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British Literature

Jane Austen 1

My Favourite Pride and Prejudice Fanfiction

There are many stories I haven't read yet, so obviously this can't be a list of all the best fanfics out there, but it does include some of the best I've found so far. I enjoy a good characterisation of Lizzy and Darcy, and if that's what you're look...

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen combines elements of comedy, psychological novel, romance, and insight into her society in order to create the cleverest book of all times. Five Bennet sisters lead their uneventful life in Hertfordshire until thei...

Jane Austen FanFiction: The Ultimate Guide

There are over 70 links at this lens leading to thousands of Jane Austen FanFiction stories. If you are looking for a new source to sustain your addiction I hope you'll find something for yourself here. However, if you are new to Jane Austen FanFict...

Jane Austen

Jane Austen is one of Britain's best loved novelists and is acclaimed as one of the greatest novelists of all time.  Jane wrote six novels during her short lifetime: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Ab...

Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice

Fitzwilliam Darcy - the dashing hero of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the aristocrat and great fellow according to his peers, the perfect lover to one Elizabeth Bennet, and the best man ever featured in the English literature. Check my other le...

Jane Austen 2

Why We Still Love You, Mr Darcy!

He's rude, arrogant and anti-social. Yet he is one of literatures most enduring fictional romantic icons, desired by women throughout the 20th and 21st century. Mr Darcy, who you might be forgiven for thinking is no longer 'relevant' to the modern f...

Pride and Prejudice and Other Austen's Novels: Movies & TV Guide

There are so many adaptations of Austen's novels that it's easy to get lost. Have you seen the best of them? Are you looking for a new one? Or simply want to see them at one place without having to look through many pages of repeated offers? This le...

NORTHANGER ABBEY

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen illustrates the misadventures of young and ingenuous Catherine Morland, an untiring reader of gothic novels. Their romantic excess and dark pictures feed her imagination, as oppressive fathers and diabolical villains w...

MANSFIELD PARK

Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen's later novels. At the age of ten, Fanny Price leaves her poor Portsmouth family to be brought up among her wealthy relatives, in the chilly grandeur of Mansfield Park. She gradually falls in love with her cousin...

Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, one of the most influential and famous of English novels, its adaptations and related works inspired by the novel.

Susan Cooper

The Dark is Rising

This sequence of five novels, is a favourite of adults as well as children. They are among the few special books like The Hobbit and the Harry Potter novels which bridge this gap. Like those, The Dark is Rising Sequence of books are fantasy novels....

Richmal Crompton

Richmal Crompton

Although Richmal Crompton wrote 41 novels for adults and 9 collections of short stories, it was her 'William' stories about an 11 year old boy and his gang the 'Outlaws' that she is remembered for. Even during her long life, much to her annoyance, th...

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens and his books

When the internet has become popular for selling downloads of novels chapter by chapter, or Amazon is selling chapters on Kindle it is a practice that Charles Dickens started as a popular format for selling his fiction in periodicals. Unlike other au...

Bleak House

Bleak House is a satirical look at the complicated legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy and nearly destroys the lives of innocents. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy streets of 19th century London and the ma...

Neil Gaiman 1

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Well...how would YOU react if you found out your Dad was a God???? Fat Charlie Nancy (who isn't fat, but old nicknames have a habit of hanging around) hasn't seen his Dad for years. Charlie thinks this is a good thing, after all, it always seemed to...

Stardust - A Novel By Neil Gaiman

"Stardust" is the story of Tristran Thorn a young man who lives in the village of Wall, an unusual sort of place, which stands literally on the border between the world we know and the realm of Faerie. The village of Wall is separated from Faerie by...

American Gods By Neil Gaiman

Have you ever wondered what happens to Gods when people stop believing in them? In "American Gods", award winning British author Neil Gaiman, tells an intriguing tale of an ordinary young man who enounters some very extraordinary characters. Shadow...

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - a novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, is a novel jointly written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and first published in 1990 The book is a comedy, parodying the 1976 film "The Omen". The plot centres around the Son...

Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman

Under the streets of London there's a secret world...a dark mysterious world of shadows, tunnels and abandoned underground stations populated by assassins and warriors, angels and vampires, talking rats and a hierarchy of nobility...it's called "Lond...

Neil Gaiman 2

The Works Of Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman - British born author of fantasy and science fiction novels, short stories, poems, graphic novels and films. Neil Gaiman is possibly best known for "The Sandman" graphic novels, and his books "Stardust", "American Gods", "Anansi Boys", "...

Elizabeth Gaskell

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

A novel by Elizabeth Gaskell turned into a 2004 mini-series by the BBC TV starring Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage.

Stella Gibbons

Stella Gibbons

On January 5, 1902, in Hampstead, London, England, Stella Dorothea Gibbons was born. Gibbons career as an author would span forty years, and would include the award-winning Cold Comfort Farm, which remains Gibbons most identifiable work of literature...

Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella (born December 12, 1969) is the pen name of British author Madeleine Wickham. As Sophie Kinsella she has become well-known for the creation of the very successful Shopaholic set of novels, featuring the mishaps of her central charact...

Rudyard Kipling

The Life & Works of Rudyard Kipling

For many years Rudyard Kipling has been deeply unfashionable. He's been accused of jingoism, imperialism and racism as typified by this poem The White Man's Burden. Take up the White Man's burden- Send forth the best ye breed- Go, bind your sons to e...

John Le Carre

The books of John Le Carre

John Le Carre is the English writer best known for disillusioned, suspenseful spy novels based on a wide knowledge of international espionage. Le Carré's famous hero is George Smiley, a Chekhovian character and shadow like member of the Britis...

Ian McEwan 1

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

"The Cement Garden" is Ian McEwan's' first novel, originally published in 1978. The Cement Garden is a beautifully crafted, but very dark tale of childhood and lost innocence... This is how the novel starts; "It was not at all clear to me now why w...

On Chesil Beach By Ian McEwan

"On Chesil Beach" is a novel by multi-award winning author, Ian McEwan first published in 2007 On a summer evening in 1962, just before the "sexual revolution", two newlyweds sit down to dinner in the honeymoon suite of a Dorset hotel. Edward and Fl...

Ian McEwan - British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, And Screenwriter

Ian McEwan has been writing fiction since the 1970's and has written many bestsellers and received numerous literary awards and glowing critical acclaim.... It is difficult to sum up Ian McEwan's writing...a few words and phrases spring to mind...bo...

Saturday By Ian McEwan

"Saturday" is a novel by multi-award winning author, Ian McEwan, first published in 2005. "Saturday" is the story of a day in the life of a 48 year old London neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne. The novel is set on Saturday, 15th February 2003. Henry wake...

Atonement By Ian McEwan

"Atonement" is a novel by award winning writer, Ian McEwan, first published in 2001. "Atonement" was made into a multi-award winning film which was released in 2007 The plot of "Atonement" follows the life of Briony Tallis, from naive teenager to el...

Ian McEwan 2

The Innocent By Ian McEwan

"The Innocent" is Ian McEwan's third novel, first published in 1989. "The Innocent" is centered around Leonard Markham, a young, idealistic English electronics engineer sent to Germany during the Cold War to work on an Anglo-American intelligence pr...

Amsterdam By Ian McEwan

"Amsterdam" is a novel by multi-award winning author Ian McEwan, first published in 1998. The plot of "Amsterdam" follows two old friends, Clive, a composer and Vernon, a newspaper editor, who attend the funeral of a woman who had been a friend and...

The Comfort Of Strangers By Ian McEwan

The Comfort Of Strangers is Ian McEwan's second novel, first published in 1981. A bored couple journey to an un-named city in search of excitement. There they meet an enigmatic stranger who entangles them in a web from which there may be no escape.....

Enduring Love By Ian McEwan

"Enduring Love" is a novel by award winning writer Ian McEwan, first published in 1997 On an ordinary spring day, during an ordinary picnic, the calm, organised, ordinary life of science writer Joe Rose is blown apart due to the repercussions of a t...

Black Dogs By Ian McEwan

"Black Dogs" is a novel by multi-award winning British author Ian McEwan, first published in 1992. In 1946, a young couple, Bernard and June, set off on their honeymoon. Fired by their ideals and passion for one another, they plan an idyllic holiday...

Ian McEwan 3

In Between The Sheets By Ian McEwan

"In Between The Sheets" is a collection of short stories by award-winning author Ian McEwan, first published in 1978 Like McEwan's earlier short story collection, "First Love, Last Rites", the individual stories in "In Between The Sheets" are linke...

The Child In Time By Ian McEwan

"The Child In Time" is Ian McEwan's third novel, first published in 1987. The Child In Time deals with the tragic and upsetting theme of child abduction. Stephen Lewis, a children's book author, takes his 3-year-old daughter Kate on a routine Satur...

First Love, Last Rites By Ian McEwan

First Love, Last Rites is Ian McEwan's first collection of short stories and was originally published in 1975. This collection was Ian McEwan's first published work and comprises a collection of eight short stories, all of which are summarised indiv...

William McGonagall

William McGonagall

William McGonagall (1825 - 1902) was an ordinary working class Scottish man employed as a weaver in Dundee's textile industry. One momentous day in 1877 when he was aged 52, literally in a sudden blinding flash of "divine" enlightenment, he "received...

Terry Pratchett

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - a novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, is a novel jointly written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and first published in 1990 The book is a comedy, parodying the 1976 film "The Omen". The plot centres around the Son...

Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell is an extremely prolific British mystery writer. She has captured three major Edgar awards-one for the novel A Dark Adapted Eye (1987) and for two short stories-The Fallen Curtain (1975) and The New Girl Friend (1984). In addition to the...

Alastair Reynolds

The Revelation Space Universe

The Revelation Space Universe was created by science fiction author Alastair Reynolds. It is the setting for most of his novels and short stories and takes its name from his first novel. It is also one of my favourite SF series of books. The novels...

Mary Shelley

Frankenstein's Bad Rap

Frankenstein's creation definitely does not deserve the bad reputation he has in the popular culture, thanks to sources like this image from the Boris Karloff film.

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63) was an English author. His novels included the novels Vanity Fair (1847-48), Pendennis (1850), Henry Esmond (1852) and The Newcombes (1853-55). His masterpiece, Vanity Fair, features the adventuress Becky Sharp,...

Harry Potter

Harry Potter Online

The Harry Potter phenomenon continues unabated. The film of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is currently in post production and will be released a few weeks before Christmas 2008 in July 2009. Harry Potter Online will keep you up to date with...

10 Books About Harry Potter

This is the first in a series that tries to identify the ten best books about a given subject. Here, we look at books about Harry Potter. That is to say, not the original books, but those by fans and critics that look at the Harry Potter phenomenon....

The Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort

**SPOILER: DO NOT READ THIS LENS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ALL THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS. IF YOU CONTINUE, YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME.** Horcruxes are dark magical objects that hold a piece of your soul. They were first introduced in Harry Potter and t...

Harry Potter Prequel

The Harry Potter world is buzzing with excitement about the surprise release of a 800word short story by JK Rowling. Set in the 1970's, 3 years before Harry Potter was born, it was written as a submission to a collection of short stories published by...

Harry Potter Magic Wands

This Lens was originally intended to be dedicated to the Magic Wands used by Harry Potter and his fellow wizards and witches. However my research has uncovered various other interesting items of information relating to the Harry Potter stories, so th...

Children's Literature

Prince Caspian

This lens is devoted to book two of C.S. Lewis' masterful "Chronicles of Narnia" series. Discussion on the movies are welcome, but we will focus on the books themselves.

The Wind in the Willows

This classic tale about animals of the riverbank has delighted children and adults for 100 years with the adventures of Mr Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger. It is a lovely story with excitement but without being too frightening. It can open the door to...

TWEEDLEDEE & TWEEDLEDUM

Welcome to "All You Ever Wanted to Know about the Dashing Duo: Tweedledee & Tweedledum"! Surely, you've heard of them...no, they're not the "Bobbsey Twins", the "Doublemint Gum Twins", or even an obscure name for the slugging "Minnesota Twins"...wor...

HEFFALUMP HEADQUARTERS

Here at Heffalump Headquarters, we pride ourselves in bringing you all you need to know about the world's most breathtakingly Perfectly Normal Beast (who has rarely if ever been seen by man let alone been captured by one). The purp...

Charlie and Lola

Charlie and Lola is fun series targeted at preschool audiences about a boy named Charlie and his sister, Lola. Featuring a unique "collage" animation style and catchy background themes, the show follows the pair as Charlie helps out his often rather...

Fairy Tales

English Folk Tales and Fairy Tales

Escape into the wonderous, fantastical and often humorous world of English fairytales and folklore. Read selections from folklorist Joseph Jacobs' collection titled "English Fairy Tales." This lens will be updated periodically with more stories and...

Children's Poetry

Classic Funny Poems for Kids

I can still remember some of the humorous poems that were read to us children at infants school. Some, like The Jumblies and Matilda (who told such dreadful lies), can still make me smile today. What makes them so memorable? Is it the rhythm and the...

Classic Children's English Literature

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"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents" - Emilie Buchwald

" Good children's literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child." - Anonymous

"We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts, we need books, time, and silence. 'Thou shalt not' is soon forgotten, but 'Once upon a time' lasts forever." - Philip Pullman

How To Improve Your Vocabulary

How To Improve Your Vocabulary

Words are powerful! They show knowledge, they can describe in great detail and become great literature; so use these top tips to help you on your way to improving your vocabulary! According to a study conducted in 2006, 11 million U.S. adults (about...

I Wish I Were Cultured

I Wish I Were Cultured.

A place for people who wish they were more versed in culture, are too busy watching LOST and The Office to read a book.

Love Letters Of Great Men

Love Letters of Great Men

There is a scene in the film Sex and the City, that sent its mostly female fans flocking into bookshops and desperately searching Amazon for a book that did not exist. Carrie Bradshaw is lying in bed with her Mr Big and reading extracts from a book...

Anglo-Welsh Literature

Anglo-Welsh Literature

The Wikipedia defines it as:-"a term used to describe works written in the English language by Welsh writers, especially if they either have subject matter relating to Wales or (as in the case of Anglo-Welsh poetry in particular) are influenced...

Classic English Literature

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