Here are 82 books that The English Monster fans have personally recommended if you like
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As a former writer for Londonist and a non-Londoner by birth, I have come to love the capital with all the passion of the converted–not least my adopted home patch of Peckham in the South East of the city. In recent years, the city has seen great improvement in walking routes, and since the lockdown, I have enjoyed having a good old nosey on foot around so many different neighborhoods. It is all totally fascinating. I truly believe that if you’re tired of London, you must be tired of life. Also, the more I travel, the more I realize that there is nowhere on earth as tolerant and neighborly.
This is quite simply a work of understated tragi-comic genius. Russell Hoban is my favorite author of all time.
As an American ex-pat, he held much affection for London, and it shows in this endearing and enduring love story based in the capital. It is the perfect read for the English or English-loving flaneuse.
Two lonely Londoners bond over a plan to free the sea turtles at the city zoo in this touching novel from a cult-favorite author who has drawn comparisons to J.D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut.
A wise and touching classic that “crackles with witty detail, mordant intelligence and self-deprecating irony,” from the author of Riddley Walker (Time)
Life in a city can be atomizing, isolating. And it certainly is for William G. and Neaera H., the strangers at the center of Russell Hoban’s surprisingly heartwarming novel Turtle Diary.
William, a clerk at a used bookstore, lives in a rooming house after…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
As a former writer for Londonist and a non-Londoner by birth, I have come to love the capital with all the passion of the converted–not least my adopted home patch of Peckham in the South East of the city. In recent years, the city has seen great improvement in walking routes, and since the lockdown, I have enjoyed having a good old nosey on foot around so many different neighborhoods. It is all totally fascinating. I truly believe that if you’re tired of London, you must be tired of life. Also, the more I travel, the more I realize that there is nowhere on earth as tolerant and neighborly.
The work is astonishing in its scope, covering all aspects of human frailty...but incidentally bathing London in a strange, yellow-hued, slightly dystopian light. T. S. Eiliot completely changed my view of the capital.
I still get goosebumps when I walk along the banks of the Thames. And having studied it for o’levels I still know a lot of it by heart.
The Waste Land is arguably the most important poem of the twentieth century. First published in the United States by Boni & Liveright in 1922, this landmark reissue of the first edition, now back with its original publisher, includes a new introduction by Paul Muldoon, showcasing the poem's searing power and strange, jarring beauty. With a modernist design that matches the original, this edition allows contemporary readers to experience the poem the way readers would have seen it for the first time.
As Muldoon writes, "It's almost impossible to think of a world in which The Waste Land did not…
As a former writer for Londonist and a non-Londoner by birth, I have come to love the capital with all the passion of the converted–not least my adopted home patch of Peckham in the South East of the city. In recent years, the city has seen great improvement in walking routes, and since the lockdown, I have enjoyed having a good old nosey on foot around so many different neighborhoods. It is all totally fascinating. I truly believe that if you’re tired of London, you must be tired of life. Also, the more I travel, the more I realize that there is nowhere on earth as tolerant and neighborly.
This is a classic satire on middle-class aspirations–it is timelessly funny and kind of gripping in a mundane bourgeois way. But most importantly it offers a fascinating glimpse of ordinary London life in Victorian times.
I must admit it was really brought to life for me when I saw the stage version with Dame Judy Dench and her husband Michael Williams playing the lead roles: don’t hate me.
Mr. Pooter has read about many people who have kept diaries, and concludes that he too should keep a diary, even though he is not famous, just a nobody.
Mr. Pooter's life is a hilarious mix of comic moments filled with common people, everyday events, bathtub accidents, marriage proposals breaking, peculiar friends, and visitors galore.
In this diary, Mr. Pooter, the bank clerk, chronicles his upside-down life. The events mentioned are comically entertaining, and will make you chuckle, even though they are of a nobody.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
As a former writer for Londonist and a non-Londoner by birth, I have come to love the capital with all the passion of the converted–not least my adopted home patch of Peckham in the South East of the city. In recent years, the city has seen great improvement in walking routes, and since the lockdown, I have enjoyed having a good old nosey on foot around so many different neighborhoods. It is all totally fascinating. I truly believe that if you’re tired of London, you must be tired of life. Also, the more I travel, the more I realize that there is nowhere on earth as tolerant and neighborly.
Because Matt’s a mate–but also one of the funniest, cleverest writers I know. He is one of the editors of Londonist, a fascinating raconteur, and a fount of useless information on every topic. Ironically, he is from Yorkshire, but I doubt whether many Londoners could match his knowledge of their city.
Thanks to Matt, I enjoyed around five years of writing for fun for Londonist (back in its amateur, less corporate days) and met so many of their very talented contributors. Many of us remain friends to this day.
A highly entertaining read for anyone with even a passing interest in London's history.
This myth-busting book takes you on a great ride through history and the city's character. Think that the tower that holds Big Ben is called St Stephen's Tower? Think again - it was called the Clock Tower until 2012 when it was renamed the Elizabeth Tower. Think that the Union Flag flying over Buckingham Palace means the Queen is home? Think again - it means that she's elsewhere, doing other Queenish things.
Packed with details on real London history, it explodes a range of myths from…
Like many of us over (ahem…we’ll say) 40, I grew up reading historical romance—those were the first full-length romance novels on store shelves. My mum is British and visits there added to my interest in Regency England. Then 50 Shades exploded and people’s spice level tolerance increased. But mainly in contemporary romance, with all the tools and toys. Curious as to how spice in the Regency would look, I went searching. I found a few of these fabulous authors, but not many choices, so I decided to write one. Now there are more authors published in this subgenre, and I’m proud to be one of them.
Ah, a Victorian woman feeling restricted, what a shock. Thus, Lady Finchingfield decides to become Mademoiselle Noire, and enthralls Lord Henry. In something of a reaction to the excesses of the Regency period, the Victorian period had more rules than women could keep up with, and this way of addressing—or circumventing them—appealed to me as very creative. The disguise and gentlemen’s club add an aura of suspense so it was a super quick read for me. I love fast-paced books.
A decadent world of dark temptation. A woman addicted to danger. A man who never believed he'd meet his match.
Lady Finchingfield dons disguise to infiltrate the chambers of London’s most decadent club. Can she keep her identity secret, or is scandal inevitable? One thing is certain: falling in love can only bring disaster.
Heat level: darkly sensual
Originally published in 2014, as 'The Gentlemen's Club' - within the 'Noire' trilogy
Read all three titles in the 'Dangerous Desire' series: Forbidden Desire Forbidden Temptation Forbidden Seduction
As a child, I lived in 1950’s London. Despite the ravages of WWII, the city retained many of its Victorian buildings and its foggy atmosphere. I found it enchanting. Reading books sent in England around the 19th century connected me to the city long after my family moved to Ireland. If I felt homesick for the Angel or Camden Town, a book would take me back. Thanks to The Hound, I became captivated by Gothic tales and by what my mum called ‘A juicy mystery.’ This apple didn’t fall far from that tree. It’s a good thing I became a writer, or who knows how I would have ended up!
As a writer of Victorian mysteries, I love books that depict how the role of police evolved from peacekeepers to investigators. The case, the Radcliff Highway Murders of 1811, was a catalyst for that change. Truthfully, I often shouted at this book and turned the air into a dark ultramarine cloud around me. But then, I love a book that rouses my emotions.
I love PD James’s mystery novels, and although this is nonfiction, it boasts her analytic style and her skill in crafting an atmosphere. Did she and Mr Critchley identify the real killer? We’ll never know, but I will be wondering for many years to come.
In 1811 John Williams was buried with a stake in his heart. Was he the notorious East End killer or his eighth victim in the bizarre and shocking Ratcliffe Highway Murders? In this vivid and gripping reconstruction P. D. James and police historian T. A. Critchley draw on forensics, public records, newspaper clippings and hitherto unpublished sources, expertly sifting the evidence to shed new light on this infamous Wapping mystery.
This true crime novel begins amid the horror of a dark, wintry London in the year 1811. Using elegant historical detection P.D. James and police historian T.A. Critchley piece together…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved history. As I was growing up, I avidly read historical books, both fiction and nonfiction. When I started writing MM Romance, it was hardly surprising that I followed my passion by writing historical stories. Research always inspires me and shapes my stories so I can indulge my fascination for social history through my characters and their situations, depending on their wealth and status–or lack of it! The wonderful books I’ve listed contain the elements I love to read and write about, and I hope you enjoy them too!
I always enjoy K.L. Noone’s stories, whether in a contemporary or historical fantasy setting, so reading a strictly historical Regency romance from this author was a delight. I enjoyed the Regency London setting and the combination of contrasting characters and their emotional dynamics.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know intrepid explorer Ash, masterful medical doctor Blake, and shy scholar Ashley. There were lovely period touches, such as mutual pining, sickbed scenes, and classical references. I relished the burgeoning romance dynamic between the three main characters in K.L. Noone's luscious prose.
Blake Thornton -- or, as rumor likes to call him, the Earl of Thorns -- has a secret. Or two.
London society knows Blake as an adventurer and traveler. His tales and memoirs have made him a celebrity. But when Blake thinks of home, he thinks of his best friend Ashley Linden, brilliant Oxford scholar of classical poetry -- and the man Blake’s been silently in love with for years.
But Blake’s discovered feelings for someone else as well: Cameron Fraser, the handsome Scottish doctor he’s met on his travels, who knows him like no one ever has. Blake doesn’t…
I’ve loved the Regency era since first reading Jane Austen’s novels, but in writing my series of 19th-century adventure fantasies, I discovered there was so much more to the period than I’d ever dreamed. Though their culture and traditions aren’t like ours, I’m fascinated by how much about the lives of those men and women is familiar—the same desires, the same dreams for the future. I hope the books on this list inspire in you the same excitement they did in me!
Having gotten a taste of the sights of London, delve deeper with this exhibition guide packed with illustrations, paintings, and photographs of the things people owned and used during the Regency period and beyond. My favorite part of this book is the many essays contributed by leading historians who really know their stuff—everything you need to know about Regency art, architecture, science, and culture is right here.
This book provides a portrait of the city of London in a period when Britain enjoyed cultural, artistic, technological and material pre-eminence. It was a time when the foundations were laid for much later wealth and power. The importance of Britain in the early 19th century has been taken up by the Kulturstiftung Ruhur in Essen, who, in co-operation with the Museum of London have mounted an historical exhibition at the Villa Hugel near Essen (June-December 1992), for which this book serves as the catalogue. The exhibition itself is very broad in scope, ranging from artistic masterpieces by Turner and…
I’ve loved the Regency era since first reading Jane Austen’s novels, but in writing my series of 19th-century adventure fantasies, I discovered there was so much more to the period than I’d ever dreamed. Though their culture and traditions aren’t like ours, I’m fascinated by how much about the lives of those men and women is familiar—the same desires, the same dreams for the future. I hope the books on this list inspire in you the same excitement they did in me!
After getting a general idea of what Regency England was like, I recommend this slim little book produced in connection with the British Museum. It’s mostly reproductions of famous pictures and drawings, but for me it made the streets of London come alive. It’s great to read about the famous theaters at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, but so much better to see what they looked like at the height of their fame. And it saves you the cost of a trip to the British Museum!
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I’ve been reading historical romance since I was a teen and writing it since I published my first historical romance in 1987. Since then I’ve written over forty romance novels, short stories, and novellas, many of which are historical romances. I adore history and research is never a chore for me. Graduate school and a project on Eleanore Sleath, an English author of Horrid Novels from the early 19th century, honed the research skills that I bring to my historical novels. There are times when readers need the certainty of the happy ending that Romance promises, and I love delivering on that promise in all my books. I hope everyone finds a new author to love from this list!
A Summer to Remember is one of my all-time favorite historical romances. The story, set in England’s Regency period (1811-1820) is an excellent introduction to Balogh’s emotional, heart-tugging stories of people who fall in love against all odds. “Pretend Engagement” is one of my favorite Romance tropes, and this story delivers. Kit Butler has no intention of marrying but needs a fiancée to distract his parents. Lauren no longer believes she’ll find love but wants one summer to remember. Enter Kit and the pretend engagement. Over the course of the summer, mutual passion hovers at the edges of their developing friendship. At times Kit is almost unbearably sweet to Lauren. Balogh has a deep, deep backlist. You can’t go wrong with her work.
Kit Butler, cool and dangerous, is one of London's most infamous bachelors and marriage is the last thing on his mind. Desperate to thwart his father's matchmaking, Kit needs a bride . . . fast. Enter Miss Lauren Edgeworth . . .
A year after being abandoned at the altar, Lauren has determined that marriage is not for her. When these two fiercely independent souls meet, sparks fly - and a deal is hatched. Lauren will masquerade as Kit's intended if he agrees to provide a passionate, adventurous, unforgettable summer. When summer ends, she will break off the engagement, rendering…
