British Literature
British authors and poets have made an enormous
contribution to world literature, and the Brits
in general are prolific book buyers. To give you a
feel for British literature, we've got together a
list of books that you may want to check out...
Modern
Melvyn Bragg has produced a number of critically
and popularly-acclaimed works of fiction focusing
of the period of the Second World War and its impact
on ordinary people.
Irvine Welsh represents the underbelly of
modern British writing, mixing black humour with eye-watering
realism in modern classics such as Trainspotting
and Filth.
Bill Bryson (actually an American) penned
the hugely popular and amusing travelogue Notes
From A Small Island in the mid '90's.
The controversial politician-author Jeffrey Archer
has enjoyed a tremendous amount of mainstream success
with his epic novels, the best known of which are
First Among Equals and Not A Penny More,
Not A Penny Less.
Booker Prize-nominated author Ian McEwan has
penned a number of off-beat novels such as Enduring
Love and Amsterdam.
Nick Hornby is one of Britain's biggest selling
authors, and his anthem to obsessive football support
Fever Pitch is acknowledged as a classic, and
About A Boy was recently made into a movie
starring Hugh Grant.
Graham Greene was a 20th century literary
icon, and books such as Brighton Rock and The
Human Factor (both focusing on Britain's underworld)
are rightly acclaimed as modern classics.
Robert Graves' harrowing personal account
of the First World War and his subsequent life in
literary circles makes Goodbye To All That
a must read for those interested in that period of
British history.
Also worth checking out: Graham Swift's Last
Orders, J.R.R. Tolkien's ever-popular Lord
Of The Rings, London Fields by Martin Amis,
and Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
Classics
Charles Dickens is one of Britain's best-loved
authors, with his evocative depictions of Victorian
life (particularly of London in books such as Bleak
House and Great Expectations) remaining
as fascinating today as they were 150 years ago. Oliver
Twist is perhaps his best known work.
Jane Austen had a remarkable knack of exposing
the social pretentiousness of the gentry with wit
and irony, most notably in Pride and Prejudice.
The equally impressive Sense and Sensibility
was recently made into a popular film starring Emma
Thompson.
The Bronte Sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and
Anne) penned such Victorian classics as Wuthering
Heights and Jane Eyre.
E.M. Forster has undergone a resurgence of
popularity in recent years due to the success of the
screen adaptations of his novels. A Passage To
India is a fascinating indictment of British attitudes
in India, while Howard's End and A Room
With A View expose the hypocrisy of class snobbery
and social distinction.
Other British Authors
Of course William Shakespeare needs no introduction,
and is the acknowledged colossus of English literature.
His plays are the most performed throughout the world
four hundred years after they were written, with particular
favourites being Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.
Joseph Conrad's novel of anarchist intrigue
in turn of the century London (The Secret Agent)
was a worthy successor to the classic Heart Of
Darkness.
George Orwell had a notoriously grim outlook
on the future, as mirrored in his seminal works Animal
Farm and 1984. Down and Out in Paris
and London lifts the social scab of homelessness
and exploitation.
Also worth checking out: The Diary of Samuel Pepys'
(a fascinating account of 17th century London), Far
From The Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy), Sons
and Lovers (D.H. Lawrence), and Brideshead
Revisited (Evelyn Waugh).
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