Famous British Authors

Books like "Pride and Prejudice", "Great Expectations", "Hamlet" and "Wuthering Heights", are considered classics in the English literature. All these books have an appeal which transcends the boundaries of time and geography. Even today, when we read them, they seem very contemporary and meaningful. Time has not been able to fade their magic. Have you ever given a thought as to why these books have such a universal appeal? It's simple, they have been written by such great authors, who had a deep understanding of the human psyche, emotions, and life in general. It's a coincidence that the authors of all the great classics mentioned here are Britishers. If you are curious to know about some of the famous English authors who have given us such great masterpieces, then here is a list of the most prominent ones and their books.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Shakespeare has been perhaps the most revered poet and playwright in English Literature. He was endearingly referred to as "The bard of Avon". Shakespeare has been a great influence on the literature, art, culture, films and theater since centuries. Some of his works include, "As you like it", "All's well that ends well", "Comedy of errors", "A midsummer night's dreams", "The merchant of Venice", "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Shakespeare's sonnets" and "A Lover's Complaint".

Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
Jane Austen, a romantic fiction writer, is greatly liked, equally by both young and old readers even today. A little known fact about this fascinating woman is that she published many of her books anonymously. Some of her works include "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", "Mansfield Park". Most of the books that Jane Austen wrote revolved around women, family and marriage. Through her books, Jane Austen highlighted the fact that in order to be socially and economically secure, a woman has to find the right man in her life.

Emily Bronte (1818 - 1848)
Emily Bronte, the most famous among the three Bronte sisters, has given the classic "Wuthering heights" to the English literature. Wuthering heights is a unique combination of passion, mystery and lost love, which is set in the eighteenth century, when there was a great shift taking place in the social and economic values. Emily Bronte, very beautifully and intelligently, portrays these changes , along with an in depth analysis of the human psyche.

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)
Charles Dickens, an author of the Victorian Era, wrote both fiction and non fiction novels, short stories, poems and plays. Some of the famous works of Charles Dickens include, "A tale of two cities", "Great expectations", "David Copperfield", "A Christmas Carol" and "The Adventures of Oliver Twist". Through his works, Charles Dickens depicted the class differences, plight of the poor, values and mores of haves and have-nots during that time. Charles Dickens is especially known for his remarkable characters and his mastery over prose.

J.K. Rowling (1965 - )
J.K. Rowling has brought the youth and the children "back to reading" in this day and age of computers and Internet. She has become a rage the world over with the "Harry Potter Series", which have sold more than four hundred million copies, the world over.

Besides the ones mentioned above, other authors who deserve a mention are E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence, John Milton, Jonathan Swift and Lewis Carroll. If you feel that a few more names deserve to be here, you are most welcome to add them below in the form of comments. Happy reading!