Beautiful and subtle literary tattoos to reference your favourite books

Beauty


Beautiful and subtle literary tattoos to reference your favourite books

By Penelope Travers

10 years ago

Getting a tattoo is high on a lot of people's wishlist, but when it comes to it, the tricky bit is deciding just what to get an inking of. Let's face it, dolphins and 90s-style barbed wire have given body ink a bit of a bad rep.

But a new wave of literary-inspired tattoos is proving you can be a bit creative without ending up with a garish design. Tattoo artists the world over are being asked to immortalise their clients' favourite novels, poems and fairytales, be it with a quote or a symbol, and the results are surprisingly minimalist and stylish.

From The Notebook's most memorable line to Harry Potter's spectacles and Mr Darcy's hat, be prepared to be seriously inspired.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tattoo


The Catcher in the Rye tattoo


The Fault in Our Stars tattoo


Clockwork Orange tattoo


Farenheit 451 tattoo


Alice in Wonderland tattoo


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close tattoo


Hamlet tattoo

“This above all, to thine own self be true”.

Via Pinterest


Ink and quill tattoo


The Great Gatsby tattoo


Alice in Wonderland quote tattoo


Pride & Prejudice “I declare” tattoo


Harry Potter stars tattoo


To Kill A Mockingbird tattoo


Harry Potter spectacles and scar tattoo


The Little Prince tattoo


Lord of the Rings tattoo


Matilda tattoo


Sherlock Holmes tattoo


The Kite Runner tattoo


“I love you most ardently” Pride & Prejudice tattoo


Les Misérables tattoo

A reference to Jean Valjean's prisoner number.

Via Pinterest


On the Origin of Species tattoo


Peter Rabbit tattoo


Still I Rise (Maya Angelou) tattoo


The Notebook tattoo


Slaughterhouse-Five tattoo


The Tempest tattoo


The Scarlet Letter tattoo


The Bell Jar tattoo


The Wizard of Oz tattoo


Where the Wild Things Are tattoo


Mr Darcy tattoo


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader tattoo


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