Keats, Shelley, Orwell, du Maurier, Hampstead has been home to more writers per square mile than almost anywhere in England. Here is their story.
Hampstead has been a haven for writers for centuries, a hilltop village whose clean air, beautiful Heath, and bohemian, intellectual atmosphere drew an extraordinary roll-call of literary figures. From Keats to Orwell, the ghosts of great writers haunt its streets. This guide explores literary Hampstead and the writers who made it their home.
- Hampstead has been home to an extraordinary number of great writers
- John Keats wrote his greatest odes here
- George Orwell worked in a Hampstead bookshop
- D.H. Lawrence, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many others lived here
- The village's literary heritage is preserved in houses, plaques, and the Heath itself
- Combine a literary walk with the village and Heath
A Village of Writers
Few places in Britain can rival Hampstead's literary heritage. For over two centuries, the hilltop village above London has drawn writers in extraordinary numbers, poets, novelists, essayists, and thinkers attracted by its clean air, its beautiful Heath, its relative quiet, and its bohemian, intellectual atmosphere. To walk Hampstead's streets is to walk among the ghosts of great writers, whose homes, haunts, and inspirations are woven into the fabric of the village.
This literary legacy is part of what makes Hampstead so special, a place where literature was not just read but written, where some of the greatest works in the English language were created, and where the creative spirit endures.
John Keats
The greatest of Hampstead's literary associations is with the Romantic poet John Keats, who lived in the village from 1818 and wrote his most celebrated poems here, including "Ode to a Nightingale," composed in the garden of his Hampstead home. Keats House, the Regency villa where he lived and loved (his beloved Fanny Brawne lived next door), is now a museum and one of the most moving literary shrines in London. To visit is to stand where one of England's greatest poets created some of its greatest poetry. See the Keats House guide for more.
Dr. Helen Farrow, who teaches Romantic literature, brings students to Hampstead every year. "You can read Keats anywhere," she said, "but to stand in the garden where he wrote 'Ode to a Nightingale,' to walk the Heath he walked, to see Fanny Brawne's house next door, it makes the poetry real. And Keats is just the start. Orwell worked in a bookshop here. D.H. Lawrence lived here. Robert Louis Stevenson, Wilkie Collins, so many others. The whole village is steeped in literature. The ghosts are everywhere. For anyone who loves books, Hampstead is sacred ground."
George Orwell
George Orwell lived in Hampstead in the 1930s and worked part-time in a Hampstead bookshop, an experience that informed his writing, including the essay "Bookshop Memories" and aspects of his novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying. His time in the village is a fascinating chapter in the life of one of the 20th century's most important writers. See the guide to George Orwell in Hampstead for the full story.
D.H. Lawrence and the Vale of Health
D.H. Lawrence lived in the Vale of Health, the tiny hamlet enclosed by the Heath, during the First World War, a difficult period when his German wife Frieda brought them under suspicion. The secluded Vale offered some refuge. The hamlet's literary associations also include Leigh Hunt, who entertained the Romantic circle here, and the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Other Literary Figures
The roll-call of Hampstead writers is remarkable, spanning the centuries:
- Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island had Hampstead connections
- Wilkie Collins, the pioneer of the detective novel
- John Galsworthy, author of The Forsyte Saga
- Many 20th-century writers drawn to the village's intellectual atmosphere
This concentration of literary talent reflects Hampstead's enduring appeal to the creative mind, and the village's continuing community of writers carries the tradition forward today.
The Heath as Inspiration
Beyond individual writers, Hampstead Heath itself has been a profound source of literary inspiration. Its wild beauty, its skies, and its escape from the city have inspired poets and novelists for centuries, most famously Keats, whose nightingale sang on the Heath's edge. To walk the Heath is to walk through a landscape that has shaped great literature, just as it shaped the great landscape painting of Constable and Turner.
A Literary Walk Through Hampstead
To explore literary Hampstead:
1. Keats House: Begin at the shrine of Hampstead's greatest poet.
2. The village streets: Wander the historic streets where so many writers lived, looking for blue plaques.
3. The Vale of Health: The hidden hamlet of D.H. Lawrence and Leigh Hunt.
4. The Heath: Walk the landscape that inspired the writers, perhaps to the Spaniards Inn, where Keats and Dickens drank.
5. Burgh House: The Hampstead Museum, to learn more about the village's literary heritage.
Practical Information
- Key sites: Keats House, the Vale of Health, the village streets, the Heath
- Cost: Free to explore the streets and Heath; Keats House has an admission charge
- Best for: Book lovers, literature students, anyone interested in Hampstead's heritage
- Combine with: A Heath walk, the village, and the Hampstead Museum at Burgh House
- Getting there: Hampstead (Northern line)
Literary Hampstead is one of the village's greatest treasures, a place where Keats wrote his immortal odes, where Orwell worked among books, where D.H. Lawrence sought refuge, and where the ghosts of great writers haunt every street. For anyone who loves literature, walking Hampstead is a pilgrimage: to the homes, haunts, and inspirations of some of the greatest writers in the English language. Begin at Keats House, wander the historic streets, walk the Heath that inspired them all, and feel the literary spirit that still animates this remarkable village.
