Literary Maps and the Creation of a Legend

Abstract

In this chapter, I address parallel processes of adaptation and cartography through an examination of literary maps: maps that aim to recreate and, in some cases, create the experience of a particular narrative landscape through visual, pictorial, and spatial representations of writers, characters, settings, and scenes from preexisting creative works. This chapter begins with an overview of the genre of literary maps and the manner in which they organize information, as well as their target uses. I then examine two sets of literary maps as representative of two types of cartographic adaptation: the “Map-of-A-Book” calendars issued by the Harris Company from 1953 to 1964 and the maps produced by the Aaron Blake Company in the 1980s. I distinguish the two sets of maps in terms of both their functionality and engagement with source material: one set of maps privileges the literary work and emphasizes appreciation over user interaction, whereas the other privileges the reader and posits interactivity as appreciation. I conclude the chapter with a brief look at contemporary digital literary mapping projects and consider their contribution to adaptation and adaptation networks.