Authors who have a connection with Lyme Regis and surrounding area.

Jane Austen   Sylvia Creed   Colin Dexter   John Fowles   Thomas Hardy   Lorraine Jenkin   Beatrix Potter

John Fowles
John Fowles spent the last thiry-nine years of his life living in Lyme Regis. His most famous book - The French Lieutenant's Woman - was based in Lyme Regis.

Books by John Fowles


Jane Austen
Jane Austen lodged in Lyme for some months in 1803–1804, She used the Cobb, Town and surrounding countryside for the setting of part of Persuasion written in 1815–1816.

Books by Jane Austen


Thomas Hardy
The area arround Lymes Regis lies in Thomas Hardy's South Wessex. Bridport (Port Bredy) appears in several of Hardy's books beacause it is where everyone goes on honeymoon. Bridport is also the setting for Fellow Townsmen. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Tess arrives in Beaminster (Emminster) with the intention of throwing herself on the Clare family's mercy.

Books by Thomas Hardy


Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter wrote The Tale of Little Pig Robinson while staying at the Mariners Hotel when she was 17. Many of the illustrations are based on the spectacular scenery in and around Lyme Regis.

Books by Beatrix Potter


Sylvia Creed
Sylvia Creed was born in the heart of the Marshwood Vale and into its traditional trade: dairying at Peace Living Farm. She was educated at the local village school and at Lyme Regis but later left to travel the globe. She returned to find the vale much changed and she decided to find and record her roots before all recollection was lost.

Books by Sylvia Creed


Lorraine Jenkin
Lorraine Jenkin from Builth Wells published her novel Chocolate Mousse and Two Spoons (set in Lyme Regis) in April 2008. Lorraine decided to leave her job and travel to Patagonia to write the book. Originally from Lyme Regis she went to University in Wales and has been in Wales ever since.

Books by Lorraine Jenkin


Colin Dexter
Colin Dexter displays a detailed knowledge of Lyme Regis in The Way Through the Woods when he has Inspector Morse take a holiday in the Bay Hotel.

Books by Colin Dexter