I really wanted to put an American author in there - I know Sylvia Plath moved to Britain, where she married English poet Ted Hughes, and tragically took her own life, but The Bell Jar is just so American, and just wonderful.

A lot of 'classic' female literary figures are English - as this thread illustrates - but American writers are in a class of their own (which is why I studied American Literature at university, I suppose).

There are American authors?!??! Joking! Just joking. Have to admit to being a big fan of Brit Lit at an early age -- from Shakespeare and Dickens to Agatha Christie.

Ha ha! Naughty naughty - you never heard of Moby Dick, girl?

Mind you, I think it took away a few years of my life reading it.

And what about Isabel Archer, in A Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James?

Or Countess Olenska, in The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton?

Yanks, right??

Do I have to pick someone from the upper reaches of the literary hierarchy? If not...

Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta always seemed original to me. I haven't read the series in years, but I remember her being a loner, tough, and rather unapologetic about it. She was also REALLY into her career, which she also didn't apologize for.

On the flip side, I always thought Jane Eyre was actually pretty original - for that time period anyway. She wasn't a cutesy little heroine - she was practical and proud.

Henry James and Edith Wharton are Americans?!?! LOL! I actually read Henry James when I was in school in Japan because it helped me get my English (language) vocabulary back.

Well allright - American expatriots, come to think of it, so was Sylvia Plath! I think I may have some psychological attachment thingy going on here, as they all had Anglo-American lives.

Henry James and Edith Wharton


And talking of Jane Eyre - has anyone read Villette, by Charlotte Bronte? The woman in that is incredibly strong willed and independent too, and her eventual suitor is actively described as being very ugly, in fact you can't believe he will be the 'love interest'. Similarly Mr Rochester is a bit of an odd romantic hero, and ends up disfigured.

I always wanted to read Villette - thanks for that reminder. I always thought Mr. Rochester was a weird love interest, but cool too. It was very realistic to me, as we don't always fall in love with the guy most women find "handsome"...