The English Novel

I just finished up a couple of books each by two authors who are first and foremost fine purveyors of the English language. Add to that the ability to construct a plot, with social commentary on the times, you get novels that stand the test of time.

I first read James Hilton. He is the author of Lost Horizon, Random Harvest and Goodbye Mr. Chips among other well known novels.

He takes you to Edwardian England, the time in England between the two world wars. What I like about his writing is that there is yearning and longing for a better past in comparison to the change being wrought on society. Industrialization transformed England from a society of landed-gentry with a stultifying class-system to a rapidly evolving capitalist economy and global power. Add to that the tempestuous events of of both WWI and WWII. You can see then that the time was ripe for a novelist with a good eye and a good pen to observe the change and project an ideal life in contrast. I highly recommend James Hilton if you want to lose yourself in beautifully written, economical prose.

I also caught up on Wilkie Collins. He is well known for his ground breaking novels of his time in the 1850s. I just finished up the twin offerings of Moonstone and Woman in White. It seems like I am going backward in time, after reading some of James Hilton's Edwardian England to Collins' Victorian era!

Both of these Wilkie Collin's works have stood the test of time. If I think of social commentary combined with good writing combined with the original template for both the detective novel and the 'sensational' novel, that is quite an accomplishment. Further add his association with Charles Dickens, and it is a wonder that we don't discuss him more!

I wish I had read him in college. But better late than never I suppose!

Among the modern writers from England I like Kazuo Ishiguo the best. He is the author of Remains of the Day (post-WWII setting) and Never Let me Go (about cloning). He also infuses his plots with a degree of yearning and longing that genuinely tugs at the heart. The very last paragraph of Never Let Me Go is more beautifully written that anything I have ever read!

To fill in the gaps and make an Indian connection, I would like to mention 3 other authors. Jane Austen covers the end of the 18th century well, well before the Industrialization era started and the landed-gentry were in full command. There is a book called 'Why I read Jane Austen' which is a tribute paid to her novels by the world's greatest writers. A must read!

No collection would be complete without mentioning Somerset Maugham, whose short stories, particularly about the south sea are in my opinion a much better production than his novels.

And finally an Indian connection with a brilliant view of the clash of civilizations by E.M. Forster with A Passage to India.

There are is indeed a profusion of authors from Charles Dickens and Emily Bronte to Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh and A.J. Cronin from England.

But for me the authors I have posted above cover 18, 19th and 20th century England in a timeless manner that draws us into a world that is at once cloistered and world-changing!