Scotland's capital city is famed for its literary connections, with legendary authors like Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns to modern-day bestsellers Sir Ian Rankin, JK Rowling and Irvine Welsh all having lived in the city.
It's no surprise, then, that many amazing writers have found inspiration in Auld Reekie’s numerous watering holes.
Take a look through our photo gallery to see nine Edinburgh pubs that have inspired famous authors.
1. 9 Edinburgh pubs that have inspired famous authors
Take a look through our photo gallery to see nine Edinburgh pubs that have inspired famous authors. Photos: Pixabay Photo: Pixabay
2. The Oxford Bar
Where Visit: 8 Young Street, EH2 4JB. About: The Oxford Bar is a favourite haunt of Ian Rankin’s fictional Detective Inspector Rebus, who has appeared in 22 novels set in Edinburgh since Knots and Crosses was published in 1987. The bar has long been a favourite watering hole of the author himself, and he can regularly be found enjoying a quiet pint in the bar with other loyal customers. Photo: Third Party
3. Sandy Bell’s
Where: Visit: 25 Forrest Road, EH1 2HQ. About: Another pub which inspired one of the Scottish Renaissance writers, Sydney Goodsir Smith, was Sandy Bell’s. This traditional folk pub was also a meeting place for Edinburgh writers, and Smith included a fictionalised version of it (the comically-named Sunday Balls) in his 1947 novel about Edinburgh, Carotid Cornucopius. Photo: Third Party
4. Deacon Brodie’s Tavern
Where: 435 Lawnmarket, EH1 2NT. About: This historic pub has been around since 1806, named after the infamous Deacon Brodie – a respectable Edinburgh businessman who moonlighted as a burglar and gambler. The true tale (and no doubt the pub itself) inspired Robert Louis Stevenson. After penning an unsuccessful play called Deacon Brodie, The Double Life, Stevenson further explored the duality of man in one of his most famous works, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Photo: Third Party