which authors do you think are not discussed enough??
when people discuss books, its generally current authors/books or 'classics'- dickens, austin etc. but there are a wealth of authors who fall into the cracks, and since these are the books i read... I never read classics, and rarely modern books. Its a bit sad not ever get to rave...
so- whom do you think is underrated, forgotten, or just in need of a pick me up?
my suggestions, off the top of my head....
e.m delafield, 30s writer of domestic life in britian- very funny, very sad too. Ive made her sound dreadful, bt shes ace.
john wyndham- natural successor to hg wells- i re-read his work yearly. more reliable than wells, too- who's a bit dull, sometimes.
agatha christie- most people will have read one, but i think she's really under valued as 'proper' author because of her sheer output. her plots are renowned, but the rest is forgotten- characterisation is often excellent too, her 1920s books rival wodehouse and waugh (whom i also love) for capturing the Bright Young Things, shes funny too, and she's one of the few authors who can write equally well as male or female first person- unlike eg- nick hornby, anne tyler (who's seemingly WOEFUL- though this based only on reading one book).
evelyn smith- 1920s schoolgirls author. i love angela brazil, of the same era and genre, but smith's writing is- wow- incredible. i can recall sentences, passages with rare ease. beautiful prose, filled with unheard of teen angst for the time- hiding in bracken reading books, or not wanting to enter the rocking green of the cold swimming pool.
an additional plus is that most of her books i have as beautiful clothbound hardbacks, with gorgeous two or three colour designs to the front- like this-
http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/archive/9%283%29/images/profiles2goldenimage4.jpg
