Books Set in Cornwall: 12 Delightful​ and Exciting Tales

The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

The Little Beach Street Bakery #1

Jenny Colgan is known for her heartwarming tales of self-discovery and this book is no different. Our main protagonist loses her job and boyfriend, so she heads to Cornwall to lick her wounds.

Soon, with the help of a charming seaside community and a cute little bakery, she’s back on her feet. Throughout her time in Cornwall, she finds love, a new job, and creates a life she adores. Also, she has a pet puffin named Neil, the cutest literary pet I could imagine.

Why I Like it: Like all of Colgan’s books, the community takes the book to another level. These characters come to life creating a town I wish was real!

Find this book in Bakery Romance Books / Jenny Colgan Books in Order / Seaside Books

Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin

This book about books is such a sweet romance. It’s all about Gigi, a bookstore owner who has a massive crush on the audiobook narrator of her favorite book, Zane. While she’s never met him, she’s so drawn to his voice that she just knows they should be together.

When her book club learns that Zane is leading a 10-day tour through England, they buy her a ticket and send her on her way. But Zane is delayed in running the tour, so she strikes up a friendship with the hunky bus driver in the meantime.

I love the love triangle set up in this book set in Cornwall. I also loved the other tour group passengers and their secondary stories.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

I was a fan of Ware’s hit novel Woman in Cabin 10. I thought it was a unique story and I was anxious to try another of her books. Cornwall is the perfect setting for suspense in the style of Daphne Du Maurier.

This book is dark and gothic and the perfect thriller for a list of books for fall. The premise is that a girl is mistaken for the relative of a recently deceased woman and she goes to the estate to try to capitalize on the error. Obviously, things are not what they seemed.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling

If you have read the entire Harry Potter series, you will know that by the time the 7th year comes around, it is nothing like Harry’s first year.

Death Eaters have taken over the school and have taken to using unforgivable curses on some of the students as punishment. If this is not a dark academia novel then I don’t know what is!

A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware

This was my pick for our Reading Challenge. It’s a reread for me, but I’ve always loved Cornwall, so much so that we have a whole list of books set in Cornwall. This romance is part historical fiction, part contemporary romance as Blythe Barton retreats to an estate in Cornwall after her high-profile divorce.

Suddenly she can get glimpses into her ancestor’s past and the mystery of her disappearance. The winner for me is the vivid descriptions of the Cornish coastline and the creaky old manor house.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This is a fairy tale retelling of the story of King Arthur, featuring the Lady of the Lake, Paganism vs. Christianity, and an epic struggle for power.

Merlin and the Lady of the Lake practice pagan witchcraft, as they try to keep the old ways alive against the new religion gaining popularity, the choices they make for Arthur’s kingdom inspire the tale we know so well.

The mini-series adaptation of this adult fantasy book is wonderful too and well worth the watch! It’s perfect for our list of Cornwall Books. If you love witch books, you will love this pick.

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier

This book is my favorite book of all time. After reading Du Maurier’s Rebecca, I was eager to read more of her novels. At the time, my grandparents had a home in a Florida enclave by the same name so I picked it up and read it.

Only after I fell in love with this tale of a bored housewife who finds a hidden cove with pirate inhabitants did I learn that it was the namesake for their Florida home. The one romantic book from the OG thriller queen, this is a classic book set in Cornwall worth reading.

Find this book in Kirsten’s Favorites, Books set in Cornwall, Pirate Books, Classic Romance Novels

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

I read this book set in Cornwall in only a few days because I loved it so much.  This is another book that I read this month that is the perfect pick for books like Outlander.

After Eva’s sister dies, she heads back to Cornwall England to find peace and rest.  What she discovers is more than she expects when she finds herself inexplicably back in time.  As her heart begins to feel again, can she find a way to heal her broken heart and find love? This is a wonderful time travel romance book that you will want to read again and again.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A young girl is abandoned on a ship headed to Australia. When she arrives, the only thing in her possession is a suitcase with some clothes and a book of fairy tales. The dock master and his wife adopt Nell and tell her the story of her arrival in Australia on her 21st birthday. She goes back to England on a quest to find her lost identity.

Unsuccessful, her granddaughter later takes up the search and tries to assemble the pieces of her grandmother’s mystery and unlock the secrets of her past. I adored this family saga story. This historical mystery book set in Cornwall swept me away. This is a gothic fiction that is a perfect book for fall.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The OG psychological thriller book, Rebecca is a book set in Cornwall that will leave you checking behind you when you walk down a dark hallway. 

The new Mrs. de Winter is haunted by her husband’s first wife, Rebecca.  The deceit will have you second-guessing everything you read while you yell at the pages.

One of the most acclaimed psychological thriller authors, this novel is Daphne Du Maurier at her best. It is a chilling novel about a naive second wife discovering the truth behind the wife who came before her.

The Netflix book adaptation stars Lily James – and it reignited this popular thriller book’s success. If you have not read this book, it is a perfect book for fall.

Find this book in Best Mystery Novels / Popular Thriller Books / Unreliable Narrator Books / Best Classic Books

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

This swashbuckling tale of piracy and treasure is perfect for children and adults alike. Long John Silver is quite a scary villain, whose legacy lives on in Halloween costumes everywhere.

One-legged, parrot-wearing, map-loving pirates everywhere can thank Robert Louis Stevenson for the inspiration. Why not read this book set in Cornwall to your little buccaneer at bedtime?

Find this book in Pirate Books / Best Classic Books / Books Set in Cornwall

Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall by Winston Graham

This epic series of 12 books set in Cornwall started in 1945 and wasn’t finished until 2002. It is also a hit series! When Ross Poldark return to England, things are not how he left them and he has to start his life over.

The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

While on vacation in Cornwall, Sherlock Holmes encounters a case he can’t stay out of! Two insane brothers, a dead sister, and a double whodunnit.

This is the shortest story on our list of Cornwall Books