50 Greatest British Writers
January 7th, 2008 by Vanessa
The Times on Saturday included a list of the 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945 – it isn’t clear who it was compiled by although Erica Wagner’s references to ‘we’ implies that it was the bookish element of the paper’s staff. Like any list it is subjective depending on the compilers but at the same time it is impossible to be objective as there’s no scientific method for establishing the quality of a writer.
However, as a children’s bookseller and publisher a few things did leap out at me. Firstly, I am delighted to see Alan Garner, Rosemary Sutcliff and Benjamin Zephaniah in there. The first two are backlist authors whose books I handsell to masses of children. Garner is a huge hit with the Harry Potter generation who aren’t keen readers and don’t know what to try next – I’ve had quite a few come back and tell me how brilliant they were. Benjamin Zephaniah is a great poet and his new young adult books are excellent – I must get a collection of his poetry in stock and I’d love to get him in to do an author event. Iain Banks is there too which I’m pleased to see – The Crow Road and Whit are also popular with teenagers.
But as with any list like this other things stand out for their omission. No Terry Pratchett, no Margaret Drabble, no David Lodge, no Alan Bennett? ‘Endurance’ was supposedly one of the criteria so how could Pratchett be ignored in favour of Rowling?
Anyone else got thoughts about who else should have been included?
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What’s happened to Graham Greene? Nowhere to be seen. What an omission! Expected to see him in the top ten, or somewhere in the top fifty. I love Philippa Pearce (who is included) but surely you couldn’t make much of a case for her being a greater writer than Greene? Equally, I’m a huge admirer of John Le Carre, but I suspect he wouldn’t have written his novels – or they would be very different in scope and characterisation – were it not for Greene preceding him in exploring the rights of the individual in corrupt societies. I’m outraged! Then again, Greene loved nothing better than sniffing out a good conspiracy – and blamed his failure to win the Nobel Prize on exactly that – perhaps something’s afoot here!
Ou est Jacqueline Wilson? what about Tom Stoppard, and how about, as you so rightly say , Terry Pratchett.
Orwell should be number one by a landslide.
I’m glad it isn’t just me who sees the gaping holes in this list. I suppose the thing is that it’s a piece concocted in the pub to fill in the arts section in the dog days of the Christmas hols. Might have been nice though if they’d given that space over to some of the small independent publishers and bookshops that they don’t have time or space for normally…
No crime writers … well, no surprises there, because for some reason the literary establishment always fails to recognise crime writers as literary. But writers like Ruth Rendell, PD James and Val McDermid should appear in this list, IMO.
What about the wonderful Lucy M. Boston, of Green Knowe fame?
To be fair to the Times they did apologise for excluding Greene but like many others he didn’t qualify for their list under its “last-50-years” rule [having been first published more than 50 years ago].
Just to say how delighted I am that Alan Garner & Rosemary Sutcliff are still popular with children! I loved reading them when I was a child i n the 1960s, & still enjoy them nowadays – just re-read “Sword at Sunset,” found in the Samaritans’ charity shop.& I have been told that modern children find Rosemary Sutcliff’s descriptive passages put them off…Her picture of Dark Age & Roman Britain will always stay with me…
Cynthia Harnett? (The Wool Pack) William Mayne? (A Swarm in May) John Verney? (Friday’s Tunnel)Elfrida Vipont (for The Lark on the Wing)Diana Wynne Jones (Charmed Life) Joan Aiken (The ‘Hanoverian’ series)
One could go on – pity the Times did not think of a fifty children’s writers series instead – although good to see Philippa Pearce also makes the list.
But, any list which also leaves out Neil M Gunn and Ian Rankin…. (okay so I am biassed about my (very) distant illustrious ancestor – boast!)