lets talk fiction

Old 07-18-2011, 05:24 PM
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I must confess that I am a hardnosed anglophile. I love the U.K. and am fortunate enough to have enjoyed numerous vacations there. Every once and a while I get "homesick" and long for the lovely towns and countryside I have experienced in past visits. To get a quick fix, so to speak, I often pick up a novel which has it's setting in Britain and lose myself within its pages..... so I'm wondering if anyone has read a book lately with such a setting that you think I might like. My taste lends itself to historical and contemporary fiction. I would be so appreciative if you'd share titles and/or authors. Thanks.
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Old 07-18-2011, 05:53 PM
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There used to be shown on the BBC here in the states a series called "Midsummer Murders"...Chief Inspector Barnaby was the lead character. There are books that this series was based on...the Chief Inspector Barnaby Series (imagine that). They are written by Carolyn Graham.

http://www.fictfact.com/series.aspx?series_id=5786

That page has the links to Amazon for the books (and no, I'm not the author or associated with her in any way LOL!)

Anyway, these are fairly modern mysteries all set in small English villages. You won't have heart palpitations or anything reading them, but they are a pretty good light read.
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:06 PM
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Have you read The Shell Seekers? Rosamunde Pilcher is the author. I picked it up at a library sale and really enjoyed it. It is set in both the present and WWII, I believe? (It's been a few years). I need to try more of her books for easy, enjoyable reading.

I also love (and I'm not sure how to categorize them, but they are absolutely charming) the Miss Read series of books. These are books about a schoolteacher and are set in fictional English villages, Thrush Green and Fairacre.
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:17 PM
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this site has more than British authors but I love British murder mysteries. i use this site to print out what they have written and then search my library for them.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:20 PM
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Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The Miss Read series are great quick reads.
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:31 PM
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try the outlander, it is pseudo-historical fiction and also a bit of time travel, an odd set of attributes for a book! it is a great series, except for the very last book (was a major disappointment, but I wont give you a spoiler on the ending)
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:33 PM
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I enjoy the novels of the late Dick Francis. Sturdy fellows who always come through in a pinch. Nothing steamy except the race horses. :lol:
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Old 07-18-2011, 06:53 PM
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Outlander is recommended and Ken Follett novels.
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Old 07-18-2011, 07:00 PM
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I have always enjoyed Agatha Christie and most of the classics, if you like animals you might like "It shouldnt happen to a vet" - situated in Yorkshire.
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Old 07-18-2011, 07:30 PM
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I enjoy listening to books (as well as reading) and I recently started listening to the classics ... Dickens & Christie to name two recent authors. So much better hearing them than reading them. If you pick up an English book to read, one of my favorite narrators is Simon Vance.

I also love listening and reading books by author MC Beaton. She has two series, Hamish McBeth (Scot), and Agatha Raisin (English). Hamish is a small town Police Constable, and Agatha is a retired PR agent now running a detective agency. They're both funny, and quick reads.

For a more serious mystery try PD James and her Adam Dalgliesh series. He's a Chief Detective in London and works on "high profile" crimes.

If the English language interests you as well, listen to "An Adventure in English" as it chronicles the evolution of the English language from Celt through today, and even covers other English speaking countries. Origins of many of the words we use today, and how they changed over the years. Reading it won't do it justice as you wouldn't get the inflections of the vowel changes that were made, you have to hear him speak the differences.
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