10 of the best novels set in Spain – that will take you there

Hemingway and Cervantes are among the great writers who traverse Spain in pursuit of thrills, spills, detective sagas and sagacity

• More literary trips … to Italy and France

I grew up in Montreal – and London owns a big piece of my heart – but my home is Barcelona, where I’ve lived for 20 years. Spain is a varied country, in its landscapes, languages, culture and cuisine, but in compiling this list I became aware that so much of its literature comes from Madrid and the north of the country. Perhaps it’s too hot down south for novel writing? The list is personal and not at all definitive, and in a few cases dictated by what’s available in translation. But each of these books will transport you to a time and place in this fractious, variegated, infuriating but endlessly lovable country.