skip to main content

Reader's Paradise

Good British Writers?

18 years ago

I've slowly come to the realization that I like British writers. Although I haven't read enough of them to be able to pin down what exactly it is (although I think it is writing style and cultural differences that affect word choices and phrases as well) but am looking for recommendations for good writers. I like historical fiction, loved the Harry Pottery series, and also like historical suspense/mystery. I am however open to others as well. Any recommendations???

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

woodnymph2_gw
18 years ago
I loved "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh. (beautifully written).
rottenlivia
18 years ago
Please forgive me if I have wrongly called them British authors if they are not. The first thought I had was E.M.Forster and Thomas Hardy. I love Thomas Hardy. Just a passing thought.
Related Discussions
Favorite Hudson Valley Garden Books and Writers
Q
Comments (9)
Of course, there's Page Dickey. Lately she's been puting out a big, expensive coffee table book each year, but her first book "Duck Hill Journal" is a little gem. It's sort of a year in the life of her North Salem garden. Each chapter covers a month, and is headed by a little watercolor of hers. The book is probably out of print but obtainable. The melon goddess, Amy Goldman is in Rhinebeck. Her book "Melons" is full of wonderful photographic portraits of melons.
...See More
Who is your favorite garden writer, and why?
Q
Comments (55)
Alan Lacy, especially his first two books, and a more recenty one "The Gardener's Eye". Henry Mitchell's "One Man's Garden" (Still re-read that book if bored on a winter's nite.) Christopher Lloyd........who threatens to stop on sight and heave certain plants right over the fence and outta your garden because they're soooo obnoxious. two writers out of New York who write on indoor gardening, who's names escape me for now...Hmmmmmmm... Jamaica Kincaid.......only person I've come across who can make me long for something called yellow Russian hollyhocks. A local writer here in S Calif....Tineke Wilders. I just plain like her style. :-)
...See More
Need creative writers! with dark minds...
Q
Comments (2)
Hard to find a darker mind than mine .... LOL! RUN to the store -- and you MUST buy better Homes & Gardens "Halloween Tricks & Treats" magazine -- now out!!! REALLY fantastic part ideas, food and names -- and LOTS of downloads for ideas. Check at BHG.com/spirits page 87!!! some of their ideas: how about a "Bleeding Brie" cut into a heart shape -- open up a "wedge" and have a little salsa or even green tomato jam pouring out ..... For yours: 1)Chunky Blood Salsa 2)Lab Leftovers .... (p.s. don't forget to buy a small cauliflower -- put it in a jar filled with water and a drop or two of green food coloring .... instant Spolied Brain) 3)Try the Bloody Brie; Chilling Cheddar 4)Gallstones -- or the Classic Nuts and Bolts. Jan at Hemlock Cottage
...See More
Found a new (to me) British mini series
Q
Comments (12)
We enjoyed "Island at War". We find all of our Brittish series on DVD from our library unless we've recorded them off PBS. We're about to record "Mr. Selfridge's Store". We finally got around to starting "Anna Karenina" yesterday afternoon -- what an imaginative, knockout production! Jude Law is Karenin. Keira Knightly (28) is Anna. Vronsky is played by a very young man of 22 (dull performance) . I spotted Michelle Dockery as a Russian princess. She plays Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey". I've never seen the dance steps performed at the ball where Karenina and Vronsky dance together. It sounds like a mazurka, but I've never seen these steps with all the hand and arm gestures. Anyone know?
...See More
ccrdmrbks
18 years ago
Goodness-so many to choose from!

For what it is worth, these have been abiding favorites of mine for years. They all wear well and bear rereading.

"Historic fiction/and/or/mysteries" as in WW I, WW II....Angela Thirkell, E.F. Benson, Josephine Tey, Rumer Godden, Dorothy Sayers, Michael Innes, Peter Tremayne...to name a few

an American who writes medieval historical fiction that feels "British-written" is Sharon Kay Penman.
Kath
18 years ago
For historical fiction, try Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Morland Dynasty series. Do start at the beginning (The Founding). These books are not heavy reading but they are well researched and very engaging.
Diana Norman has three books which involve an American in England in the 18th century which are very entertaining.
I have also enjoyed the books of Sarah Waters.

Just scratching the surface here of course..............
Kath
18 years ago
insert an apostrophe after 'Eagles' in my post above.
I noticed it just as it went off into the ether *g*
carolyn_ky
18 years ago
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles also has a mystery series featuring Detective Bill Slider. Those books are better read in order, as well. They are more readily available in the U.S. than the Morland books, and there are not nearly so many of them. I find Morland Dynasty addictive and spent a small fortune getting them.

Peter Robinson is another good mystery writer, as is John Harvey.

Mary Stewart is great.

All these except Morland should be available through your library.
jlsch
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks so much for all your responses! I now have a pile of new books to be explored.
martin_z
18 years ago
My goodness - what a range to choose from.

Here are a few that haven't yet been mentioned.

Ian McEwan, Stan Barstow, Julian Barnes, Alan Sillitoe, Daphne du Maurier, Kazuo Ishiguro (actually born in Japan, but considered to be very much an English writer), Beryl Bainbridge, P G Wodehouse, E F Benson, Iain Banks, Martin Amis, Kingsley Amis, David Storey, George Orwell....

All of these are different, all of them worth reading. I've missed out many more than I've included.
picassocat
18 years ago
W. Somerset Maugham, Aldous Huxley, Virginia Woolf, George Eliot, Austen, Gissing, Lawrence...
georgia_peach
18 years ago
I loved A. S. Byatt's Possession.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES English Country Garden With Its Own Writer’s Cabin

By Victoria Harrison

Tour this lush and magical Chelsea Flower Show garden with a 2-story wooden cabin and tranquil natural swimming pond

MY HOUZZ Houzz Call: Looking for Writer/Photographers!

Love to photograph homes and write about interior design? You could be our next great contributor

DECORATING GUIDES Decorating Around the World: British Style Charms Any Home

By Laura Gaskill

Whether you want country home style or the look of a luxurious loft, something British might be just your cup of tea

DECORATING GUIDES Get the Look: British Colonial Style

By Becky Harris

Mix a far-flung empire with adaptive travelers and what do you get? The ultimate blending of global styles at home

DECORATING STYLES 9 Ways to Bring Home a Little British Colonial Style

By Summer Baltzer

On a redecorating campaign? Try some tropical accents mixed with dark woods, portable furnishings and a touch of formality

WORLD OF DESIGN A Brief History of British Eccentricity

Britain is famous for its quirky characters. And some of the nation’s best interiors reflect this collective trait wonderfully

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: A Bolt of British Charm in Brooklyn

By Jess McBride

A highly decorated New York row house takes its cues from the English countryside

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: A Contemporary Retreat on a British Moor

Once nearly uninhabitable, this 18th-century farmhouse is now a beautiful example of ecofriendliness and self-sufficiency

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Open and Bright in British Columbia

By Vanessa Brunner

Designer Victoria Mckenney designs and elegant and timeless home for a family of 4

LOFTS Houzz Tour: British Charm and the Look of a New York Loft

By Natalie Wain

This former office space in the heart of London has been transformed into a versatile live-work space for a busy freelance photographer

Sponsored

More Discussions

The first sentence of the book you're reading.........

17

The Game Flowers in May

101

The game continues in July

106

Rayma's story - warning it's long

3

Dog days of August .....what book did you choose ?

74