10 great places to see through a novelist's eyes

— -- Did you ever want to step into the rich scenery of a novel? "Many of my favorite places have inspired great authors, and their stories illuminate the destination," says Melissa Biggs Bradley, CEO of Indagare.com, a travel website whose destination reports include reading lists. She shares her list of favorite hotels for book lovers with Kathy Baruffi for USA TODAY.

The Resort at Paws UpGreenough, Mont. "The Blackfoot River, which runs through this 37,000-acre ranch, is the river referred to in Norman Maclean's wonderful A River Runs Through It," Biggs Bradley says. "The great open plains that lured the crew in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove to the wilds of Montana still seem to go on forever. Accommodations here range from luxury tents to three-bedroom vacation homes, and activities include roping, riding, rafting and fly-fishing." The resort's lending library has Montana-based books. 800-473-0601; pawsup.com

BlantyreLenox, Mass. "Edith Wharton wrote The House of Mirth at her grand estate, The Mount, in this tiny town. Down the road, Herman Melville penned Moby-Dick," Biggs Bradley says. "Today, visitors can tour the gardens at The Mount and Melville's home, Arrowhead. The perfect base is Blantyre, an exquisite country house hotel where every guest room has at least one Edith Wharton book, a children's classic and two volumes of poetry." Blantyre was once owned by film director D.W. Griffith. 413-637-3556; blantyre.com

Twin FarmsBarnard, Vt. "This special country estate in Vermont was once the home of Sinclair Lewis (the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize) and his wife, journalist Dorothy Thompson," Biggs Bradley says. "Though their farmhouse now boasts museum-quality art and there are ten sumptuously decorated cottages on the 300-acre property, the bucolic New England setting that drew Lewis in the first place remains the main draw." Guests can canoe on the lake or visit nearby Woodstock. 800-894-6327; twinfarms.com