Reading list · Set-in-place

Books set in Edinburgh

The novels that actually unfold in Edinburgh — plus a few that simply capture its feeling. Every title is verified to exist and tied to real places, so you can read your way there before you go.

5 books · 4 set here, 1 kindred · grounded to real Edinburgh locations

What books are set in Edinburgh?

4 novels are set in Edinburgh on Storyland: 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 tied to real Edinburgh locations 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

    Set there

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

    Maps to: Bruntsfield & the Old Town

  2. Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh

    Set there

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

    Maps to: Leith & central Edinburgh

  3. Knots and Crosses

    Ian Rankin

    Set there

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

    Maps to: Royal Mile & Arthur's Seat

  4. 44 Scotland Street

    Alexander McCall Smith

    Set there

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

    Maps to: New Town (Scotland Street)

  5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Feels like it

    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?

4 novels are set in Edinburgh on Storyland: 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 tied to real Edinburgh locations you can visit.

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 is set in Edinburgh and maps to real locations you can walk.