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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