Authors Similar to Jane Austen
What to read next after reading all of Jane Austen’s books for the 100th time…
If you enjoy Jane Austen, here’s a couple more authors and books you may enjoy. The time period is not at all the same, but these authors both have the knack for observing their fellow creatures with an Austen-like acuteness.
Angela Thirkell
Angela Thirkell sets her books in an English country village at the beginning of the 20th century. Light-hearted and fun, Thirkell’s books are a little bit like champagne. They might look bubbly on the surface, but underneath there is that sharp tang of wit. My two favorites are The Brandons and Northbridge Rectory. While many of her books are considered part of a series, it’s not necessary to read them in order.
The Brandons
Published in 1939, the Brandons is a delightful story centering around the beautiful and charming widow, Mrs Brandon. She is a likeable character despite her shallow and somewhat lazy attitude towards life. Thirkell enjoys poking fun at the upper classes throughout the book and plenty of quirky characters and entanglements keep the story fun without being too frivolous. I read this book every other year or so and every time it makes me smile. Mrs. Brandon’s ability to arrange things exactly to her liking while avoiding anything resembling a fuss or effort is amusing and the cast of characters surrounding her all have their own charms and foibles.
Northbridge Rectory
My other favorite Angela Thirkell book has to be Northridge Rectory. While The Brandons has a prewar lightness of tone, Northbridge Rectory has a bit more seriousness to it. Thirkell continues in her usual fashion poking fun at her ridiculous characters, but whatever comical situations her characters may find themselves in, there is still a war going on. Soldiers, rationing and other discomforts are a part of daily life. The rectory has been partially taken over officers during the war and the rector’s wife, Mrs. Villars, is kept busy trying to keep up with all the affairs of the village.
Stella Gibbons
Stella Gibbons is probably most known for her 1932 title, Cold Comfort Farm. My introduction to Stella Gibbons was through the 1995 British film of the same title. The film boasts quite a cast including Kate Beckinsale & Ian McKellen. It’s very fun and made me want to read the book. After that I was hooked. Another favorite title is Nightingale Wood.
Cold Comfort Farm
One of the things I love most about Cold Comfort Farm is that Stella Gibbons pulls no punches with her comedy. Her parody of rural English life is hilarious beginning to end. The efficient Flora goes to stay with her relatives living in a ramshackle farmhouse deep in the country. Of course she “tidies” them all up solving all manner of ridiculous problems.
“One of the disadvantages of almost universal education was the fact that all kinds of persons acquired a familiarity with one’s favorite writers. It gave one a curious feeling; it was like seeing a drunken stranger wrapped in one’s dressing gown.” — Stella Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm
Nightingale Wood
Nightingale Wood is an entirely different kind of story to Cold Comfort Farm, but it has all of the sharp observations and and absurdly amusing characters. When Viola is left widowed and penniless, she has no choice but to move in with her dreadfully dull in-laws who are snobbish & penny pinching. I have heard that Stella Gibbons modeled this story to be a “modern Cinderella retelling.” Of course modern for her was the 1930s and it gives a very interesting glimpse into life in the 1930’s for a poor widow with little opportunity and not much hope of rising above her current position.
I hope you enjoy these two authors! One more set of recommendations to come!
*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, I recommend products or services that I’ve used and know well and may receive a commission if you purchase them too (at no additional cost to you).
