Brighton: the City that Inspired Literature
Brighton is a city famed for its creative, culturally rich and artistic environment. So, it makes sense then that this seaside city is home to a number of works of literature, poems and fiction, and has helped to inspire writers for generations.
In celebration of Brighton and the wonderful people and pages it’s helped to produce, here’s a round up of works set in, or inspired by, this fabulous seaside city.
RUDYARD KIPLING - SUSSEX
Ruyard Kipling famously wrote a number of works while residing at his home in Rottingdean (the gardens of which you can still visit today). But none echo the influence of the Sussex countryside as does his aptly named poem, Sussex, where he famously writes of the Sussex woodlands and “whale-backed Downs”.
LEWIS CARROLL - ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Lewis Carroll was a regular visitor to Brighton. Legend has it that Carroll was fascinated by the ivy-strewn tunnels of the Sussex Square gardens, and it was here that he took inspiration for the famous rabbit hole which begins Alice’s adventures in Wonderland. You can get your illustrated own copy here.
JULIE BURCHILL - SUGAR RUSH
One for the YA fans, and certainly one many a Brighton Girl (and those further afield in the City Girl Network) would have grown up reading. Julie Burchill’s first young adult novel, Sugar Rush, follows the story of Kim as she is forced to leave her posh high school and attend the local comprehensive. The novel is set in Brighton and it features heavily throughout, both in the novel and TV adaptation.
JANE AUSTEN - PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
While it’s not particularly descriptive of Brighton, Austen fans will know it plays a key part in the plot of the 1813 classic as it’s where Lydia Bennet escapes to be with her beau, George Wickham: “in Lydia’s imagination, a visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly happiness. She saw, with the creative eye of fancy, the streets of that gay bathing-place covered with officers.” Pick up a copy for your collection here.
GRAHAM GREENE - BRIGHTON ROCK
We couldn’t write up a list of works inspired by Brighton without mentioning Graham Greene’s classic 1938 thriller, Brighton Rock. As well as having the pier and the famous Lanes take centre stage in this tale of murder and unrequired love, the well known Brighton pub, The Cricketers, is also mentioned.
ANN WROE - SIX FACETS OF LIGHT
This series of written meditations from Ann Wroe is set mostly on the South Downs and East Sussex coastline, and is “a portrait of the transitoriness, randomness, swiftness, frustrations and quicksilver beauty that are the essence of light”. As well as Wroe’s own reflections of how light is experienced in nature, the series also features various works from the likes of Galileo, Einstein, Coleridge and Dante. Pick up a copy here.
ALISON MACLEOD - UNEXPLODED
Alison Macleod’s third novel, Unexploded, is set during the Second World War and follows the trials and tribulations of Evelyn and Geoffrey Beaumont, and their eight-year-old son. As well as being set in Brighton, the novel itself was heavily inspired by the Brighton Pavilion, and went on to be longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013.
PETER JAMES - ROY GRACE SERIES
As many crime fiction fans will know, Peter James’ series of DS Roy Grace novels are all set in and around the city of Brighton. The crime thriller series features many of Brighton's best known landmarks as its backdrop, and has sold over 20 million copies to date (with a further TV adaptation on its way). Get the first in the series here.
Take a look into some of the literature and get to know Brighton in a different way.
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Written by Danielle Petch
