The Snarky Englishwoman

[treadlightly]

I love these intelligent characters - a sarcastic and humourous inner dialogue with funny quips and jests, often cast alongside a capable male character that doesn't quite know how to handle her at first. Gets into hilarious situations. Common in the mystery genre perhaps but not necessarily.

I'm looking for further recommendations of books/series with these character types. Ones I've enjoyed so far are:

Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters
Claire in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Alexia Tarabotti in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
Lady Julia Grey by Deanna Raybourn
Mary Russell by Laurie King (less humourous than the others)

I'm sure there is an American equivalent but I can't come up with any examples. Stephanie Plum is close but she lacks that extra bite of sarcasm (and maybe a bit of intelligence).

[Catlady]

How about Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series? The heroine, Lady Georgie, is an impoverished royal in the 1930s. These are a lot of fun; I have listened to the audiobook versions, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who does a fabulous job.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by Catlady

How about Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series? The heroine, Lady Georgie, is an impoverished royal in the 1930s. These are a lot of fun; I have listened to the audiobook versions, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who does a fabulous job.

Thanks I will add this to my list. On Goodreads, one of the common shelves for the first book is "chick lit" - is this a misnomer?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Thanks I will add this to my list. On Goodreads, one of the common shelves for the first book is "chick lit" - is this a misnomer?

I don't really know what chick lit is, and would be put off by the description. This is just your basic cozy mystery, but quite well done, with a quirky and appealing heroine, nice historical details, interesting characters, and some funny but believable situations. I think they're great fun--especially as audiobooks.

[Lynx-lynx]

I too loved Amelia Peabody and would also like to read more books with similar characters.

Thank you both for the books you've posted, I'll check them out.

Unfortunately I can't think of any others to add.

[Xanthe]

Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series

Nancy Bartholomew's Sierra Lavotini series

Nancy Martin's Blackbird Sisters series

Anne George's Southern Sisters series

Jennifer Crusie's books

Sandra Hill's books

Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series

Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series

C. E. Murphy's The Walker Papers series

The last three don't have hilarious situations per se, but the main characters are strong, snarky females and there is a lot of ironic and dry humor in their dealings with men in their lives.

[Xanthe]

Forgot to add:

Georgette Heyer - "The Grand Sophy"

[mitford13]

Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax
Simon Brett's Mrs. Pargeter
Amanda Cross's feminist professor, Kate Fansler
I'd say the snark is on the gentle/subtle side in these, but definitely intelligent.

[FatDog]

How about the Thursday Next & the women in Jasper Ffords - The Ayre Affair? Jasper Fford is snarky.


How about Granny Weatherwax in Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series? Try "Wryd Sisters" or "Witches Abroad" or the Tiffany Aching series.

Or what about Susan - Deaths Granddaughter. She became a nanny for a household where the previous nanny kept the kids in bed by making them believe in the Monsters under the Bed. Susan taught them that the Monsters believed in the fireplace poker.

[Luffy]

I've read Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy books, and if the other series is funny then I do need to check it out.

My own suggestion is for an underrated series, "A Jaine Austen Mystery series". The books that are good are funny altogether, it's not restricted to only the heroine's character. There are a lot of jokes in the books that are good. So I think it's safe for you to try the first 6 books in this series, they are funnier than Stephanie Plum, by any means.

[treadlightly]

Thank you for the recommendations, my wishlist is growing! Some series also have the "chick lit" label attached, but I will ignore it and judge for myself.

I don't really know what "chick lit" is either. It is defined on wikipedia as "genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly". I hardly think a story based in the 1930s could be classified as addressing "modern womanhood". I don't think Stephanie Plum addresses womanhood, it is just humourous mystery. Judging from the cartoony book covers of the popular books in this genre, the stories may revolve around shopping, fashion or food, in which case they will lose my interest quickly.

[Xanthe]

Don't judge the books by their covers...a lot of times covers have almost nothing to do with the storyline.

[chookie2]

I am so with you there Xanthe...I do wish the publishers would do a better job with cover art relating to the content and not to a testosteroned-up male image as on so many titles.My imagination is much better at filling in such details. LOL

[hildea]

Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy triology, starting with Unspoken. There are a couple of free prequel short stories: In "The Summer Before I Met You" you'll meet the protagonist, Kami. "The Spring Before I Met You" features another important character in the books.

[CRussel]

Oh, by all means, Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. Not UK, but Melbourne, Australia in 1928. Wonderful characters, witty and fun. First book is Cocaine Blues. There are currently 20 books in the series, and I consider them a real treat.