Why coastal-set stories have the power to stir the imagination

Picture an old-fashioned English seaside resort – the glittering wedding-cake facades of the promenade hotels, the fairground rides, the bodies bronzing on the beach and, in the distance, waves crashing on rocks. A storm, brewing on the horizon, tells you that things might appear calm but something nasty is about to be washed up on the shore.

Whatever your go-to genre of novel, for the avid reader, there’s one particular setting that’s bound to float your virtual boat. Whether you adore the unveiling of character or plot, prefer a fast-paced thriller or a metaphorical exploration of interior worlds, there’ll be a novel set by water that’s perfect for you. Authors of all stripes have long explored the potential offered by the coast, probably because there’s something unique about this world that provides a setting both charming and dangerous. So, if you enjoy the pleasures of a seaside novel, then read on to discover the secret behind the appeal of books set in shoreside towns, on beaches and by the wild, windswept sea.

‘I like books where the sea is hostile rather than friendly. I think it makes for a more interesting read,’ says Zoe Meakins, a psychology teacher who lives in a coastal town in north Wales. This animosity needn’t only be confined to the water – often, any danger lurking below the waves extends to the shore: ‘Spaces round the sea create a microcosm of reality,’ Zoe adds. And with their nostalgic appeal of funfairs, day trips and long weekends, resort towns have often been used by authors as a counterpoint to sinister goings-on. Zoe thinks that’s because they ‘exist within a schema of what’s imagined. They’re an easy world to create and can be reminiscent of childhood holidays’.