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From across the Pond: My Top 10 British Novels

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In honor of birth of baby Archie (congratulations Harry and Meghan!), I’m dedicating the next few posts to my favorite British novels, TV series and movies. I love all things British: the history, the urban and rural landscapes, the architecture, the food, and best of all, the accents. I love it all: Arthurian legends, C.S. Lewis, Oxford, G. K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, The Seven Sisters cliffs, Fortnum & Mason, Liberty fabrics, Bath, Cornwall, Afternoon Tea, Jamie Oliver, Michael McIntyre, and the duck sandwich at the Borough Market. If I believed in reincarnation, I would swear that I was a British lady in a past life. The few times that I have traveled to England, it has felt like coming home.

Alas, our circumstances don’t allow us to visit England as often as I wish. No matter, I can get my British fix from the comfort of my home, as I revisit my dear books, shows and movies. Nota bene: I prefer period pieces which focus on relationships, history and social issues. Suspense, horror and science fiction are not my thing. You won’t find Dr. Who on this blog; those Daleks drive me nuts. Anyway, if you like what I like, then read on!

Persuasion by Jane Austen

He (Sir Walter Elliot) considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and the Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion.

chapter 1

My favorite novel by Ms. Austen, Persuasion is delightful story about star-crossed lovers, reversals of fortunes and second chances. It’s set partly in Bath, which is a delight all on its own. What I love most about Ms. Austen is her subtle but brilliant (and often sarcastic) insight into human psychology and behavior. Her characters are so well-developed that they quickly draw you into their world, and all I want to do is stay with them just a little longer.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Charlotte took her sister and friend over the house, extremely well pleased, probably, to have the opportunity of showing it without her husband’s help. It was rather small, but well built and convenient; and everything was fitted up and arranged with a neatness and consistency of which Elizabeth gave Charlotte all the credit. When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlotte’s evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten.

volume II, Chapter v

This gem needs no introduction, as it’s one of the best known love stories in literary world, featuring the impoverished but proud Elizabeth Bennet and the wealthy but aloof Mr. Darcy. Ms. Austen expertly portrays the helplessness of women in the 1800s, and how crucial it was for their economic future to marry the right man. Interestingly, Ms. Austen herself never married.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

(Elinor) had an excellent heart – her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn, and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

Chapter 1

So I really, really like Jane Austen. This is a story about two sisters, the sensible Elinor and the impetuous Marianne. Due to their reduced circumstances following the death of their father, they are compelled to make proper marriage matches and thus save themselves, their mother and younger sister from certain poverty. Hmm….why are these women always in “reduced circumstances”? Ms. Austen is, above all, a superb commentator on the idiosyncrasies and injustices of her society.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

It is a very strange sensation to inexperienced youth to feel itself quite alone in the world, cut adrift from every connection, uncertain whether the port to which it is bound can be reached, and prevented by many impediments from returning to that it has quitted. The charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear disturbs it.

chapter 11

This is one juicy novel, quite darker than the Jane Austen novels I’ve read. Jane Eyre is an impoverished young woman who, orphaned as a young child, survives a miserable childhood. She eventually becomes a governess to a girl under the care of the mysterious Mr. Rochester. After a time, the two (spoiler alert) fall in love but alas! Mr. Rochester harbors a crazy secret which threatens their future together. Jane Eyre is one tough gal who stays true to her morals despite the temptations and harships that come her way.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

But Margaret went less abroad, among machinery and men; saw less power in its public effect, and, as it happened, she was thrown with one or two of those who, in all measures affecting masses of people, must be acute sufferers for the good of many. The question always is, has everything been done to make the sufferings of these exceptions as small as possible? Or, in the triumph of the crowded procession, have the helpless been trampled on, instead of being gently lifted aside out of the roadway of the conqueror, whom they have no power to accompany on his march?

chapter 8, home sickness

Mrs. Gaskell was a contemporary of the Bronte Sisters and Charles Dickens (what a time for literary England!). Not to be confused with the John Jakes’ novel of the same name about the American Civl War, North and South is a social commentary on the brutal changes in 19th century England as a result of the industrial revolution. The heroine, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a clergyman. Due to his conscientious disagreement with his faith, he resigns from his parish. The family then moves from their rural home in the south to the industrial fictional town of Milton in the north. Faced with the desperate lives of the factory workers, Margaret tirelessly helps them, all the while engaging with factory owner Mr. Thornton in a hearty battle of wills. Mrs. Gaskell vividly portrays the horrific conditions of the working class and the painful birth of the trade unions. Of course, there is a dramatic love story interweaved throughout, with a neat twist in the end.

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

At all times it is a bewildering thing to the poor weaver to see his employer removing from house to house, each one grander than the last, till he ends in building one more magnificent than all, or withdraws his money from the concern, or sells his mill, to buy an estate in the country, while all the time the weaver, who thinks he and his fellows are the real makers of this wealth, is struggling on for bread for his children, through the vicissitudes of lowered wages, short hours, fewer hands employed, etc.

chapter 3

Mrs. Gaskell, a minister’s wife who spent years in the manufacturing town of Manchester, was very much a champion and a voice for the countless victims of the industrial revolution. Set in Manchester in the early 1840s, the protagonist Mary Barton is a beautiful young girl touched by tragedy and loss. A love triangle and a murder mystery serve as the backdrop for what I believe was Mrs. Gaskell’s purpose for writing the book: to shine a light on the deplorable conditions and helplessness of the working class in Industrial-era England.

Towers in the Mist by Elizabeth Goudge

These children were motherless…and Joyeuce her eldest daughter had been left at the age of twelve to bring up three sisters and four brothers as best she could…and poor Joyeuce was not very practical. Yet so had she struggled that at her present age of sixteen she was considered one of the best housewives in sixteenth-century Oxford, a time and a place where housewives were incomparable, and the younger children were as well behaved as possible under the circumstances.

chapter 2, ‘a stirring housewife’

This novel takes us way back in time, to Elizabethan Oxford. This is a delightful story about a beggar boy who finds himself under the care of a kind Oxford professor and his large family. I love the quaint descriptions of daily life in a university town in the 1500s. As well, there is a foreshadowing of the persecution of Catholic Christians (Saint Edmund Campion, a martyr who died in Tyburn, makes a brief but meaningful appearance). Best of all, there is a crotchety Great-Aunt who deeply dislikes children but has taken it upon herself to educate the youngest, most mischievous children at home. It reminds me of my #armageddonhasarrived homeschooling days. This is the only novel by Ms. Goudge which I have read. I would love to read more, except that they are hard to find. The search continues!

Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy by Flora Thompson

Though food was rough and teeth were neglected, indigestion was unknown, while nervous troubles, there as elsewhere, had yet to be invented. The very word ‘nerve’ was used in a different sense to the modern one.

Lark rise, chapter 1, ‘poor people’s houses’

A beautiful series set in Oxfordshire, this one transports us to the 19th century. It’s a semi-autobiographical account of the last days of the agricultural rural life (Lark Rise) and the emergence of a new town (Candleford), with all the changes it brought to society and its inhabitants. Mrs. Thompson provides so much historical detail that it’s easy to immerse yourself in her world. It reminds me of the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Poldark series by Winston Graham

This was a summer feast in the old style, with no newfangled dainties to embarrass anyone. Demelza and Verity and Prudie had been working on it from early morning. Huge beef pies had been made; repeated layers of pastry and beef laid on top of each other in great dishes with cream poured over. Four green geese and twelve fine capons had been roasted; cakes made as big as millstones. There was bee wine and homebrewed ale and cider and port.

demelza, chapter 5

How I would love to be part of such a country feast! I first heard of Poldark from the current TV series, headlined by Aidan Turner as the headstrong Poldark and Eleanor Tomlinson as the worthy Demelza. There are twelve books in all; I’m currently reading The Black Moon. Set in the ruggedly beautiful town of Cornwall, the novels span the years 1783-1818. I love the detailed accounts of the lives of those who made up society at the time – the bankers, the merchants, the landlords, the heirs and heiresses, the doctors, the miners, the servants, the soldiers, the prisoners and the destitute. Most of all, I thoroughly enjoy the study of marriage across the years.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

But you want to know about the influence of books on my life, and as I’ve said, there was only one. Seneca. Do you know who he was? He was a Roman philosopher who wrote letters to imaginary friends telling them how to behave for the rest of their lives. Maybe that sounds dull, but the letters aren’t – they’re witty. I think you learn more if you’re laughing at the same time.

Letter from John Booker to Juliet

I agree 100% with John Booker. I recently read this novel and raved about it here. While the authors are American, I’m including it here as the story is set in post-WWII England. It’s the only modern novel on this list, which goes to show just how infrequently I find a contemporary novel that I fall in love with. Heart-warming and highly entertaining, this novel is a modern ode to the literary heritage of England. I recently discovered that the late author Mary Ann Shaffer was a librarian, and that this novel was her first. What a beautiful way to crown what I am sure was a rich life filled with beloved books.

Well, there it is! It is by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive list. I’m forever on the search for good novels to read. If you have any to share, please do!

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4 thoughts on “From across the Pond: My Top 10 British Novels”

  1. Yay! Books for my summer reading! Elizabeth Goudge also wrote “The Little White Horse” – a mysterious children’s novel.

  2. It’s a pleasure to discover your blog, Melissa! Lots of writing about books, I see, which is excellent.

    This is a nice list of favourites, some of which are new to me. I’m going to make a note of that Elizabeth Goudge novel, as I’ve a weakness for stories about the English recusants.

    For some reason, I had thought that North and South was about the American Civil War!

    1. Thanks so much Craig! I so appreciate the encouragement in these early days. I had no idea what ‘recusant’ meant and now I do. I love it!
      You are right, there was a very popular US series called North and South back when we were kids. I will clarify in my post!

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