When you first meet someone and they want to ‘break the ice’, do you look around to see where the ice cubes are?

Have you ever been on a ‘wild goose chase’, looking for something in a place it never was?
Have you been confused in political discussions when people describe situations as ‘Orwellian’ or say ‘this is just like Animal Farm!’
When you get very interested in something and spend a lot of time and energy researching it, do you wonder why people say you have ‘gone down a rabbit hole’?

All of these expressions in the English language, and many more, come from different works of literature which have influenced English-speaking culture throughout history. So a great way to improve your understanding of this culture is to read some of these influential writers.

One interesting thing about English literature, especially literature from Britain, is the huge importance of children’s stories. Many of Britain’s most famous authors wrote stories for children. You have almost certainly heard of JK Rowling, author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, but she was drawing her inspiration from a long line of very talented authors, such as
- Lewis Carrol (who wrote ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’)
- Oscar Wilde (whose children’s stores include ‘The Happy Prince’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’)

- CS Lewis (author of the ‘Narnia’ series, the most famous of which is probably ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’)

- JRR Tolkien (author of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’)

- George Orwell (author of ‘Animal Farm’)

- Roald Dahl (who wrote many children’s stories including ‘Matilda’ and ‘James and the Giant Peach’)

Indeed, the tradition of writing stories for children which can also be enjoyed by adults is shared throughout northern Europe, with examples such as the Danish Hans Christian Anderson, whose most famous work is probably ‘The Little Mermaid’, the Brothers Grimm, who compiled traditional fairy stories from around Germany such as ‘Red Riding Hood’, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, from France, author of ‘The Little Prince’.

Across the Atlantic, a very influential American author who wrote books for children as well is Ursula K LeGuin, whose works include the Earthsea series, the first of which, ‘A Wizard of Earthsea’, is clearly a direct influence on Rowling’s work.

Why are such stories so important in English-speaking culture? If you are interested in following white rabbits with Lewis Carroll, giving away gold with Oscar Wilde, fighting evil witches with CS Lewis, stealing jewels from dragons with Tolkien, taking over from greedy pig bosses with George Orwell, flying through the sky in giant fruit with Roald Dahl, or sailing across the sea to confront shadows with Ursula K LeGuin, please feel free to book a class with me.

Which works of English literature have influenced your life? Please let me know in the comments below!