One of my favourite counties back home in the UK is Dorset. It’s a beautiful place with an incredible coastline – hey, even Ian McEwan sets novels there. Of course, Dorset is also famous for Thomas Hardy but I have to admit that I struggled to like his writing when I studied Return of the Native in school. I just couldn’t get my head around Hardy’s ability to write eight straight pages about the beauty of Egdon Heath.

My family would often take holidays in Dorset and we would visit Dorchester (aka Casterbridge in The Mayor of Casterbridge). The Kings Arms Hotel, which is a key location in the book, is up for sale for around £3 million (a little more than a handwritten JK Rowling book). Built in 1720, the hotel is a very memorable place to visit – the quintessential English hotel in many ways. I can remember going for tea at the hotel as a child and thinking how old everything seemed.