9 Best English Authors You Must Read in 2024

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As rightly said, “Literature is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found the words”. When these words are sewn with a needle and thread, a beautiful embroidery of words is created. Hence, the best English Authors are the embroiderers of engrossing thoughts and imagination into words. Their literature portrays their emotions and thoughts in the most mesmerizing style. 

At present, as many as 700 million people speak English across the world. But the ones who made this language famous around the globe are none other than the writers. They play a significant role in spreading the vitality of English literature. They give birth to masterpieces of English literature. These authors write lines that still echo in our ears. They write about society, challenging beliefs, and stories that continue to enthrall new readers.

English literature is filled with brilliant writers from different eras and various locations. The list of best English authors is a long one, but here we have discussed a few of the eminent authors, their biographies, literary work, and achievements.

English Writers – A  Great Contribution to make English a Universal Language

• Historical Context: English has been spoken for centuries, and its literature has evolved in a much-applauded way. Early English writers, such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, laid the foundation for Modern English literature through their works.
• • Cultural Influence: English Literature has had a profound impact on global culture. Writers like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Virginia Woolf have created works that resonate with readers worldwide, shaping perceptions of English culture and society.
  • Language Standardization: English Writers have played a crucial role in standardizing the language. Famous English Writers have helped establish grammatical rules, spelling conventions, and vocabulary usage for the correct usage of the English Language, contributing to the development of a standardized form of English.
  • Literary Innovation: English Authors have used their magical words as a platform for social commentary. Their masterpiece has raised awareness, provoked thought, and inspired social change.
  • Global Dominance: English literature has gained global prominence, with famous English Writers from English-speaking countries contributing to its rich and diverse literary tradition.
  • Educational Significance: English literature is often taught in schools and universities worldwide, making it accessible to students of all backgrounds. Studying English Literature helps promote critical thinking, cultural awareness, and language proficiency.

English Authors – Backbone of the English Language

Attributing the entirety of the English Language’s backbone to a single English Author would be an oversimplification given the vast and complex nature of the language. English Literature and language have been shaped by famous English Authors, poets, playwrights, scholars, English Writers, and speakers over centuries of evolution.

Famous English Writers have not only showcased the richness of the English Language but also their work has helped shape its vocabulary, grammar, and literary conventions. English Authors have undoubtedly played significant roles in shaping the English language, it’s essential to recognize that the backbone of English is a collective achievement woven together by the contributions of countless English Writers, thinkers, and speakers throughout history.

1. Jane Austen(1775 – 1817)

Austen was brought up in a small village in Hampshire. Jane Austen is known as the queen of English literature in the Romantic Age (the age of Wordsworth). She was one of the best English authors of that era. However, Jane Austen is loved mainly as a guide to fashionable life in the Regency period. But, her vision of the task was radically different. Nevertheless, she was an ambitious and stern moralist. She was acutely conscious of human failings and through her novels, she wanted to spread a positive message. This message is about being less selfish, more reasonable, more dignified, and sensitive to the needs of others. The novels were her chosen weapon in the struggle to reform humanity. 

The satisfaction we feel when reading her novels is priceless because she wants the world to be a certain way and we find that immensely appealing. Hence, this is the secret, largely known reason to everyone as to why she is a loved best English author.

Important Literary works

Early, in the 1790s Austen started to craft her novels and wrote 

• Love and Friendship.
• Sense and sensibility in 1811.
• Pride and prejudice in 1813.
• Mansfield Park in 1814.
• Emma in 1815.
• Northanger Abbey and persuasion in 1818 posthumously.

Awards and Recognition

• Austen received some accolades for her works while still alive, with the first three novels garnering critical attention and increasing financial reward.
• Today, Austen is considered one of the greatest writers in the history of English.
• The popularity of her work is also evident in many film and TV adaptations of Emma, Mansfield Park, pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility.

2. Agatha Christe(1890 – 1976)

Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie known as the “queen of crime” was a renowned the best English author who wrote over 66 detective novels. She was born in Torquay, England. Initially, she established her career with short stories. Well, she is best known as the inventor of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the village lady Miss Marple. She is credited for writing the world’s longest play, “The Mouse Trap”. In fact, according to index translation, her books have been translated into 103 different languages. Furthermore, her works rank 3rd after the works of William Shakespeare and the “bible” as the world’s most widely published books. 

Important Literary works

• Her first successful publication was the “Mysterious Affair at Styles” in 1920 which introduced her character Poirot. 
• The Secret Adversary in 1922
• The murder on the links in 1923
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a hit that was later marked as a genre classic and one of the author’s all-time favorites in 1926
• Best known for Murder at the Vicarage, Murder on the Orient Express, partners in Crime, and sad cypress.
• Overall, she has 66 novels, 14 short stories, and 15 plays to her fame.

Awards and Recognition

• Edgar grand master award
• Edgar award for best play
• Antony Award for best series of the Century
• Antony award for best writer of the century
• New York Drama Critics Circle Award for the best foreign play
• Recognition of dame of the British empire in 1971

3. R K Narayan(1906 – 2001)

Rashipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayan swami was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, south India. He was an eminent Indian fictional best English author. He was widely regarded as the best Indian novelist during that era. Nonetheless, he created a fictional south Indian town of south India called, Malgudi. Hence, Narayan was also compared to William Faulkner who created a similar fictional town. Further, the short stories he created around Malgudi were also compared with those of Guy de Maupassant. “The Guide” is considered his masterpiece. In 1980, RK Narayan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament for his contributions to literature.

Important Literary work

• Swami and Friends in 1935
• Bachelor of Arts in 1937
• The English teacher
• The financial expert in 1952
• Waiting for Mahatma in 1955
• Malgudi Days which contains 9 short stories from 1942
• An astrologer day that consists of 30 short stories in 1947

Awards and Recognition

Narayan won many awards during his literary career. A few of them are mentioned below.

• Sahithya academy award 
• Filmfare award
• Padma Bhushan award
• AC Benson medal and a few more

4. Kushwant Singh( 1915 – 2014)

Kushwant Singh was born in a place called Hadali, Punjab. He was an Indian-English author, novelist, journalist, and lawyer. He was the first novelist to capitalize on the partition theme. However, he served the Indian legal system, Indian journals, and literature all with equal passion and hard work. He got into editorial services in 1956 and started editing a newspaper which was called Yojana. Yojana was an Indian government journal. Furthermore, he worked as an editor for the Hindustan Times newspaper. He was the founder and editor of the National Herald, New Delhi. Besides, in 1980 Kushwant Singh became a member of the Rajya Sabha. One of the best works of Kushwant Singh as the best English writer is “Not a nice man to Know”.

Important Literary works by the best English authors

• The train to Pakistan in 1956
• I shall not hear the nightingale in 1959
• History of Sikhs in 1963
• Ghadar 1915: India’s first armed revolution 1966
• Delhi – a novel 1990

Awards and Recognition

• An honest man of the year by Sulabh international in 2000
• The government of Punjab awarded him with the Punjab ratan award.
• Padma Vibhushan by the government of India in 2007
• Sahitya academy fellowship in 2010
• Lifetime achievement award by Tata literature, the Mumbai literature fest in 2013
• In 2016, after his demise,  Kushwant Singh entered Limca’s book of world records as a tribute.

5. Ruskin bond ( born in 1934 )

Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, and spent his life in Jamnagar(Gujarat), Dehradun, and Shimla. Indeed, he is an Indian best English author of British descent. The stories of Charles dickens have sown the seed in his heart for being a writer. He was a freelance writer, he contributed his work to several magazines. Further, he also contributed to articles such as the statesman, mother India, and many more. At age 17, he published his first novel “the room on the roof”. He embraces Indian culture and lifestyle. He is widely known for his work called  “the blue umbrella”.

Important Literary works by the best English authors

• Our trees still grow in Dehra
• A fight of pigeons
• The cherry tree
• Dust on the mountains
• The adventures of rusty 
• There are many more novels to his fame for which he is recognized as one of the best English authors in India.

Awards and Recognition

• John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957
• Sahitya Academy Award in 1992
• Padmashree in 1999
• Padma Bhushan in 2014
• Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017

6. Paulo Coelho(born in 1947)

Paulo Coelho was a Brazilian best English author. He was mostly known for one of the best-selling novels “The Alchemist”. This has sold over 65 million copies and is the world’s most translated book by a living author. He was born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Initially, Paulo Coelho was a shy kid who loved reading and writing and dreamed of becoming a writer one day. Later, at the age of 39 during his visit to Spain, he had a spiritual awakening that inspired him to devote himself completely to writing. He wrote The Alchemist in only two weeks, because as he said, “the book was already written in my soul”. He became one of the most loved English authors in the world.

Important Literary work by the best English author

• The pilgrimage 1995
• The alchemist 1988
• The valkyries 1992
• By River Piedra, I sat down and wept in 1994
• The fifth mountain
• Eleven minutes
• The Fifth Mountain 1996 and many books to his fame.

Awards and Recognition

There are 29 awards and honors which he received during his writing. A few of his honors are listed below.

• Empik Award for the best-selling foreign book. 
• Hans Christian Andersen Award, Denmark, 2007.
• Association of Mexican booksellers Las Pergolas Prize, Mexico 2006
• The religion communicators council Wilbur Award, U.S.,2006
• Direct group international author award, Germany 2005
• Goldene Feder Award, Germany, 2005

7. Arundhati Roy(born in 1961)

Suzanna Arundhati Roy was born in Shillong, Meghalaya. She is one of the Indian best English authors, actress, and political activists. She was best known for the award-winning novel “the God of Small Things” in 1977. This book became the biggest-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian best-English author. However, with this book, she became popular among the international audience. The book was called “a novel of poignancy and considerable sweep” by the Los Angeles Times. It was called a “lush, magical novel” by the Toronto Star.  Nonetheless, Arundhati started her career writing down screenplays for the small screen and later moved on to write scripts for movies. She also gets involved in environmental and human rights causes.

Important Literary work by the best English author

• The cost of living in 1999
• Power politics in 2001
• Broken republic
• The algebra of infinite justice in 2002
• Listening to grasshoppers in 2009
• The ministry of utmost happiness in 2017

Awards and Recognition

• She was awarded Man Booker Prize in 1997
• Sydney piece price in 2004
• Norman Maler’s price for distinguished writing in 2011

8. Dan Brown(born in 1964)

Dan Brown was born in American New Hampshire. The first page of Brown’s creative biography was written in 1995. Dan wrote a comic book called “187 Men to Avoid” a survival guide for romantically frustrated women, but it was not published. However, Brown was fascinated with the history of religious orders and society. Hence, the work of the intelligence Agency and cryptography led to the writing of the second book. Also, this is the first novel created in the genre of thriller. So, ‘The Digital Fortress’ is a work about the secret work of specialized services. And also, the thinnest border separating personal freedom and State security. Furthermore, one of his works da Vinci Code tested controversial among art scholars and theologians. However, this novel proved to be popular among the readers. By 2009, more than 80 million copies of this novel were sold and editions were released in 40 languages. Dan was considered one of the best English authors.

Important Literary works by this best English author

• Digital fortress in 1998
• Angels and Demons in 2000
• Deception point in 2001
• Da Vinci code in 2003
• The lost symbol in 2009
• Inferno in 2013

Awards and Recognition

Dan brown has won numerous awards as a best English author which some are mentioned below

• In 2003, he received the best sense award
• Goodreads choice award in 2013 for inferno
• He got positive reviews from the newspapers the Guardian and New York Times

9. J K Rowling( born in 1965)

J K Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. Her thought about writing fiction stories started when she was five years old. Her first ever-written story is ‘Rabbit’. While on a journey from Manchester to London, she thought about the plot of the wizard boy Harry Potter. The same evening she started penning Philosopher Stone, the first of the Harry Potter series. However, in 1995 she finished the manuscript of the legendary book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Initially, one thousand copies of the first edition of the book were printed of which 500 were distributed to libraries.

Later, after the 3 series,  35 million copies were printed in 35 languages. The overwhelming success of harry potter made it the single most profitable franchise for filmmakers. Further, with such capitalizing on the success of written works, warner bros signed a deal with her to come up with the film adaptation of the same.

Important Literary work by the best English author

• A sequel of the Philosopher’s Stone book, Chamber of Secrets in 1998
• The third book of the series The Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999
• Harry potter and the goblet of fire in 2000
• Harry potter and the order of the phoenix in 2003
• The Harry Potter and the Blood Prince in 2005
• Harry potter and deathly hallows in 2007
• The cuckoos were called under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith in 2013

Awards and Recognition

She has won a total of 35 awards of which a few are mentioned below.

• Rowling was awarded the Nestle Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
• In 1998, She received the honor of Booksellers Association Author of the Year.
• Awarded the Nestle Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 1998
• She was awarded the Nestle Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999
• J K Rowling was appointed as the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001
• She was also named a chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 2009.

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Benefits of the course

• Learn to discover and share your voice.
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• Build catchy frameworks that give shape to the characters.
• Exhibit a wide understanding of literary work in English and the character portrayed by it in creating book/novel writing and fiction writing.
• Apply basic protocols to writing and become an enthusiastic creative writer.
• Learn the art of framing plots that make the reader interested in reading your piece of writing.

Other related courses provided by Henry Harvin

• Creative writing course for kids
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A final thought on the best English Authors

Let’s conclude the blog about the best English authors. These authors are very eminent in their particular genre of work and from their respective countries. There are many best English authors who have contributed their talent through writing for avid readers. If you closely observe the works of various authors and different eras, you can make out the differences in their writing styles. You can also compare the works of the previous era to those of the recent authors. A lot of these books provide insight into the world when the books were published. These novels will take you to an imaginary fantasy world that will be filled with supernatural characters.

Recommended Reads

• Trending creative writing ideas
• Top 10 creative writing jobs for freshers
• Scope of Creative Writing in India

• Best creative writing courses

• Amazing facts about creative writing

FAQs

Q.1 Who is the most eminent English author of all time?

A. There is no particular best author in the world. However, it is more significant for you to read the work of different authors and come out with the one best suited to you.

Q.2 Which author’s books do you recommend for children?

A. There are various children’s books from different authors. They have given attention to every detail. I would recommend two authors’ names, Ruskin Bond children’s stories are good, and J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Q.3 What are the qualities of a good author?

A. A good writer should possess fine research skills. He should know the subject deeply. Also, understand the likes of the target audience, and write pertinent good-quality content. Finally, the orderly flow of events makes the target audience hooked on the content with interest.

Q.4 Which author has written the most number of books?

A. According to the Guinness World Record in 2006, L. Ron Hubbard was the world’s most-published author with 1084 fiction and non-fiction published works which are further translated into 71 languages.

Q.5 Who is the best Indian fictional mythological author?

A. In the sea of Indian fictional mythological authors, Amish Tripathi stands out to be the best writer.

Q.6 How to improve your English writing skills?

Tips to enhance English Writing skills:

• Read Regularly: Reading exposes you to different writing styles, vocabulary, and sentence structures. Read a variety of materials such as English author books, English newspapers, magazines, blogs, and articles.
• Everyday English Writing: Set aside time each day to write. It could be creative writing, essays, or even short paragraphs. Regular practice writing one page daily is the key to improving English Language skills.
• Expand Your Vocabulary: Learn new words and their meanings regularly. Use a dictionary or vocabulary-building apps to help you with this. Make an effort to incorporate these new words into your writing.
• Study Grammar and Punctuation: Understanding grammar rules and punctuation is essential for clear and effective writing. 
• Practice Writing Different Types of Texts: Experiment with writing different types of texts, such as essays, stories, blogs, or mailers. Practicing them will make you more versatile as an English Writer.
• Edit and Revise: English Writing is a process, and revision is a crucial part of that process. Take time to review and edit your writing for clarity, coherence, and correctness. 
• Immerse Yourself in English: Surround yourself with the English Language as much as possible. Watch English-language movies and TV shows, listen to English podcasts or music, and engage in conversations with others as a daily routine.
• Be Patient and Persistent: Improving your writing skills takes time, so be patient. Keep writing and learning, and you will see progress over time.

 

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