Editing Whitby (section)

===Literature===
The town has a strong literary tradition; it can even be said that the earliest English literature comes from Whitby as [[Cædmon]], the first known [[Anglo Saxon]] poet<ref>The twelve named Anglo-Saxon poets are Æduwen, [[Aldhelm]], [[Alfred the Great]], Anlaf, [[Baldulf]], [[Bede]], Cædmon, [[Cnut]], [[Cynewulf]], [[Dunstan]], [[Hereward]], and [[Wulfstan the Cantor|Wulfstan]] (or perhaps Wulfsige). Most of these are considered by modern scholars to be spurious—see [[Whitby#odonnell2005|O'Donnell 2005, Introduction 1.22]]. The three for whom biographical information and documented texts survive are Alfred, Bede, and Cædmon. Cædmon is the only Anglo-Saxon poet known primarily for his ability to compose vernacular verse, and no vernacular verse survives that is known to have been written by either Bede or Alfred. There are a number of verse texts known to have been composed by [[Cynewulf]], but we know nothing of his biography. (No study appears to exist of the "named" Anglo-Saxon poets—the list here has been compiled from [[Whitby#frank1993|Frank 1993]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20051120152035/http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/mancass/thetollerlecture/] Roberta Frank, [[Whitby#opland1980|Opland 1980]], [[Whitby#sisam1953|Sisam 1953]] and [[Whitby#robinson1990|Robinson 1990]]).</ref> was a monk at the order that used [[Whitby Abbey]] during the abbacy of St Hilda (657–680).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rabin |first1=Andrew |title=Bede, Dryhthelm, and the Witness to the Other World: Testimony and Conversion in the Historia ecclesiastica |journal=Modern Philology |date=February 2009 |volume=106 |issue=3 |page=392 |doi=10.1086/605070|s2cid=162345723 }}</ref> Part of [[Bram Stoker]]'s novel ''[[Dracula]]'' was set in Whitby, incorporating pieces of local folklore, including the beaching of the [[Russian ship Dmitry|Russian ship ''Dmitry'']]. Stoker discovered the name "Dracula" at the old public library. One scholar has suggested that Stoker chose Whitby as the site of Dracula's first appearance in England because of the [[Synod of Whitby]], given the novel's preoccupation with timekeeping and calendar disputes.<ref>"Killing Time: Dracula and Social Discoordination" in ''Economics of the Undead'' Eds. Glen Whitman and James Dow (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014), chapter 23</ref><ref>''Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition'' by [[Robert Eighteen-Bisang]] & [[Elizabeth Miller (academic)|Elizabeth Miller]] (McFarland, 2008), pp. 244–46.</ref> [[Elizabeth Gaskell]] set her novel ''[[Sylvia's Lovers]]'' partly in the town which she visited in 1859<ref>{{cite news |date=7 December 2007 |title=Sylvia's Lovers, unpopular with Whitby folk – but a very good read |work=Darlington and Stockton Times |url=http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/columnists/countrymansdiary/1889748.sylvias_lovers_unpopular_withwhitby_folk_but_a_very_good_read/ |url-status=dead |access-date=30 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001040719/http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/columnists/countrymansdiary/1889748.sylvias_lovers_unpopular_withwhitby_folk_but_a_very_good_read/ |archive-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> and [[Lewis Carroll]] stayed at 5, East Terrace between July and September 1854: his first publications may have been published in the ''Whitby Gazette''.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 November 2008 |title=Lewis Carroll plaque set to be unveiled in terrace |url=http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/local/lewis_carroll_plaque_set_to_be_unveiled_in_terrace_1_1879377 |access-date=30 July 2011 |website=Whitby Gazette |archive-date=15 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315001054/http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/local/lewis_carroll_plaque_set_to_be_unveiled_in_terrace_1_1879377 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Charles Dickens]] is known to have visited Whitby, and in a letter of 1861 to his friend Wilkie Collins, who was at the time in Whitby, Dickens says:

<blockquote>In my time that curious railroad by the Whitby Moor was so much the more curious, that you were balanced against a counter-weight of water, and that you did it like Blondin. But in these remote days the one inn of Whitby was up a back-yard, and oyster-shell grottoes were the only view from the best private room.<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=The Black Horse Inn: Black Horse People |url=http://www.the-black-horse.com/history/people.html |access-date=30 July 2011 |website=the-black-horse.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328091539/https://www.the-black-horse.com/history/people.html#collins |archive-date=28 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dickens |first1=Charles |editor1-last=Hogarth |editor1-first=Georgina |editor2-last=Dickens |editor2-first=Mamie |title=The letters of Charles Dickens volume II |date=1880 |publisher=Chapman & Hall |location=London |page=84|oclc=258782}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Wilkie Collins]] stayed in Whitby to work on his novel, ''No Name''. He was accompanied by Caroline Graves, the inspiration for ''[[The Woman in White (novel)|The Woman in White]]''.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=The Public Face of Wilkie Collins: The Collected Letters {{pipe}} The Wilkie Collins Journal |url=http://acc.wilkiecollinssociety.org/review/public-face-wilkie-collins-collected-letters |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328094306/http://acc.wilkiecollinssociety.org/review/public-face-wilkie-collins-collected-letters |archive-date=28 March 2012 |access-date=31 July 2011 |website=acc.wilkiecollinssociety.org}}</ref>
[[Mary Linskill]] was born in a small house at Blackburn's Yard in 1840. She reached a wide readership when her second novel, ''Between the Heather and the Northern Sea'', was published in 1884. Her last novel ''For Pity's Sake'', was published posthumously in 1891.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Mary Linskill Orlando Project |url=http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=linsma |access-date=22 July 2011 |website=orlando.cambridge.org |archive-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002095823/http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=linsma |url-status=live }}</ref> [[James Russell Lowell]], the American writer, visited Whitby while ambassador in London 1880–85, staying at 3 Wellington Terrace, West Cliff.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Henry James, James Russell Lowell, and George Du Maurier in Whitby |url=http://nq.oxfordjournals.org/content/56/3/411.extract |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016231632/http://nq.oxfordjournals.org/content/56/3/411.extract |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=30 July 2011 |website=nq.oxfordjournals.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2001 |title=James Russell Lowell |url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/lisle/dial/lowell.html |access-date=31 July 2011 |website=xroads.virginia.edu |quote=Whitby |archive-date=5 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705084016/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/lisle/dial/lowell.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On his last visit in 1889, he wrote:

<blockquote>This is my ninth year at Whitby and the place loses none of its charm for me.<ref>{{cite book |last=Russell Lowell |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0YD54yT9EIC&q=James+Russell+Lowell+Whitby&pg=PA376 |title=Letters of James Russell Lowell Part Two – Google Books |year=2011 |isbn=9781419175114 |page=376 |publisher=Kessinger |access-date=14 August 2011 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418145047/https://books.google.com/books?id=W0YD54yT9EIC&q=James+Russell+Lowell+Whitby&pg=PA376 |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

[[G. P. Taylor]], a former [[Church of England]] curate in Whitby, is now a celebrated author. His best-selling book ''[[Shadowmancer]]'' was set in Whitby. [[Theresa Tomlinson]], a writer of historical and other fiction for children and young adults, lives in the town.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Armstrong |first1=Julia |title=Sheffield's women of steel star in new children's book by Theresa Tomlinson |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/sheffields-women-of-steel-star-in-new-childrens-book-by-theresa-tomlinson-2532527 |access-date=30 March 2023 |work=Sheffield Star |date=7 April 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330035015/https://www.thestar.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/sheffields-women-of-steel-star-in-new-childrens-book-by-theresa-tomlinson-2532527 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The novel ''[[Possession (Byatt novel)|Possession: A Romance]]'' by [[A. S. Byatt]], set in the town, was adapted into a 2002 feature film called ''[[Possession (2002 film)|Possession]]'' starring [[Gwyneth Paltrow]].<ref>{{cite web |year=1889 |title=Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt – Whitby Online |url=http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/whitbyhistory/possession.php |access-date=22 July 2011 |website=whitbyonline.co.uk |archive-date=4 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004041509/http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/whitbyhistory/possession.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the British Television drama series [[Heartbeat (British TV series)|''Heartbeat'' (1992–2010)]], set in the 1960s [[Yorkshire]], the plot frequently takes place in Whitby over the seasons.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Debbie |title=Where was Heartbeat filmed? A guide to the nostalgic police drama's filming locations |url=https://www.countryfile.com/tv/where-was-heartbeat-filmed-a-guide-to-the-nostalgic-police-dramas-filming-locations |website=BBC Coutryfile |date=11 June 2024 |access-date=11 November 2024 |archive-date=11 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111183721/https://www.countryfile.com/tv/where-was-heartbeat-filmed-a-guide-to-the-nostalgic-police-dramas-filming-locations |url-status=live }}</ref>

A crime novel series by James Whitworth is set in Whitby. The first two novels are ''Death's Disciple'' and ''The Eve of Murder''. These were followed by ''Bidding to Die'', ''Better the Devil You Know'' and ''Murder on the Record''.

A trilogy of young adult novels, ''[[The Whitby Witches]]'', makes much of the town's setting and history, embellishing local traditions whilst incorporating them into the narrative. The author, [[Robin Jarvis]], recalls "The first time I visited Whitby, I stepped off the train and knew I was somewhere very special. It was a grey, drizzling day but that only added to the haunting beauty and lonely atmosphere of the place. Listening to [[Carmina Burana]] on my headphones, I explored the ruined abbey on the clifftop. The place was a fantastic inspiration. In ''The Whitby Witches'' I have interwoven many of the existing local legends, such as the frightening Barguest, whilst inventing a few of my own, most notably the aufwaders."<ref>{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Robin Jarvis website |url=http://www.robinjarvis.com/whitbyhome.html |access-date=9 November 2014 |archive-date=21 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621002107/http://www.robinjarvis.com/whitbyhome.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Jarvis returned to Whitby for his 2016 novel, ''[[The Power of Dark]]'', the first in The Witching Legacy series.

Other literary works making reference to Whitby include:
* ''[[Caedmon's Song]]'' by [[Peter Robinson (novelist)|Peter Robinson]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Peter |title=Caedmon's Song |publisher=Viking Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-670-83304-5 |author-link=Peter Robinson (novelist)}}</ref>
* ''The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps'' by [[Michel Faber]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Faber |first=Michael |title=The Hundred and Ninety-nine Steps |publisher=Canongate Books Ltd |year=2001 |isbn=1-84195-199-4}}</ref>
* ''[[The Resurrectionists]]'' by [[Kim Wilkins]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Meredith |year=2007 |title=Kim Wilkins: The Resurrectionists – an infinity plus review |url=http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/resurrectionists.htm |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330074052/http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/resurrectionists.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The ''Brenda & Effie Mysteries'' series by [[Paul Magrs]] (consisting of ''Never the Bride'', ''Something Borrowed'', ''Conjugal Rites'', ''Hell's Belles'').<ref>{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Painting the town red (From The Northern Echo) |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2010/10/25/Features/8473463.Painting_the_town_red/ |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-date=10 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010212747/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2010/10/25/Features/8473463.Painting_the_town_red/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Death at the Seaside'' by [[Frances Brody]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Death at the Seaside: the eighth Kate Shackleton mystery by Frances Brody |url=http://frances-brody.com/novels/seaside.html |access-date=8 August 2020 |website=frances-brody.com |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412065412/http://frances-brody.com/novels/seaside.html |url-status=live }}</ref>