4) Charles Dickens
5) Agatha Christie
6) Roald Dahl
4) Charles Dickens: 1812-1870
The greatest novelist of the Victorian era, arguably. He was a social critic and writer of fiction. Most of his most famous books were written in serial form so they were published week by week with lots of cliff hangers and interesting twists. Have you seen the musical Oliver? That's based on Oliver Twist - the famous novel about an orphan who is born into poverty in a work house and finds a better life eventually, after many adventures including being taken into a street gang of pickpockets in London. Great Expectations is another novel featuring social mobility - a poor boy called Pip who saves a convict on a moor, to be rewarded by the convict later when he evades capture and makes his fortune. This book features the eerie Miss Havisham, star of the Carol Ann Duffy poem 'Havisham'. Numerous film and television adaptations have been made of Dicken's fiction, including up to date, modern versions, musicals and imagined sequels. What I like most about Dickens is how he uses names so cleverly - to suggest a character's personality or motives. These were especially good for Victorian readers who recognised hidden, 19th century slang in their names.
Examples include:
Mr. Bumble (Oliver Twist)
You might first think Bumble got his name because he’s a bumbling idiot. Not exactly. Mr. Bumble is more bombastic than bumbling, which is why Dickens was probably thinking more of the word bumptious when creating his name. Bumptious is an obscure term for “conceited” or “swollen with pride”—a perfect description for a man “in the full bloom and pride of beadlehood.”
You might first think Bumble got his name because he’s a bumbling idiot. Not exactly. Mr. Bumble is more bombastic than bumbling, which is why Dickens was probably thinking more of the word bumptious when creating his name. Bumptious is an obscure term for “conceited” or “swollen with pride”—a perfect description for a man “in the full bloom and pride of beadlehood.”
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol)
Two theories surround Scrooge’s name: It could be based on the archaic English word scrouging, meaning “crushing or squeezing” (an apt reminder that Scrooge is a “squeezing… old sinner!”). More straightforward still, Scrooge could simply be a phonetic play on screw, a common 19th-century slang for a miser (apt again). But since both scrouging and screw come from the same linguistic root, both are technically correct.
Try some Dickens for yourself! There are some on my bookshelf in my classroom. I would recommend Oliver Twist as one of the most accessible.Two theories surround Scrooge’s name: It could be based on the archaic English word scrouging, meaning “crushing or squeezing” (an apt reminder that Scrooge is a “squeezing… old sinner!”). More straightforward still, Scrooge could simply be a phonetic play on screw, a common 19th-century slang for a miser (apt again). But since both scrouging and screw come from the same linguistic root, both are technically correct.
5) Agatha Christie.
A clip from Poirot- one of the tv series' made of Agatha Christie's most famous characters
Now, Agatha Christie is such a personal favourite of mine that I actually run a Facebook group about Miss Marple, one of her famous characters: an elderly lady who acts as a detective! Agatha Christie is the most popular crime fiction novelist of all time...she is responsible for creating unforgettable characters such as Poirot (the fussy Belgian detective who is attuned to human character and able to pick up clues with his 'little grey cells'); Miss Marple and Tommy and Tuppence (don't let the old fashioned names put you off!)
These novels and short stories (of which she wrote more than 150) are easy to read, reasonably short and yes, old fashioned by today's standards (you won't find mention of an iPhone 7 or a computer) but they stand the test of time because of their ingenious plot twists and lasting characters who range from comic to jealous to bitter to devious criminals. Poison is her weapon of choice, with most of her novels featuring poison in some form.
http://www.agathachristie.com/
A great website with clips, books and so on. Check it out!
6) Roald Dahl is my favourite children's author.
He was around years before David Walliams but has a very similar style so, if you like Walliams, then you will probably like Roald Dahl. A Norwegian/English writer, he invented characters, creatures and words. Have a look below at some of the interesting new words that Roald Dahl invented :)
Roald Dahl wanted to create books for children that did not feature typical characters so he wrote books like Matilda that include parents who do not like their children, teachers who throw naughty kids over fences and lock them in cupboards...
Along with his children's fiction, Roald Dahl also wrote autobiographies, screen plays, poems and adult books.
Try a couple of these if you're interested:
-The BFG- now a major film - featuring a world of kid gobbling ogres in giant company.
-The Witches - a world where normal women are actually witches intent on wiping children out from the world. There are hints that suggest a woman might be a witch - they have square feet, blue spit and wear wigs. It is up to one small boy and his old grandmother to stop a devilish plot where the witches in England will turn all children into mice.
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - the story of Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who wins a golden ticket to be one of 6 children invited into the secret factory of Willie Wonka, the greatest sweet and chocolate maker in the world.
Swigpill:
Disgusting food
Disgusting food
Swatchscollop:
Disgusting food
Filthsome:
YUCK
Frobscottle:
A nice drink with soft drink bubbles
A nice drink with soft drink bubbles
Whizzpopping:
Methane released from the bottom
Kiddles:
Children
Exundly:
Exactly
Exactly
Porteedo:
A Torpedo
Jiggered:
There is no hope
Majester:
The queen
Bootbogglers:
Military Men. Roald Dahl was one
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