BBC's best British novels

[Bilbo1967]

The BBC website today published a list of the top 25 British novels of all time - as voted for by non-UK critics. See here; http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201...british-novels

Some surprises for me; Virginia Woolf so highly rated and no DH Lawrence.

[pdurrant]

I think it's OK to copy the list here, without any of the commentary.

In reverse order...

25. White Teeth (Zadie Smith, 2000)
24. The Golden Notebook (Doris Lessing, 1962)
23. Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy, 1895)
22. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (Henry Fielding, 1749)
21. Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad, 1899)
20. Persuasion (Jane Austen, 1817)
19. Emma (Jane Austen, 1815)
18. The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989)
17. Howards End (EM Forster, 1910)
16. The Waves (Virginia Woolf, 1931)
15. Atonement (Ian McEwan, 2001)
14. Clarissa (Samuel Richardson, 1748)
13. The Good Soldier (Ford Madox Ford, 1915)
12. Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell, 1949)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813)
10. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848)
9. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)
8. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens, 1850)
7. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë, 1847)
6. Bleak House (Charles Dickens, 1853)
5. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë, 1847)
4. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens, 1861)
3. Mrs Dalloway (Virginia Woolf, 1925)
2. To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf, 1927)
1. Middlemarch (George Eliot, 1874)

[HarryT]

Interesting!

Some analysis:

Authors with multiple entries
Charles Dickens: 3
Virginia Woolf: 3
Jane Austen: 3

Century of Publication
21st century: 1
20th century: 9
19th century: 13
18th century: 2

(Note: I've defined "century" in its strict sense of, for example, the 20th century running from 1901 to 2000.)

No surprise to see that the great classics of the 19th and early 20th centuries still dominate the list.

[pdurrant]

I've only read five of them:

22. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (Henry Fielding, 1749)
20. Persuasion (Jane Austen, 1817)
19. Emma (Jane Austen, 1815)
12. Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell, 1949)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813)

I must admit that Nineteen Eighty-four wouldn't make my top 25. But then, I don't like dystopias.

[HarryT]

I've read 18 of them:

23. Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy, 1895)
22. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (Henry Fielding, 1749)
21. Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad, 1899)
20. Persuasion (Jane Austen, 1817)
19. Emma (Jane Austen, 1815)
17. Howards End (EM Forster, 1910)
14. Clarissa (Samuel Richardson, 1748)
13. The Good Soldier (Ford Madox Ford, 1915)
12. Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell, 1949)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813)
10. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848)
9. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)
8. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens, 1850)
7. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë, 1847)
6. Bleak House (Charles Dickens, 1853)
5. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë, 1847)
4. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens, 1861)
1. Middlemarch (George Eliot, 1874)

I haven't read any Virginia Woolf - I've always been a little scared by her reputation as a "difficult" author - so they're the only ones I'm missing from the top 10. Perhaps I should give her a go!

[Fbone]

I've read two. I Cliff's Noted a few others.

18. The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989)
12. Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell, 1949)

[pdurrant]

With Bilbo's blessing, I've added a poll. It's anonymous, and the result is hidden until the poll closes. It will be interesting to see just how widely read the MobileRead membership is, and which is the most-read of the '25 Best British Novels'.

[DiapDealer]

Could we possibly review the poll title? Thanks!

I've read five, by the way.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Could we possibly review the poll title?

I don't know what you mean. I'd never make a typo like writing has when I meant have!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I don't know what you mean. I'd never make a typo like writing has when I meant have!

I'd blame it on the "I can haz cheezburger?" meme.

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Could we possibly review the poll title? Thanks!

I likes the original version...

What I find a bit weird is "novels only, by British authors (no James Joyce)." So that meant no Beckett, I guess, no Wilde (?). Were there any Irish authors with British citizenship? I guess Rushdie is a UK citizen?

I think with Britain's imperial history, the "British only" requirement might have been as confusing for many of the international critics asked as it is for me.

[issybird]

Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan seem so out of place! I wonder what 26 and 27 were.

I've read 23.

[issybird]

Off the top of my head, Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh seem like obvious oversights, as wll as the aforementioned D.H. Lawrence.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

What I find a bit weird is "novels only, by British authors (no James Joyce)." So that meant no Beckett, I guess, no Wilde (?). Were there any Irish authors with British citizenship?

Ireland became an independent country in 1922, so authors like Wilde (who died in 1900) were British citizens their entire life. The selection, though, was specifically of novels, and Wilde is of course best known as a playwright, and I don't think that his one novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray", is likely to make anyone's "best novels" list! Joyce died in 1941, so can reasonably be considered an Irish author rather than a British one.

I guess Rushdie is a UK citizen?

Yes, he is.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by issybird

Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan seem so out of place! I wonder what 26 and 27 were.

I've read 23.

Wonder no more! They were;

26. The Lord of the Rings
27. Robinson Crusoe

From the top 100 of the same poll, that can be seen here;

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201...british-novels