Here we are, then, with the Top Ten as decided in December 2004… I’ll work my way up to this year’s list bit by bit. Sadly three of the books are currently in Oxford, and one has gone astray – if anyone out there borrowed the Richmal Crompton, just let me know! Must emphasise again that the lists are how much I enjoyed/valued the books, not anything else…
10. The Haunted Woman – David Lindsay
Entered the 50 Books… only the other day.
9. Cranford – Elizabeth Gaskell
And three years later, the rest of the BBC-watching world agrees…
8. Someone at a Distance – Dorothy Whipple
See this post for more Whipple/Persephone Books musings.
7. Hostages to Fortune – Elizabeth Cambridge
Another Persephone Book, still one of my favourites, though the copy photographed is actually an original hardback edition.
6. The Awakening – Kate Chopin
Thanks Lynne (dovegreyreader) for introducing me to this one
5. The Gypsy’s Baby – Richmal Crompton
LOVE her novels, and though this one isn’t one of her best, my year of Crompton-gorging was 2003
4. The Waves – Virginia Woolf
Sublime. For more on Woolf… well, most of my posts seem to mention the lady.
3. Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte
My copy is in Oxford, and this remains my favourite of all the Bronte novels. Just wish I could remember how to get the accent in.
2. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
What a great year for novels this was… and what a shame I immediately followed this classic with the abysmal Rebecca’s Tale.
1. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
The final Austen for me to read, and of course it is utterly brilliant.
For 2005, come back tomorrow…
I’ve just started A Proper Family Christmas, and it mentions that one of the author’s influences was Richmal Crompton. I’d never heard of her, and then came here this morning and of course read her name. I’ll look into her work. I’m loving APFC.