In “Wuthering Heights”, Emily Bront\u00eb wrote: \u201cIn all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society\u201d.<\/p>\n
Literature has the power to make us travel during lockdowns, even if we can only see the outside world through the window in our rooms. But is this still the case today, now everything is accessible through a screen?<\/p>\n
The past few months have shown us that human beings need to be creative. Whether by walking the dog or sitting down and reading a novel, every breath of fresh air is essential for maintaining good mental health.<\/p>\n
John McLeod, Professor of Postcolonial and Diaspora Literature at the University of Leeds, said: \u201cLiterature is always a form of mobility. You are transported outside of the arrogance of your own identity. You are transported outside of your own language, your own culture, your own nation. Even if I am reading a book set in West Yorkshire, two miles away, I am still being transported out of my own kind of environment.<\/p>\n
“What the pandemic has reminded us is how absolutely crucial culture is to provide those transports and to remind us of how much contact and motion are at the heart of human life\u201d.<\/p>\n
This idea is shared by students. Millie Clarke, student of English Literature at The University of Sheffield, explained many people doubted her career options in the future, but her passion was stronger than those concerns.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI like it when it feels like you are genuinely experiencing a new place through a book. If I am genuinely interested in the people of the novel, then I want to share in their experiences.<\/p>\n
“I want to see the things they have seen, feel like I am walking where they might have walked. Even though I know they are not real, it adds a bit of grounding to a narrative. We are wired to want to believe any piece of literature at least to a certain extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a country with so many great writers, inspiration comes from all over the UK. Moorlands, castles, lighthouses, forests, communities and the sea have influenced authors from different generations and styles.<\/p>\n
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Haworth, West Yorkshire<\/strong><\/p>\n Yorkshire\u2019s landscapes have been the inspiration for many stories. One of the most well-known is “Wuthering Heights”, the bleak setting of which was inspired by the moorlands near Haworth.<\/p>\n The author\u2019s house, Haworth Parsonage, gave her the perspective of two different worlds. The romantic, idyllic environment of the British countryside, but also the industrialised landscape of the city.<\/p>\n