Rhoda Broughton

A blue plaque on a modest house in Oxford marks where the Victorian novelist Rhoda Broughton lived and worked. It's the sort of thing you'd walk straight past if you didn't know what you were looking for - which rather sums up her status today, despite being genuinely famous in her own time.

Broughton was prolific and bold for a woman writer in the late 1800s. Her novels were popular, sometimes controversial, and she lived a fairly independent life for the era. The plaque itself is part of Oxford's blue plaque scheme, which commemorates significant locals across the city.

This isn't a visitor attraction in the traditional sense - you can't go inside, and there's no exhibition or tea room. You're visiting to pay respects, essentially, to someone whose work shaped Victorian literature. History enthusiasts and literary types will appreciate the pilgrimage; casual tourists won't find much to occupy them.

The plaque's location means you can easily combine it with Oxford's other literary landmarks and the colleges that dominate the city centre. If you're staying at Common Leys Farm nearby, it's a straightforward drive in, then a gentle walk around Oxford's streets to track it down. Allow maybe an hour if you're making a proper tour of literary Oxford, or five minutes if you're just ticking it off. Free to view, obviously - it's on a public building.