Lewis Carroll

"Through the Looking Glass".
First came to Whitby for two months in the summer of 1854 he came to Whitby several times and his last visit , in 1871 , was with other members of his family who came to celebrate his brother’s wedding which took place at Sleights. He had several Born Charles Lutwidge Dogson (1832 – 1898) wrote "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and stories or poetry published by the Whitby Gazette. The Walrus and Carpenter is thought to have had part of it based on the beach at Whitby.

Mary Linskill

This local authoress reached a wide audience with her books, making her a well-known regional writer. Mary was born in Blackburn’s yard on 13th December 1840. The cottage she lived in is now gone, but a plaque marking the site can still be seen embedded in a garden close to the top of the steps in the yard. Mary’s schooling was not extensive by modern standards and like many of her day, she left school aged eleven. She then became an apprentice milliner with Charles Wilson who had business premises at the bottom end of Bridge Street.  She became quite well travelled, working in Manchester and Newcastle (Staffordshire). Her academic qualifications were high enough for her to later obtain the position of schoolteacher in Hawksworth (Notts) before becoming a governess in Derby.

Like many locals, the pull of Whitby was eventually to bring her back and she settled in the village of Ruswarp to carry on the writing, which had continued for many years. In her lifetime she had a number of serial stories published in "Good Words" magazine followed by a number of books . Chief of these was "Tales of The North Riding" (1871) "Cleveden" (1876) "Between the Heather and the Northern Sea" (1884) "A Lost Son" (1885) "The Glover’s Daughter" (1885) " A Garland of Seven Lillies" (1886). "The Haven under the Hill" (1887) "Hagar" (1887) " In Exchange for a Soul" (1887) "Robert Holt’s Illusion (1888) "The Magic Flute" and "Carl Forrest’s Faith" followed soon after. By 1891 Mary Linskill was living in Spring Vale, Whitby and it was here she died on the 9th April 1891. She was only fifty years old.

Storm Jameson

Margaret Storm Jameson was born in Whitby in 1891. Her father and grandfather were successful shipbuilders. She studied at Leeds University.

 Her first Novel "The Pot Boils" was published in 1919 this was followed by many other works of fiction including a trilogy about a family of Yorkshire shipbuilders: "The Lovely ship" (1927), "The Voyage Home" (1930) and a " Richer Dust" (1931). Other books include "Women Against Men" (1933), "Company Parade" (1934), "Love in winter" (1935) and "None Turn Back" (1936)

Nicholas Rhea
Real Name Peter N Walker - was born in Glaisdale in 1936 the son of any insurance agent and a schoolteacher. He was written many books, however his most famous are his Constable Books, which have now been turned into the Yorkshire Television series "Heartbeat".

Bram Stoker