The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I love this quote:

Now they have got the mysterious disappearance of an artist. Scotland Yard still insists that the man in the grey ulster who left for Paris by the midnight train on the ninth on November was poor Basil, and the French police declare that Basil never arrived in Paris at all. I suppose in about a forthnight we shall be told that he has been seen in San Francisco. It is an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen at San Francisco. It must be a delightful city, and possess all the attractions of the next world. --Lord Henry

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
The wizard prison, Azkaban, is based on our very own Alcatraz.