New Summer Reading for Anglophiles

Maybe it's the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon. Or maybe it's that I can't quite get rid of the influence of the Raj in my psyche. No matter—the fact remains that every summer my reader's heart starts to hanker after Brit Lit.

There's nothing quite like a good Susan Howatch novel, tea, scones, and clotted cream (which Whole Foods carries now, leading to the demise of my overly ambitious fitness plans.)

On the hunt for contemporary (still alive and writing) authors, I posted this on my social media yesterday:


Post by Author Mitali Perkins.

I thought I'd compile a list of books and authors as suggested by my friends, in case other anglophiles out there are looking for a new read. Books that are asterisked received more than one mention. (Note: I have neither read nor vetted the titles on this list, so read at your own risk ... but I do have a smart social media set.)

Particular Books

The Fire-Eaters by David AlmondLife After Life by Kate Atkinson*The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie and other Flavia DeLuce mysteries by Alan C. BradleyRevenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan The Children's Book by AS ByattParasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare*The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde The Memory of Love by Armineta Forna*The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith  Old Filth by Jane Gardam Austenland by Shannon HaleThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye by Rachel Joyce Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesy Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hillary MantelIf Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregorSaffy's Angel by Hilary McKay Me Before You by Jojo MoyesRustication and The Quincunx by Charles Palliser Lady Jane series by Deanna RaybornCasual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling *The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer*Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson*Sunday Philosophy Club and Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall SmithLove, Nina by Nina Stibbe Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton WalshMaisie Dobbs series by Jacquelyn Winspear*Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinThe Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Other Recommended Authors

Rhys BowenElizabeth BuchanMargaret DrabblePhilippa GregoryElly GriffithsNick HornbyPenelope LivelySarah MacleanElizabeth NobleMaggie O'FarrellJames RuncieJoanna Trollope

Dead Authors and Books People Couldn't Help Mentioning

Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love by Nancy MitfordRumer GoddenDora Saint (Miss Read)I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Got other suggestions? Leave them in the comments for the rest of us to discover.