Ten Novels That Have Inspired Me

All writers need to be fed by reading other writers, just as artists need to view art, and musicians need to listen to music.

I have been reading novels ever since I learned to read, which is one hell of a lot of novels!  My list of books I’ve enjoyed is very long, but choosing books that have really, deeply influenced my own writing was a much more interesting exercise, and of course, most of these are also in my top enjoyable reads.

I’ve decided to list these in chronological order of when I read them (as far as I could remember), as I thought this was also probably an interesting exercise.

In days to come, I’m sure I’ll think of more books that have influenced me, and perhaps there’s scope for another list – or one that includes non-fiction – but these are the ones that came to mind to start with:

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

A beautiful fantasy world, talking animals, four ordinary children who become heroes and a magnificent, wise golden lion.  What’s not to like?  This book captured my imagination like no other children’s book, and I swallowed up the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia with absolute joy.  I still read them from time to time.  These books instilled in me the values of noble causes, courage and compassion, and possibly my love of animals.  It also led me to write my own children’s fantasy many years later (The Light of Drombar).

Simon, Rosemary Sutcliff

This was first historical novel I ever read, and while I cannot remember now the exact story, I remember that it captured my imagination, and took me into the English Civil War with thrilling, page-turning drama.  It was my headmistress who recommended it to me (she was a wise woman) because I was having trouble with history at school, and she thought it might spark my interest in the past.  She was right, although I never took history at O or A levels, it sat there at the back of my consciousness as an inspiration for recreation of the past that I would begin to work on later in my life as a genealogist and historical writer.

The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien

I probably first read this in my early teens and was enthralled by this epic fantasy of the defeat of evil against all odds.  It again appealed to that adventurous side of me that wants to be the hero in my own story.  I have read this around five times, and each time I am amazed and touched by the beauty of some of the prose (which does not come across so much in the films, even though I love these too!).  It is also a book about friendship and comradeship, something that is important in my own life, and is also often a part of my own writing.

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

When my father went to America with the RSC in 1975, my mother and I were lucky enough to go with him, and we were there for four months, in Washington D.C. and New York.  Someone (was it one of the actors?) suggested I read this to get a picture of some of America’s history, and I am glad they did.  I could not put it down, and the ending of the story left me inconsolable – really!  It was the first time I’d read a sad ending and I cried for days!  I slightly modelled my eponymous heroine, Isobel Brite on Scarlett O’Hara, in her ability to survive and get what she wants, though she is a lot less ruthless!

The Source, James A. Michener

My brother recommended this book to me when I was still a teenager.  Now, my brother does not read that often, but when he does, he reads good stuff!  I was blown away by this novel, and it was the first time I had read a novel that moved around in time.  It is the story of an archaeological dig which, with each artefact it uncovers, tells the history of the Jewish people, and each time we go back in history and follow characters from that time period.  This must have stayed at the back of my mind for years, and it is now the type of novel I love both to read and to write.  Not sure I’ll ever create such an epic and far-reaching novel as this – but you never know!

Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens

I had to choose a Dickens novel, because he is a huge influence in my writing, particularly when I am writing stories set in the Victorian period.  However, I couldn’t choose them all, so it was difficult to decide which one to put here.  I have chosen Nicholas Nickleby because of the chapters involving the theatre, which were useful for my novel, Isobel Brite, and I also used for my dissertation on 19^th century popular entertainment for my Open University degree.  I’m placing it here, though I really can’t say exactly when I read it, and it represents all of Dickens’ novels, all of which I have read at some time or another.

 

Wideacre, Phillipa Gregory

When I was in my twenties I did a lot of temping while I was trying to find work as an actress.  For two weeks I worked as a receptionist for Penguin Books, and one of the perks was free books on the ‘pulp’ pile (this was not in the sense of ‘pulp fiction’, but I think unsold books left over from the print run – Gregory was not as popular then!).  This was when I picked up my copy of Wideacre.  Oh my!  Truly, I could not put this book down.  Eighteenth century sex, incest and murder, and a heroine who will stop at nothing to inherit the house she loves.  I have read really bad reviews of this since, and I won’t go back to it in case I find it’s not as good as I thought it was when I read it!  But I have loved much of Phillipa Gregory’s more recent historical novels, and this was one of hers I have never forgotten.

The Light Years, Elizabeth Jane Howard

This is actually the first in the Cazalet quartet of novels, set mostly during World War II, and I probably read them almost without stopping in my 30s.  I learned a lot from Howard’s writing.  She had the amazing ability to write a page-turner without there being a clear plot line.  She does this by creating complex, interesting and realistic characters, all of whom grab your attention and interest.  You become involved in each character’s own story, and above all, you care about what happens to them.  These books are a masterclass in the character-led novel.

The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

I read this around the time that I was formulating the idea of my first published novel, Out of Time.  I was a little dubious about my plot line and whether it would work or would be too odd or ‘quirky’.  Then I read The Time Traveller’s Wife and I realised that if she could write a bestselling novel about a man who travels in time throughout his own lifetime, then I could write a novel about a man who has lived without ageing for 200 years!  It’s an extraordinary story, and I am not only eternally grateful to Niffenegger for giving me the confidence to go ahead with my own idea, but also my sister-in-law, Sharon, for giving me the book in the first place!

 A Special Relationship, Douglas Kennedy

This is the first Douglas Kennedy novel I read, and I have enjoyed all of them since, but I’ve listed this as being the one that really got me into this writer.  Psychological thrillers may not seem to be my normal genre, but I read very widely, and Kennedy’s novels really grab me.  If Howard is the master of character, then Kennedy is the master of the slow build-up of tension.  He really puts his main characters through the mill, but the endings are usually highly satisfying.  Any writer who wants to create an atmosphere of menace or threat, whilst keeping the reader guessing what will happen for pages and pages, and keep them turning – read Douglas Kennedy.

 

I’d love to hear your comments, and also books that have influenced you, whether it’s in life in general, or as a writer.