Fonte delle Foglie, Tuscany, Italy

Fonte delle Foglie, Tuscany, Italy, €2.5m

Where Near the town of Cortona in Tuscany, central Italy, 100km from Florence and 50km from Perugia, where there is an international airport.

What A four-bedroom house that dates back to the 12th century and was carefully restored between 2002 and 2005. The property comes with two one-bedroom guest houses, a saltwater pool and extensive gardens featuring cherry, almond, pomegranate and plum trees.

Why Fonte delle Foglie is owned by US author Frances Mayes, whose 1996 memoir Under the Tuscan Sun became a New York Times bestseller. Mayes oversaw the restoration work herself and the property, with its outside stone oven and grill, has been the inspiration for some of her recent books on Tuscan cooking.

Who Knight Frank, tel: +44 207861 5269

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Country house, Lot, France

Country house, Lot, France, €470,000

Where Midway between the towns of Catus and Cazals in the Lot department, southwest France, 190km from Bordeaux where there is an international airport.

What A three-bedroom, two-bathroom country house with nearly 20 acres of woodland and pasture.

Why Writer and Scottish nationalist Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972) lived here towards the end of his life. His classic novel Whisky Galore (1947) is about a group of Hebridean islanders who find hundreds of cases of whisky when a cargo boat is shipwrecked.

Who Winkworth International, tel: +44 207 870 7181

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44 West Patent Road, Bedford Hills, New York, US
© Tim Lee

44 West Patent Road, Bedford Hills, New York, US, $12.75m

Where In Westchester County, New York state, 45 miles from downtown Manhattan, 50 miles from JFK airport and 60 miles from Newark airport.

What An eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom colonial-style house built in 1895. The property comes with a pool, tennis court, six-car garage, equipment barn and guest cottage within the 13 acres of grounds.

Why The property was once owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning US novelist Edith Wharton (1862-1937). Her 1920 book The Age of Innocence was turned into a film in 1993 starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder.

Who Houlihan Lawrence, tel: +1 914 234 0308

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Albion Street, Bayswater, London

Albion Street, Bayswater, London, £3.95m

Where Near Hyde Park in central London, 16 miles from Heathrow airport.

What A Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse with five bedrooms arranged over five floors. The house has a small garden, conservatory and a first-floor terrace.

Why William Makepeace Thackeray moved here in 1836 – the blue plaque on the front of the property bears his name. Thackeray’s 1848 book Vanity Fair, a satire on London society, features several characters who supposedly live in the vicinity of Albion Street.

Who Knight Frank, tel: +44 207 871 506

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