint.

As with her virtual tours, I learned things about New York. For example, when I hear the word tenements, I think of the Lower East Side & the Tenement Museum. I did not realize that west side of Midtown was “Once a bastion of poor and working class Irish Americans.” Wiki: Hell’s Kitchen

I also saw parts of New York that I had never seen before, for example the Lotte Palace Hotel. I must have been with in a block of the place hundreds of times, yet never knew of its existence. Since the historic mansion couldn’t be changed, the glass and metal skyscraper (backdrop) was plonked on top. At least, according to a passing stranger who saw us admiring the building.

In NYC, you can always find a place to eat.

Established in 1868, the Landmark Tavern was already 36 years old when the book took place. Surely the Irish characters would have eaten there when they were off the page. Top photo taken from across the street and then cropped. Not a good idea to stop in the middle of 11th avenue for a photo op.

Click here for the rest of our tour, Literary Dates: Inspired by Anne Perry’s book, A New York Christmas, Here’s My “New York Christmas” Tour.

Fortunately for Lauren, New York City has a solid place in the literary imagination. It will be a while before she runs out of books. She has already done nine tours.

New York Christmas by Anne Perry
You by Caroline Kepnes
New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan
A Little Murder by Cindy Davis (Non-NYC)
The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen by Katherine Howe
Modern Lovers by Emma Stroud
I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson. “This book explores all the people involved in the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Literary Dates: Tiffany’s.

Go check it out.
Literary Dates
From Page to Place
Don’t worry, the reviews and tours are spoiler free.

[NYC Previous Years]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott