Maybe it's the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon. Or maybe it's that I can't quite get rid of the influence of the Raj in my psyche. No matter—the fact remains that every summer my reader's heart starts to hanker after Brit Lit.
There's nothing quite like a good Susan Howatch novel, tea, scones, and clotted cream (which Whole Foods carries now, leading to the demise of my overly ambitious fitness plans.)
On the hunt for contemporary (still alive and writing) authors, I posted this on my social media yesterday:
I thought I'd compile a list of books and authors as suggested by my friends, in case other anglophiles out there are looking for a new read. Books that are asterisked received more than one mention. (Note: I have neither read nor vetted the titles on this list, so read at your own risk ... but I do have a smart social media set.)
Particular Books
Other Recommended Authors
- The Fire-Eaters by David Almond
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- *The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie and other Flavia DeLuce mysteries by Alan C. Bradley
- Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan
- The Children's Book by AS Byatt
- Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
- Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
- *The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
- The Memory of Love by Armineta Forna
- *The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
- Old Filth by Jane Gardam
- Austenland by Shannon Hale
- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye by Rachel Joyce
- Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesy
- Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hillary Mantel
- If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor
- Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- Rustication and The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
- Lady Jane series by Deanna Rayborn
- Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
- *The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
- *Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
- *Sunday Philosophy Club and Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith
- Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe
- Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd
- A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh
- Maisie Dobbs series by Jacquelyn Winspear
- *Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Dead Authors and Books People Couldn't Help Mentioning
- Rhys Bowen
- Elizabeth Buchan
- Margaret Drabble
- Philippa Gregory
- Elly Griffiths
- Nick Hornby
- Penelope Lively
- Sarah Maclean
- Elizabeth Noble
- Maggie O'Farrell
- James Runcie
- Joanna Trollope
Got other suggestions? Leave them in the comments for the rest of us to discover.
- Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
- Rumer Godden
- Dora Saint (Miss Read)
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith