your favorite novels set in London or elsewhere in England?
 

We're about to leave on a week-long trip to England, and it's time for me to pick a book to read on the plane and in the hotels. I'm looking for inspirations.

I like mysteries and also literary novels including historical novels. No Bridget Jones books or things like that, however. I love Dickens, too, but I hesitate to carry a really fat book with me.

I'd be interested in hearing what other people's recommendations are. Thanks!

Have you tried Catherine Aird? A vey British mystery writer. I do enjoy her books.

"The Pillars of Earth" by Ken Follett is another good one - but not much smaller than most of Dicken's books I'm afraid.

Any Dick Francis book if you like horse racing mixed in with your mysteries.

Ellis Peters' (Edith Pargeter)
Mediaeval mysteries ("Brother Cadfael") are light-weight and fun. So are the older Dorothy L. Sayers books and Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave".

Of course there are the old classics like "A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", "Ivanhoe" (Sir Walter Scott), and Shakespeare's plays to name a few...

Have fun!

I would recommend one of Edward Rutherfurd's wonderful books (London, Sarum, Forest) - but each is big enough to make a great doorstop. Even in paperback they are pretty hefty.

For flights/light reading, I like just about any British murder mysteries so any that unaS mentioned are good.

There are two American authors who write mysteries based on the UK and they are spot on w/ the locations, atmosphere, language (usually one can spot a non-Brit's writing right away because of little slip ups here and there)

Oops - didn't mean to hit Post

Elizabeth George and her Inspector Lynley mysteries, and Deborah Crombie whose work is very similar but I think a bit better. Hers are about Detective Superintendant Duncan Kincaid.

Both janisj and unaS have give you soon good suggestions.

For medieval mysteries which are well researched, I would add Susanna Gregory, Candance Robb,Michael Jecks and C.J.Sansom.

For more contemporary mysteries, Morag Joss is vey good. Peter Robinson is another possibility.

Even though the paper backs are still large, Edward Rutherfurd is an excellent choice.

For mysteries set in London and surrounds, I love Ruth Rendell. She also writes under the name Barbara Vine.

I second -- or third or fourth -- the recommendations for Rutherfurd and Elizabeth George. She, particularly, has the contemperary milieu down perfectly. Her most recent had her characters involved in a church on Collingham Road, a church we've passed many times on our walk from the Gloucester Road tube station to the apartment we rent when we visit London.

For a real nineteenth-century page turner set in England, try Mary Elizabeth Braddon's _Lady Audley's Secret_. It's a terrific thriller and mystery, and a bestseller back in the 1860s.

Some of my other favorites are _Cold Comfort Farm_, which is sort of like Jane Austen set in the 30s. And you can't go wrong with P.D. James mysteries; I'm a fan of _An Unsuitable Job for a Woman_.

I have just started reading Stephen Smith's 'Underground London - Travels Beneath The City Streets'.
Absolutely fascinating! To think I've walked past, over, under so many things I never had an incling existed.

Here are some of my favorites:

Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks) -- historical fiction set in the village of Eyam during the plague.

I, Elizabeth (Rosalind Miles) -- historical fiction about Queen Elizabeth I

The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by his Fool, Will Somers (Margaret George) -- pretty hefty, but good historical fiction

Sharon Kay Penman writes good historical fiction and mysteries -- most set in Medieval England

Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspeare) -- mysteries set in post-WWI England

The Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) -- 4 novels that comprise a saga about a family in WWII England

I've just started reading "Case Histories" by Kate Atkinson -- it's described as a family saga/mystery set in contemporary England. It's gotten good reviews, and starts out well.

Both Atkinson and Winspear are coming to the Texas Book Festival in 2 weeks to talk about British mysteries, and I'm looking forward to hearing them!

Enjoy -- Annette

Some good suggestions here. The Elizabeth George and Ruth Rendell mysteries are good for a travel-reading.
I agree that the Rutherford books, especially "London" are great reading, but too hefty to lug around.
For more substantial reading, of course anything Dickens (but maybe do that at home), and all of Anthony Trollope's books set in London and other parts of England in the 19th Century. I just discovered those a few years ago and had a marvelous time reading them (numerous!). They are best read sort of chronologically as written, which I didn't know at first.

And DO read John Galsworthy (Forsyte Saga) if you haven't already. I know most of these I mention are too lengthy for the trip but will be great for this winter's reading!

Wow, this list is already a good one.
I can only add:
Bernard Cornwell- War history but very interesting and well written.

Dick Francis- Mysteries about horse racing.

Mists of Avalon- Marion Zimmer Bradley

P.G. Wodehouse-

I Capture the Castle. A sweet little book I read a while back about a family living in a broken down castle.

"Sleep Pale Sister" by Joanne Harris is very good - set in Victorian London. See www.joanne-harris.co.uk

Ruth Rendell's novels, whether mysteries, detective stories or her more "psychological" thrillers, are just wonderful. Unfortunately, the England they portray probably isn't what the tourist board would like! Seriously, though, she's a wonderful writer.

I love anything by PG Wodehouse, the writing is wonderful. very funny stuff.
Elizabeth George is a great read, saving her latest for my next plane trip.
Mary Wesley writes some great English novels. Some set during the war, others more current. very witty.

If you like mysteries or suspense, try "Enigma" by Richard Harris. It is about the code-breakers during WWII.

Anything by Sarah Waters.

Also Margaret York writes murder mysteries that I've always enjoyed reading.

I like Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series of mysteries [although the last few haven't been as good as the earlier ones].

Classic literary novels--anything by the Brontes, and EM Forster's Howards End.

The Henry VIII historical novel by Margaret George, as mentioned above, really got my appetite whetted to visit London. And, of course, LONDON by Rutherford. - But these are both gigantic books. I would gladly haul either one along, though, because they are both so great. Because the area is so packed with history, it's difficult to beat historical fiction for making it even more interesting to visit.

Another mystery series...this one set in England in the 15th century...is written by Margaret Frazer. Her main character is a nun, Dame Frevisse. She's a sort of female version of Brother Cadfael in the Ellis Peters novels...all of which I've read.

Great suggestions in this thread...some of which I've read and others not. Whets my appetite for more reading.

LeeParis

If you like dickens, how about Wilkie Collins - the woman in White, especially.
And what about Sherlock holmes???

Can it be that no one has mentioned Jane? It just doesn't get better than that for me!

I agree, clbtx1! Jane Austen is the best for me, too!

Anything by Thomas Hardy would work, as well, though it might be kind of a downer.

How about E.M. Forster (say, <i>Howards End</i>), or some short stories by Saki (H.H. Munro)?

Sorry, penel! I forgot the London emphasis! How about <i>The End of the Affair</i> (Graham Greene)? Wartime London!

Robert Rankin. Very funny and very British.

Phillipa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick both write fantastic novels set mostly in medieval England. However, keep in mind thre are two writers named Elizabeth Chadwick, the other one is an American romance novelist, so if you see book by EC set in the American west, it's the &quot;wrong&quot; Eizabeth Chadwick.

If you were going to Scotland I'd recommend Diana Gabladon's Outlander series (even though they're fat books even in paperback), however parts of them do take place in England.

&quot;As the Crow Flies&quot; by Jeffrey Archer
East End London around WWI book spans
60 years and is one of Archer's best.
Paperback - 800 pages but is a very fast
read.

Another goodie, but biggie, is &quot;Pillars of the Earth&quot; by Ken Follett, about medieval cathedral building. Rosalind Laker's &quot;The Sugar Pavillion&quot; is a fascinating look at the origins of the candy trade in Brighton.

If you like mysteries and literary novels, I think you'll like Case Histories by Atkinson (cant remember her first name).

My local librarian recommended this to me and I fought her and fought her. I don't read mysteries and I am a total literary snob (but usually keep it to myself and only offer this here because it illustrates my story), and I really did not want to check this out.

I read a lot of contemporary British novelist that I love, such as Penelope Lively and Jane Gardam, and from the previous generation, Muriel Spark and Beryl Bainbridge, and I was in the library looking for something from one of those authors.

I was being such a snob, but the librarian told me to take this book, Case Histories, and just try it. A week later, I had to go to the library and apologize for being a snob and not trusting the librarian's recommendation. This was a good book, with mystery elements, but much more about loss and love and character and memory... but yet, a page turner. I will read more by this author.

I looked Atkinson up, and her novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum won the Whitbread Prize. So a pretty good rec, there, I think.

I think EM Forster's Howard's End would be perfect for travel. Set in London and the countryside, rich in everything good and delightful to read.

For Trollope, maybe something set in London, such as The Three Clerks, or take a leap and begin the political series, starting with Can You Forgive Her. Kind of fat, though.
Other Trollope that's thinner: Ralph the Heir; Ayala's Angel (so much London); Cousin Henry; The Vicar of Bullhampton...oh, there are dozens and dozens.

For Hardy without too much misery, maybe The Mayor of Casterbridge.

And if you haven't read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, do.

Another vote for I Capture the Castle; really a delight. I gave it to my brother for his turn to pick a book for his very intellectual NYC book club, and they all loved it. Dodie Smith is the author.

An amazing and absorbing novel, written for young readers, but certainly intriguing to me, was How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. Set in England.

How about George Eliot? Daniel Deronda is largely set in London.

I don't mention Jane, because I assume everyone has read all of Jane. If they haven't, what on earth are they waiting for??????

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress): a novel about a widow living in a residential hotel in London, and the friendship she strikes up with a young man. Was turned into a lovely movie that was released last year, with Joan Plowright in the title role.

Also, these three novels by Penelope Fitzgerald. (I love everything of hers I've read, but these three have particularly vivid depictions of London):

At Freddie's (set in a school for child actors)

Offshore (about a community of people who live in barges on the Thames, as Fitzgerald herself did for a time)

Human Voices (life at the BBC during WWII)

All excellent suggestions.

Atkinson's &quot;Behind the Scenes at the Museum&quot; is a brilliant work! (set in York)

I just finished The Lambs of London by Ackroyd - very enjoyable read. Anything by Ackroyd is worth reading. The man is a genius.

For a completely quirky and often hilarious read, try Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Wells series. Set in the 80s, but with a twist. The Crimea war is still going on, WW1 &amp; II have never happened. Wales is independant and genetic engineering has restored the Dodo and the Neanderthals. The great literary giants, from Shakespeare to Lawrence, hold a place in popular culture occupied today by Madonna and the PussyCat Dolls. Now THERE is a novel concept!

First in the series is The Eyre Affair. A great series for those who love English Literature.

The Eyre Affair
www.amazon.com/gp/product...06?ie=UTF8

The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next Series)
www.amazon.com/gp/product...F8&amp;s=books

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
www.amazon.com/gp/product...F8&amp;s=books


Something Rotten: A Thursday Next Mystery
www.amazon.com/gp/product...F8&amp;s=books

Jane Austen
P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves books
Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series
Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse series
Robin Paige's Death at Various English Locations series

Lee Ann

Two mystery writers who set their stories in the post WW1 years are Charles Todd and Rennie Airth.

Airth has just two Inspector John Madden books so far, River of Darkness and The Blood Dimmed Tide--both excellent.

Todd, actually two american writers, does the Inspector Rutledge series set in the immediate years after WW1-they really give a flavor of what the survivors of the trenches had endured and how they then had to fit back into civilian life.

Also a fun take on the Jane Austen novel is Melissa Nathan's Pride, Prejudice and Jasmine Field...a contemporary Londoner's real life mirror's Jane's novel...

All are available in paper and not too large to tote.

Some good ones mentioned already, so I won't repeat. I'm particularly fond of Brother Cadfael, Howard's End and anything Jane.

Would like to add W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. This is one I got at a garage sale, started reading this and thought, &quot;Hey, this is really well written.&quot; Looked it up and realized it was a classic. It takes place in various parts of England and a small part in Paris. Definite glimpses into London's past.

Another coming of age novel, The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler, but of a young man going to Oxford and becoming a minister. Insight into the Victorian eras. A little slow in parts but it grew on me.

Opps, sorry the Jasper Fforde books are about Thursday Next, not Tuesday Wells. I wonder where I got that from :( ?

Toby Litt wrote a really funny book entitled &quot;Finding Myself.&quot; It is light and very enjoyable reading.

O'Reilly, Tuesday Wells was an American actress in the '60's or thereabouts. :)

That's Tuesday Weld, I think, for what it's worth (yeah, I know, not much).

I am glad 5alive mentioned Somerset Maugham, I think he is the English-est writer. Of Human Bondage is a little sad, Cakes and Ale was lighter and very amusing, probably my fave. Also, his collected short stories are perfect.

Another favorite is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John LeCarre. I have read it many times and still find myself holding my breath at the denouement.

I am enjoying P.D. James' The Lighthouse right now.

Lots of good suggestions, here. Have a great trip.

Olive Oil

Possession, by A.S. Byatt. Byatt has written a multi-layered literary novel that deals with the story of a contemporary couple who discover in their research the affair of two Victorian lovers. I thought it was wonderful; check it out on amazon.com
I took this as a travel book to Provence several years ago and more recently read it again in my book club.