List of English novelists

This is a list of novelists from England.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Contents 

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• See also
• References

A

• Kia Abdullah (born 1982)
• Paul Ableman (1927–2006)
• J. R. Ackerley (1896–1967)
• Peter Ackroyd (born 1949)
• Paul Adam (born 1958)
• Ruth Adam (1907–1977)
• Douglas Adams (1952–2001), author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Poppy Adams
• Richard Adams (born 1920), author of Watership Down
• Arthur St. John Adcock (1864–1930)
• Grace Aguilar (1816–1847)
• Robert Aickman (1914–1981)
• Joan Aiken (1924–2004)
• Lucy Aikin (1781–1864)
• William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–1882)
• Catherine Aird (born 1930)
• Richard Aldington (1892–1962)
• Miriam Alexander (1879–?)
• Monica Ali (born 1967)
• Walter Allen (1911–1995)
• E. M. Almedingen (1898–1971)
• Kingsley Amis (1922–1995), author of Lucky Jim and The Old Devils.
• Martin Amis (born 1949), son of Kingsley, author of Dead Babies, Money, and The Information
• Valerie Anand (1937–2007)
• Julie Andrews (born 1935)
• Peter Anghelides
• Evelyn Anthony (born 1928)
• Lisa Appignanesi (born 1946)
• Jeffrey Archer (born 1940)
• Philip Ardagh (born 1961)
• Reginald Arkell (1882–1959) known for a play based on 1066 and All That
• Simon Armitage (born 1963)
• Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941)
• Edwin Lester Arnold (1857–1935)
• William Delafield Arnold (1828–1859)
• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972)
• Lindsay Ashford
• Francis Leslie Ashton (1904–1994)
• Judy Astley
• Edwin Atherstone (1788–1872)
• Blanche Atkinson (1847–1911)
• Kate Atkinson (born 1951)
• Penelope Aubin (c. 1679–c. 1731)
• Jane Austen (1775–1817)
• Tash Aw (born 1973)

B

• Robert Bage (1728–1801)
• Beryl Bainbridge (1932–2010)
• J. G. Ballard (1930–2009), author of Crash, Empire of the Sun and Concrete Island
• Julian Barnes (born 1946), author of England, England
• Nicola Barker (born 1966)
• Nina Bawden (1925-2012)
• Ada Ellen Bayly (1857–1903)
• Max Beerbohm (1872–1956)
• Arnold Bennett (1867–1931)
• Anthony Berkeley (1893–1971), mystery writer (The Poisoned Chocolates Case)
• Walter Besant (1836–1901)
• Robert Black (1829–1915)
• Julia Blackburn (born 1948)
• Nicholas Blincoe (born 1965) author of Manchester Slingback
• Eliot Bliss (1903–1990) Bildungsromane
• Elizabeth Blower (c. 1757/63–post-1816)
• Enid Blyton (1897–1968), author of children's books
• Alain de Botton (born 1969)
• Marjorie Boulton (born 1924) writes in both English and Esperanto
• Malcolm Bradbury, author of The History Man
• Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915)
• Edward Bradley (1827–1889)
• John Braine, author of Room at the Top and The Jealous God
• Matthew Branton (born 1968)
• Wallace Breem (1926–1990), author of Eagle in the Snow
• Simon Brett (born 1945), (whodunnits)
• Vincent Brome (1910–2004)
• Anne Brontë (1820–1849)
• Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855), wrote Jane Eyre.
• Emily Brontë (1818–1848), wrote Wuthering Heights.
• Anita Brookner (1928–2016), wrote Hotel du Lac (won the Booker Prize)
• Anthony Buckeridge (1912–2004), known for his Jennings and Derbyshire novels.
• Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873), the annual bad writing contest is named after him.
• John Bunyan (1628–1688)
• Anthony Burgess (1917–1993), composer, essayist, author of A Clockwork Orange and Earthly Powers
• Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), author of The Secret Garden
• Caroline Burney (fl. early 19th century, pseudonym)
• Frances Burney (1752–1840), author of Evelina
• Sarah Burney (1772–1844)
• Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890)
• Charlotte Bury (1775–1861)
• Samuel Butler (1835–1902), author of Erewhon
• A. S. Byatt (born 1936), author of Possession

C

• Hall Caine (1853–1931), romantic novelist.
• Lewis Carroll (1832–1898), author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• Angela Carter (1940–1992), post-feminist, wrote magical realism
• Dame Barbara Cartland (1901–2000)
• Elizabeth Chadwick, is an author of historical fiction.
• Mavis Cheek (born c. 1948)
• G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), novelist and poet, mystery writer and Christian apologist
• William Rufus Chetwood (died 1766), novelist, playwright and publisher
• Mary Cholmondeley (1859–1925) author of Red Pottage (1899)
• Agatha Christie (1890–1976)
• Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008)
• Susanna Clarke (born 1959)
• Brian Cleeve (1921–2003)
• Henry Cockton (1807–1852)
• Jonathan Coe (born 1961)
• Mortimer Collins (1827–1876)
• Wilkie Collins (1824–1889), author of The Moonstone and The Woman in White
• Dorothy Cowlin (1911–2010)
• Ivy Compton-Burnett, author of novels about dysfunctional families
• Joseph Conrad (1857–1924), Polish-born, but lived in England and wrote in English
• William Cooper, (20th century)
• Marie Corelli (1855–1924)
• Bernard Cornwell (born 1944), author of the Sharpe novels
• Amanda Craig (born 1959), author of A Vicious Circle and In a Dark Wood
• Andrew Crofts (born 1953), author of The Little Hero
• Bithia Mary Croker (c. 1848–1920)
• Camilla Dufour Crosland (1812–1895)
• Andrew Crumey (born 1961)
• J. A. Cuddon (1928–1996)

D

• Charlotte Dacre (1782–1841)
• Penny Dale (born 1954)
• Clemence Dane (1888–1965)
• Denise Danks
• Lionel Davidson (born 1922)
• Caitlin Davies (born 1964)
• Hugh Sykes Davies (1909–1984)
• Lindsey Davis (born 1949)
• Coningsby Dawson (1883–1959)
• Jennifer Dawson (1929–2000)
• William James Dawson (1854–?)
• Martin Day (born 1968)
• Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859)
• Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)
• Daniel Defoe (1659 or 1661–1731), journalist, author of Robinson Crusoe (1719), Moll Flanders
• Len Deighton (born 1929)
• R. F. Delderfield (1912–1972)
• Thomas Deloney (1543–1600)
• Nigel Dennis (1912–1989)
• Colin Dexter (born 1930), author of the Inspector Morse novels
• Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal (born 1974)
• Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
• Monica Dickens (1915–1992)
• Peter Dickinson (born 1927)
• Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
• Henry Hall Dixon (1822–1870)
• William Dodd (1729–1777)
• Berlie Doherty (born 1943)
• P. C. Doherty (born 1946)
• David Donachie (born 1944) nautical historical novelist
• Angus Donald (born 1965), historical fiction novelist
• Louise Doughty (born 1963), novelist, playwright and journalist
• Margaret Drabble (born 1939)
• Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), author of Rebecca and Jamaica Inn
• George du Maurier (1834–1896), author of Trilby
• Ernest Dudley (1908–2006)
• Maureen Duffy (born 1933)
• Alfred Duggan (1903–1964) historian, archaeologist and best-selling historical novelist
• Sarah Dunant (born 1950)

E

• Anthony Earnshaw (1924–2001)
• Eric Rücker Eddison (1882–1945) civil servant and novelist
• Robert Edric (born 1956)
• J. T. Edson (born 1928)
• Stephen Elboz
• George Eliot (1819–1880)
• Royston Ellis (born 1941)
• Roger Jon Ellory (born 1965) thriller writer
• Ben Elton (born 1959)
• Sally Emerson (born 1954)
• Barry England
• D. J. Enright (1920–2002) academic, poet, novelist and critic
• Sam Enthoven (born 1975) children's novelist
• Nicholas Evans (born 1950)

F

• Susan Edmonstone Ferrier (1782–1854)
• Henry Fielding (1707–1754)
• Ronald Firbank (1886–1926)
• Ian Fleming (1908–1964), author of the James Bond novels
• Peter Fleming (1907–1971), author of travel books, brother of Ian
• Ford Madox Ford (1873–1939), author of The Good Soldier (1914)
• C. S. Forester (1899–1966), author of the Horatio Hornblower series
• E. M. Forster (1879–1970)
• Frederick Forsyth (born 1938), author of The Day of the Jackal
• John Fowles (1926–2005), author of The French Lieutenant's Woman
• Stephen Fry (born 1957)

G

• Neil Gaiman (born 1960), author of The Sandman comics, Coraline, Stardust, The Graveyard Book and the BBC series Neverwhere
• John Galsworthy (1867–1933)
• Alex Garland (born 1970), author of The Beach
• Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865)
• Stella Gibbons (1902–1989[1]), author of Cold Comfort Farm
• George Gissing (1857–1903)
• William Golding (1911–1993)
• Robert Graves (1895–1985), I, Claudius and other historical novels
• Philippa Gregory (born 1954), is an historical novelist
• Henry Green (1905–1973)
• Graham Greene (1904–1991)

H

• H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), author of adventure novels set in exotic locations, such as King Solomon's Mines, She
• Arthur Hailey (1920–2004)
• Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
• Joanne Harris (born 1964), author of Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange
• Robert Harris (born 1957)
• Josephine Hart, author of Damage
• Carole Hayman
• James Herbert (born 1943), horror writer
• Georgette Heyer (1902–1974)
• Jack Higgins (born 1929)
• Reginald Hill (born 1936)
• James Hilton (1900–1954)
• Victoria Holmes
• Stewart Home (born 1962)
• Anthony Hope (1863–1933)
• Thomas Hope (1769–1831)
• Nick Hornby (born 1957), author of About a Boy (1998)
• Ernest William Hornung (1866–1921)
• Anthony Horowitz (born 1956)
• William Horwood (born 1944), author of the Duncton Wood series
• Elizabeth Jane Howard (born 1923)
• Fergus Hume (1859–1932)
• Arthur Stuart-Menteth Hutchinson (1880–1971)
• Angela Huth (born 1938)
• Aldous Huxley (1884–1963)

I-J

• Conn Iggulden (born 1971)
• Hammond Innes (1914–1998)
• Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986)
• Kazuo Ishiguro (born 1954)
• Ralph Izzard (1910–1992)
• Brian Jacques (1939–2011), author of the Redwall and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series
• G.P.R. James (1799–1860)
• Henry James (1843–1916)
• P. D. James (born 1920), author of crime fiction but also the dystopian novel The Children of Men (1992)
• Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927), author of Three Men in a Boat

K

• M. M. Kaye (1908–2004), was a writer. Her most famous book is The Far Pavilions (1978)
• Stephen Kelman (born 1976), author of Pigeon English
• Lena Kennedy (1914–1986)
• Alexander Kent (born 1924), wrote historical fiction on the Royal Navy
• David Kessler (born 1957)
• Charles Kingsley (1819–1875)
• Henry Kingsley (1830–1876)
• Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), author of The Jungle Book
• C. H. B. Kitchin (1895–1967)
• Dorothy Koomson (born 1971)

L

• D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), author of Lady Chatterley's Lover
• George Alfred Lawrence (1827–1876), author of Guy Livingston
• John le Carré (born 1931), author of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
• Marina Lewycka (born 1946)
• C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), author of The Chronicles of Narnia
• Nell Leyshon, dramatist and novelist
• Richard Llewellyn (1906–1983)
• David Lodge (born 1935), author of Thinks ...
• John Lodwick (1916–1959)

M

• Serena Mackesy (born 1960s), The Temp
• Herman Cyril McNeile (1888–1937), writer of Bulldog Drummond
• Ian McEwan (born 1948)
• Allan Mallinson (born 1949), is an historical novelist
• Hilary Mantel (born 1952)
• Derek Marlowe (1938–1996), author of A Dandy in Aspic
• Frederick Marryat (1792–1848), Mr Midshipman Easy and other sea stories
• A. E. W. Mason (1865–1948), author of The Four Feathers
• William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)
• Paul Mendelson (born 1965), The First Rule of Survival
• George Meredith (1828–1909)
• A. A. Milne (1882–1956), The Red House Mystery and Mr. Pim Passes By
• Nancy Mitford (1904–1973)
• Aly Monroe (fl. 2008–2013)
• Agustus Montrose (1830–1899)
• Iris Murdoch (1919–1999), author of A Severed Head
• Margaret Murphy (born 1959)
• John Murray (born 1950), author of Murphy's Favourite Channels
• Valerie Grosvenor Myer (1935–2007)

N

• V. S. Naipaul (born 1932)

O

• Ann Oakley (born 1944)
• Patrick O'Brian (1914–2000), author of the Aubrey/Maturin naval historical novels
• Tyne O'Connell (born 1960)
• Alfred Ollivant (1874–1927)
• Daniel O'Mahony (born 1973)
• Tony O'Neill (born 1978)
• Oliver Onions (1873–1961)
• Amelia Opie (1769–1853)
• E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866–1946)
• Emma Orczy (1865–1947)
• George Orwell (1903–1950)
• Ouida (1839–1908)
• Keith Ovenden (born 1943)

P

• Edith Pargeter (1913–1995), who as Ellis Peters authored the medieval-detective series The Cadfael Chronicles
• Stel Pavlou (born 1970)
• Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866)
• Mervyn Peake (1911–1968), author of the Gormenghast books
• Margaret Pedler (died 1948)
• Harold Pinter (1930–2008)
• Dudley Pope (1925–1997) writer of nautical historical novels (Lord Ramage series)
• Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Anthony Powell (1905–2000), author of A Dance to the Music of Time
• John Cowper Powys (1872–1963), author of A Glastonbury Romance
• Terry Pratchett (1948–2015)
• J. B. Priestley (1894–1984), writer and broadcaster
• Barbara Pym (1913–1980)

Q

• Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944)
• Ann Quin (1936–1973)

R

• Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823)
• Julian Rathbone (1935–2008)
• Douglas Reeman (born 1924), historical naval novelist
• Mary Renault (1905–1983), was an writer best known for her historical novels set in ancient Greece
• Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine) (born 1930), author of King Solomon's Carpet
• Dorothy Richardson (1873–1957)
• Samuel Richardson (1689–1761), printer, contender for the title of "first English novelist"
• Denise Robins (1897–1985)
• Sax Rohmer (1883–1959), creator of Dr. Fu Manchu, "the yellow peril incarnate in one man".
• Frederick Rolfe (1860–1913), author of Hadrian the Seventh
• J. K. Rowling (born 1965), creator of the Harry Potter series.
• Salman Rushdie (born 1947)
• Ray Robinson (British novelist) (born 1971)

S

• Vita Sackville West (1892-1962), author, poet and gardener
• Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), mystery writer (creator of Lord Peter Wimsey), playwright
• Simon Scarrow (born 1962), best known for his Eagle series of historical novels
• Will Scott (1893−1964) (author of Disher, Detective)
• Will Self (born 1961)
• Diane Setterfield (born 1964), author of The Thirteenth Tale
• Tom Sharpe (born 1928), author of Wilt
• Mary Shelley (1797–1851)
• Nevil Shute (1899–1960)
• Una Lucy Silberrad (1872–1955)
• C. P. Snow (1905–1980)
• Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
• Alexander Stuart (born 1955), author of The War Zone, for which the 1989 Whitbread Prize was controversially withdrawn.
• Graham Swift (born 1949), won the Booker Prize in 1996 for Last Orders
• Julian Stockwin (born 1944), author of the Kydd Series, historical naval fiction
• Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) satirist: Gulliver's travels, A modest proposal, etc.; also Journal to Stella, poems and pamphlets

T

• James Thackara (born 1944), author of The Book of Kings
• William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863)
• Colin Thubron (born 1939), author of A Cruel Madness
• J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
• Sue Townsend (born 1946), writer of Adrian Mole books
• Miles Tredinnick (born 1955), author of Fripp
• Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), prolific documentor of life in Victorian England
• Philip Turner (born 1925), children's novelist

U

• Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941)
• Barry Unsworth (born 1930)
• Cathi Unsworth
• Edward Upward (born 1903)

V

• John Van der Kiste (born 1954)
• Frances Vernon (1963–1991)
• R. V. Vernède (1905–2003)
• Salley Vickers (born 1948)
• Sherard Vines (1890–1974)

W

• John Wain (1925–1994)
• H. Russell Wakefield (1888–1964)
• George Walker (1772–1847)
• Edgar Wallace (1875–1932)
• Nick Wallace (born 1972)
• Leo Walmsley (1892–1966)
• Jill Paton Walsh (born 1937)
• Guy Walters (born 1971)
• Vanessa Walters (born 1978)
• Mary Augusta Ward (1851–1920)
• Rex Warner (1905–1986)
• Keith Waterhouse (born 1929)
• Auberon Waugh (1939–2001)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
• Mary Webb (1881–1927), wrote tales of rural life
• Samantha Weinberg
• Ronald Welch (1909–1982), wrote children's historical novels
• Fay Weldon (born 1931)
• H. G. Wells (1866–1946)
• Louise Wener (born 1967)
• Mary Wesley (1912–2002), author of The Camomile Lawn
• Jane West (1758–1852)
• Rebecca West (1892–1983)
• Robert Westall (1929–1993)
• William Bury Westall (1834–1903)
• Patience Wheatcroft (born 1951)
• Dorothy Whipple (1893–1966)
• Tony White (born 1964)
• Hale White (1831–1913)
• Michael White (born 1959)
• T. H. White (1906–1964), author of The Sword in the Stone and The Once and Future King
• Richard Whiteing (1840–1928)
• Peter Wildeblood (1923–1999)
• Vaughan Wilkins (1890–1959)
• Charles Williams (1886–1945)
• Charlie Williams (born 1971)
• Nigel Williams (born 1948)
• Robina Williams
• Henry Williamson (1895–1977)
• Ted Willis (1914–1992), (Baron Willis)
• A. N. Wilson (born 1950)
• Angus Wilson (1913–1991)
• R. D. Wingfield (1928–2007)
• Jeanette Winterson (born 1959)
• P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), creator of Jeeves and Wooster
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
• Christopher Wood (born 1935)
• Ellen Wood (1814–1887)
• Ramsay Wood (born 1943), Kalila and Dimna
• Martin Woodhouse (born 1932)
• Richard Woodman (born 1944)
• Margaret Louisa Woods (1856–1945)
• Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)

Y-Z

• Jane Yardley
• Dornford Yates (1885–1960), wrote escapist adventure stories and humorous ones (Berry & Co, etc.)
• Edmund Yates (1831–1894)
• Ann Yearsley (c. 1753–1806)
• Victor Maslin Yeates (1897–1934)
• Tamar Yellin
• Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901)
• E. H. Young (1880–1945)
• Robyn Young (born 1975), is an author of historical fiction
• Helen Zahavi, author of Dirty Weekend (1991), a modern-day picaresque novel
• Israel Zangwill (1864–1926)
• Louis Zangwill (1869–1938)

See also

• List of English writers
• List of novelists

References