List of English novelists

See also: English novel and English literature

English novelists
Dickens Tolkien Hardy Burney Collins Brontës Eliot Rowling Conrad Kipling Butler Ford Golding Wells Forster Galsworthy Gaskell Wodehouse Austen Maugham Orwell Thackeray Shelley Trollope Woolf

This is a list of novelists from England.

A

• Kia Abdullah (born 1982)
• Paul Ableman (1927–2006)
• J. R. Ackerley (1896–1967)
• Peter Ackroyd (born 1949)
• Paul Adam (born 1958)
• Douglas Adams (1952–2001), author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• 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)
• Richard Aldington (1892–1962)
• Walter Allen (1911–1995)
• 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)
• Peter Anghelides
• 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 Linden Arnold (1857–1935)
• William Delafield Arnold (1828–1859)
• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972)
• Francis Leslie Ashton (1904–1994)
• Edwin Atherstone (1788–1872)
• 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)
• 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)
• Nicholas Blincoe (born 1965) author of Manchester Slingback
• 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
• 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 (born 1928), 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
• Frances Burney (1752-1840), author of Evelina
• 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)
• 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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
• 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

• 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
• Marina Lewycka (born 1946)
• C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), author of The Chronicles of Narnia
• Nell Leyshon
• 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)
• 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)
• George Meredith (1828–1909)
• A. A. Milne (1882–1956), The Red House Mystery and Mr. Pim Passes By
• Nancy Mitford (1904–1973)
• 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

N

• V. S. Naipaul (born 1932)

O

• Ann Oakley (born 1944)
• Patrick O'Brian (1914–2000), author of the Aubrey/Maturin naval historical novels
• 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

• 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 (born 1948)
• 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)
• 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)

S

• Vita Sackville West (1892-1962), author, poet and gardener
• Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), mystery writer (creator of Lord Peter Wimsey), playwright
• 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)
• 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)
• 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