Laura Corin Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Email from an American friend (male) "I wish I had a Top 10 British fiction list - books that, once read, would give me an essential understanding of British history, culture and social structure." What would you choose? So far, I have a mixture of historical and classic fiction: Need something earlier here 'Wolf Hall': Elizabethan society, religion, philosophy, politics Need something here 'Persuasion': strata of society pre-Victoria: aristocracy, middle class, self-made men (navy), colonies... 'Silas Marner': industrial revolution, religion, low income countryside 'Our Mutual Friend': strata of Victorian society, urban life (as opposed to the country society of Persuasion and Silas Marner) 'Anthology of WW1 poetry of ?novel? 'Brideshead Revisited': effects of public school education, decline of aristocracy, clash of new and traditional values, rise of the middle class WW2 novel? One of the working class post-war novels/plays - Kes? Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner? Room at the Top? Taste of Honey? Look Back in Anger? 1960s/1970s novel? 'A Child in Time' by Ian McEwan - politics and social change in 1980s 'The Line of Beauty' by Alan Hollinghurst? 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith? Any thoughts? Especially if you are not British but have read something that helped you to understand Britain. Thanks Laura ' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Well this doesn't seem quite up to the same level as what you're listing, but we're really enjoying The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I haven't read all of these, but I love British culture so I'll be following this thread! What about Tess of the D'urbervilles? I thought it was an interesting look at gender inequality, the industrial revolution, the lingering importance of ancestry, etc. ETA: I'm also reading Middlemarch right now and finding the social aspects fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 I haven't read all of these, but I love British culture so I'll be following this thread! What about Tess of the D'urbervilles? I thought it was an interesting look at gender inequality, the industrial revolution, the lingering importance of ancestry, etc. ETA: I'm also reading Middlemarch right now and finding the social aspects fascinating. Personal prejudice: I don't get on with Hardy. So I'd have a difficult time recommending it. Middlemarch is a good idea: maybe I can offer him the choice between that and Silas Marner, depending on whether he wanted a shorter or a longer read. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Wolf Hall is a strikingly revisionist version of Henry's court..... too bad you can't 'balance' it with A Man for All Seasons. For the period between WWI and WWII, maybe I Capture the Castle? For the middle of the 20th I'd add something by Graham Greene and something by John LeCarre. For contemporary England I'd like Gaimen's Neverwhere. It's obviously fantasy but it talks about London in as revealing a way as Zadie Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 Wolf Hall is a strikingly revisionist version of Henry's court..... too bad you can't 'balance' it with A Man for All Seasons. No reason not to offer both. I think that Wolf Hall is a better work, but the contrast would be interesting. Graham Greene is a good idea. Which would you recommend? I've not read many of his works. I read 'I Capture the Castle' recently and I don't think I'd offer it to a man to read. To be honest, I wish I'd read it when I was younger - I would have enjoyed it more. I'll ask my menfolk about Neverwhere - I think both Husband and Calvin have read it. Thanks for mentioning it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Personal prejudice: I don't get on with Hardy. So I'd have a difficult time recommending it. :D Perfectly understandable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 A couple of fiction ideas.... Darkmans by Nicola Barker (for a modern novel) The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (steampunk/Victorian times alternative history w/ a surprising amount of accurate historical info, including a story woven around the urban legend of Victorian times: Spring-Heeled Jack; also loved it because it used Sir Richard Burton as the main character) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 What about Sarum, to learn about the early history of the Salisbury Plain area? It has Stonehenge! It has a cathedral! What more could you want? lol I have no idea why the first review says it's YA--that's really off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Some of my favorite Brit lit---Middlemarch; A Passage to India. and almost anything by A. S. Byatt (really liked The Children's Book). And even though it wouldn't make any list of "Great Novels", I have to say that Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island is side-splitting funny, and an interesting read as an American looking at somewhat modern day Britain. I agree with Chris in VA, Edward Rutherfurd is a great historical author as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 In no particular order .... Tom Brown School Days by Thomas Hughes Great Expectations by Dickens The Odd Women by George Gissing The Warden by Anthony Trollop She by Henry Haggard North and South Elizabeth Gaskell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I can mine my brain further, but for WWI, I think All Quiet on the Western Front is a must read, no matter your allied home country. What about African Queen? It's more known for the Hollywood movie, but it was a novel first. Kipling's poem, My Son Jack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I would throw in some fun things like P.G. Wodehouse and Oscar Wilde. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Personal prejudice: I don't get on with Hardy. So I'd have a difficult time recommending it. Laura Not even Jude the Obscure?! That was my favorite novel when I was 15/16. I could not get *enough*! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Ok, adult male. This list is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co...lm/QHKUD6SF0JKN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Not even Jude the Obscure?! That was my favorite novel when I was 15/16. I could not get *enough*! :) I couldn't stomach that one after I had kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadfael Perhaps this would not be considered "great literature," but you asked about books that helped me (an American) understand British culture better. For this, I would recommend the Cadfael mysteries. I loved the way the author used so many old British words, most of which I had never encountered prior to reading the series. Believe it or not, I never knew what a "copse" was. I had never heard of "mullein" (a plant used for dyeing) or "villein" (a form of a slave). As an under-educated American, I didn't understand much of anything about feudalism, barons, Normans, Saxons, Wales, Shrewsbury, herbalism, parchment, woad, saints, relics, or monasteries. Reading Cadfael got me interested in learning more about so many things for a long time. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Edward Rutherford's London is a nice, light choice that only covers all of London's history from ancient to present. ;) I second The Children's Book. But it feels like it should be something more classic. Both those options (though London is pop fiction and The Children's Book is quality literature) are both so recent. How about Howard's End? Oh, how about Lucky Jim? How about Fever Pitch? Though that's very recent again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommaOfalotta Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 :hurray: :bigear: :bigear: :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Ugh! I tried to read Wolf Hall. I got about 1/5 of the way through it before I had to quit. I absolutely hated her writing style. I am a total Anglophlie, but I just could not stomach that awful book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Ivanhoe, set in the 12th century? I found it very enjoyable to listen to (free from Librivox), and I finally understood something of the Norman - Saxon history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 The Soldier by Rupert Brooke (poem...beautiful) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 maybe not "literature" but we all just love James Herriots " All creatures great and small" " for the WW2ish era It is on my list of "Lit can be funny instead of depressing" I'd love to hear that list! I'm finding way too much depressing lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 How Green Was My Valley. Don't neglect the Welsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I love How Green Was My Valley. Regularly re-read. Not to mention the great names. Ianto. Ivor. Dai. Bronwen. Ceridwen. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Ugh! I tried to read Wolf Hall. I got about 1/5 of the way through it before I had to quit. I absolutely hated her writing style. I am a total Anglophlie, but I just could not stomach that awful book. I had the exact same experience. I rarely ever decide to put down a book, but I disliked Wolf Hall so much that I put it down and haven't looked back. It drives me crazy because I usually read a wide selection of Giller and Booker winners and her sequel also won a Booker but I'm not reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 WW1 and post: "Goodbye to All That," by Robert Graves I would then add some Woodhouse to balance it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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