The Times newspaper has sparked debate by printing a list of what it considers to be the greatest British writers since 1945. Do you agree with their choices?
Favourite writers are always a contentious topic: we all have our preferred authors, and wonder at the inexplicable popularity of others. So the Times Books section made a brave move at the start of this year by announcing a list of their top 50 British writers since 1945, based on "style, influence, longevity and sales". The list included 5 poets (two of whom were in the top ten), 35 fiction writers, 4 non-fiction, and a further 6 versatile souls writing across different genres. The top ten was as follows:
- Philip Larkin
- George Orwell
- William Golding
- Ted Hughes
- Doris Lessing
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- V.S. Naipaul
- Murial Spark
- Kingsley Amis
- Angela Carter
Brave indeed to place a poet at the top of the list, in view of how sales charts are dominated by fiction; interesting also to omit many of the recent writers who have made such an impact on British literature - Jeanette Winterson, Zadie Smith, Alan Hollinghurst and Sebastian Faulks are all missing fron the top 50. Check out the full list at Times online and see what you think!
