Reading list

Edinburgh in Books

Books with scenes in Edinburgh, each with places marked on the map. Plus books chosen for a similar mood.

5 books · 4 with Edinburgh scenes, 1 chosen for its mood · Edinburgh places on the map

What books are set in Edinburgh?

4 books on Storyland have scenes in Edinburgh: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin, and 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith — each pinned to a Edinburgh location you can visit.

  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
  • Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
  • Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
  • 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

  1. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

    Muriel Spark

    Edinburgh scenes

    Spark's 1930s Edinburgh is exact — the Marchmont tenements, Bruntsfield, and the girls' walks through the Old Town.

    Places: Bruntsfield & the Old Town

  2. Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh

    Edinburgh scenes

    Leith in raw close-up — Welsh maps the port, the schemes, and Princes Street in the city's own dialect.

    Places: Leith & central Edinburgh

  3. Knots and Crosses

    Ian Rankin

    Edinburgh scenes

    The first Rebus novel walks the real Edinburgh underbelly — the Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat, and the Oxford Bar.

    Places: Royal Mile & Arthur's Seat

  4. 44 Scotland Street

    Alexander McCall Smith

    Edinburgh scenes

    A New Town tenement and its residents — Drummond Place, Dundas Street, and the genteel north side, street by street.

    Places: New Town (Scotland Street)

  5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Read for the mood

    Nominally London, but Stevenson drew the double city from Edinburgh's split of genteel New Town and shadowed Old Town closes.

Reading your way into Edinburgh

From Muriel Spark's interwar Marchmont to Ian Rankin's rain-dark Royal Mile, Edinburgh has been written more vividly than almost any city its size. The books below are drawn from Storyland's book↔place engine and checked against real locations, so each one points to a street, a stair, or a hill you can actually stand on.

Frequently asked

What books are set in Edinburgh?

Storyland lists 4 books with scenes in Edinburgh: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin, and 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. Their Edinburgh places are marked on the map.

What should I read before visiting Edinburgh?

Before visiting Edinburgh, read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (Bruntsfield & the Old Town), Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (Leith & central Edinburgh), Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin (Royal Mile & Arthur's Seat), and 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith (New Town (Scotland Street)). Each has scenes in Edinburgh, with the places marked on the map.