In 2015 it was announced that Nottingham would be designated a UNESCO City of Literature. Nottinghamshire is closely associated with world-famous literary figures and has been the home to many recognised authors, poets and journalists. This book explores the connections between these figures, their works and places within the county. Perhaps the most famous Nottinghamshire writers are D. H. Lawrence, associated with the mining community of Eastwood, and Lord Byron, whose ancestral home was at Newstead Abbey. However, a host of other literary figures are also associated with the county, from J. M. Barrie, who created Peter Pan, and Alan Sillitoe, who chronicled post-war working-class life in Nottingham, Booker-prize-winner Stanley Middleton, nineteenth-century husband-and-wife team Mary and William Howitt to modern-day author Susanna Clarke, the Victorian mesmerist and writer Spencer T. Hall and many others.

Nottinghamshire’s Literary Heritage explores the fascinating history of the county’s remarkable literary legacy, as well as being a guide to the locations where that heritage can still be found.

Dave Mooney is a Nottinghamshire based writer, musician and public speaker. He gives regular talks on folklore, street music and the county’s underground heritage, as well as giving tours of Nottingham’s sandstone caves.