Subject: Favourite author when you were a kid?
Posted by: Cymruambyth
Date: Apr 23 19
Which authors were your favourites when you were growing up? I remember devouring Lucy Fitch Perkins 'Twins' books when I was between four and seven, then Enid Blyton took over, followed by Geoffrey Trease. When I was about ten I discovered Charles Dickens, and a little later Jane Austen. I must confess, I found Miss Austen heavy going when I was in my early teens, but I quickly came to delight in her gentle humour and her brilliant characterizations. By the time I was 14/15, I had also cottoned on to Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey. Nothing like a little murder and mayhem to brighten one's day.
Posted by: Cymruambyth
Date: Apr 23 19
Which authors were your favourites when you were growing up? I remember devouring Lucy Fitch Perkins 'Twins' books when I was between four and seven, then Enid Blyton took over, followed by Geoffrey Trease. When I was about ten I discovered Charles Dickens, and a little later Jane Austen. I must confess, I found Miss Austen heavy going when I was in my early teens, but I quickly came to delight in her gentle humour and her brilliant characterizations. By the time I was 14/15, I had also cottoned on to Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey. Nothing like a little murder and mayhem to brighten one's day.
22 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
Mabel466
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I loved all the Enid Blyton books, I even asked my parents to send me to boarding school as it seemed an exciting place to be! Reply #1. Apr 24 19, 2:03 AM |
Mixamatosis 
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Yes, I loved Enid Blyton books too and thought boarding school must be fun. Other favourite authors also included Geoffrey Trease, Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S.Lewis (Narnia series), Lewis Carroll, Jean Plaidy, Georgette Heyer, Charles Hamilton (Billy Bunter stories), Richmal Crompton (William stories), Hugh Lofting (Dr Dolittle), The Grimm brothers, Hans Anderson and other authors who wrote folk tales from other lands (but I can't remember names of those), I also liked Greek mythology , and the Iliad and Odyssey (Virgil). Those last may have been translations aimed at children, I'm not sure. When I was older (young teen to about 16) I enjoyed J.R.R Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Mary Renault's books on Alexander the Great, Charlotte Bronte, George Orwell, John Steinbeck, Graham Greene, Thomas Hardy and Shakespeare. I didn't really 'get' Jane Austen until I was older. We had to do 'Persuasion' at school when I was 16 and I thought her books were boring at that time. Reply #2. Apr 24 19, 2:02 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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I forgot. I did read Josephine Tey's 'The Daughter of Time' and quite a few of Agatha Christie's books. I enjoyed those. When I was younger I really liked the Rupert Bear Annuals (by Alfred Bestall). I loved the illustrations and the fact that in the stories it seemed almost anything magical could happen to Rupert although he lived in a lovely comfortable home in quite a rural location it seemed. I also liked the fact that nearly all the characters were animals. Reply #3. Apr 24 19, 2:09 PM |
| Skyflyerjen
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K.A Applegate. Also the creator of "The Boxcar Children" series Gertrude Chandler Warner. Reply #4. Apr 25 19, 7:27 AM |
Cymruambyth
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Mixamatosis, apart from Thomas Hardy (I'm not a fan) we shared similar reading choices while growing up. I didn't read the Narnia Chronicles as a kid, but we read them to our sons, who loved them, as did we. Josephine Tey's 'Daughter of Time, turned me into a devoted Ricardian and gave me my initial understanding that history is written by the winners! Reply #5. Apr 25 19, 9:01 AM |
| Mixamatosis
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Cymruambyth. We do seem to have similar tastes. I too was influenced to Richard's side by Josephine Tey's book but as I got older and read more history books, pro, anti and neutral on the question of who was behind the deaths of the Princes in the Tower, I sadly came to the conclusion that it was Richard. His nephews had felt 'kidnapped' by him and their favourite uncle, whom they had grown up with, had been killed by Richard. Richard was a stranger to them. He was already an enemy of the Woodvilles (their mother's family) from the time they monopolised Edward IV's favours, and the Princes did not know him well. I think Richard realised that they would take revenge o him if they could, once they left prison, and his time would be up once the elder reached an age to rule by himself. They would also always be a focus for those in the country who would seek to rescue them and place them on the throne, so creating more civil war, so it was a matter of him or them. This age of history was quite ruthless. Richard's brother, Edward had Henry VI put to death. That's not to say that Richard wasn't a good ruler in many other ways, but he had seen the cost to his family of civil strife, during the Wars of the Roses, having lost his father and youngest brother in those wars. Thomas Hardy I liked for the quality of his writing, his love of the countryside and ways of life in those times and his ability to convey and express that so well. I liked his rural characters and his stories can be as compelling as Dickens. He also gives women characters a prominent role. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea. I think this is a lovely piece of writing. Chapter 5 (which is less than 5 pages long) of 'Far From the Madding Crowd'.http://www.online-literature.com/hardy/Madding/6/ Reply #6. Apr 26 19, 1:04 PM |
rubytops
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Definitely Enjoyed all Enid Blyton. Malcolm Saville, The Lone Pine Adventure series. All poetry books Reply #7. Jun 13 19, 2:15 PM |
| rubytops
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When I was older I also loved all Thomas Hardy books my favourite being Return of the Native. My Family and Other Animals, did it for my English Lit GCE (can't stand the TV adaptation) The Hobbit (but not the LOTR Trilogy) was always a very avid reader. Reply #8. Jun 13 19, 2:21 PM |
THartmann9374
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Franklin Dixon and still now Reply #9. Sep 16 19, 1:07 AM |
kingruins
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For me it was Stephen King, who's still one of my favourites. Reply #10. Sep 21 19, 6:01 AM |
Hannah500
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Grimms Fairy Tales Reply #11. Jan 27 21, 12:39 PM |
rockstar51
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Enid Blyton, especially the Famous Five, and Secret Seven books. My mom would read a chapter or two of the Mystery series to my sister and I at bedtime. When I was a little older, I really enjoyed the Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene. Reply #12. Feb 10 21, 2:43 AM |
Geordieshortie
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Enid Blyton, I had loads of her books. Reply #13. Feb 11 21, 7:25 AM |
Ilona_Ritter
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Judy Blume. Still love her. Beverly Clearly was a close second. Reply #14. Feb 16 21, 11:34 PM |
| Ilona_Ritter
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Oh and as a very young child Dr. Seuss Reply #15. Feb 16 21, 11:34 PM |
VBookWorm
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Here are my favorite authors in no particular order: Leo Tolstoy Alexandre Dumas Fyodor Dostoyevsky Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Bronte Agatha Christie Charles Dickens William Shakespeare George Orwell Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Reply #16. Jan 16 23, 2:14 PM |
albert11
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You've probably heard this before, but that is impressive reading material for your age. I didn't read any of those authors until high school. When I was younger, I was reading Jules Verne and Jack London. Reply #17. Jan 16 23, 5:44 PM |
| VBookWorm
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Yes, I have heard that before. But no matter how many times I hear it, it still makes me happy to hear it again. Reply #18. Jan 17 23, 12:40 AM |
lordprescott
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When I was seven, I discovered J.R.R. Tolkien, and couldn't get enough of him. I was in a "Lord of the Rings" phase for years. I still love those books and have been thinking about rereading them again. Reply #19. Jan 17 23, 7:39 AM |
paulmallon
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Franklin W. Dixon, who wrote about the exploits of "The Hardy Boys" Reply #20. Nov 20 23, 4:40 PM |
22 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
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