Hey there, fellow bookworms and story lovers! If you are anything like me, you probably love hearing about the literary journeys of your favorite authors. I recently came across a fascinating interview with the brilliant British novelist Philippa Gregory, where she dives deep into the reading habits, historical inspirations, and literary discoveries that shaped her iconic career.
As someone famous for bringing history to life through her incredible historical fiction, it is no surprise that Gregory’s reading roots go way back. Let’s take a cozy little stroll through her bookshelf and see what made her the writer she is today.
Early Days and Lifelong Reading Habits
For Gregory, reading wasn’t just a casual hobby; it was an early calling. She recalls her very first reading memory as a toddler around the age of three. Instead of just gazing at the picture books her mother used to read her at bedtime, she was actually starting to decode the text herself. Once she figured that out, there was no stopping her. She quickly became a library regular, tearing through about four books every single week.
Growing up, one particular book completely captured her imagination: The Little White Horse by Alison Goudge. Looking back, you can totally see the blueprint for her future career in that choice. The story blended historical elements with gothic fantasy in a way that felt real, charming, and just a little bit spooky without being full-on terrifying. It sparked her lifelong passion for historical fiction—a love she later passed down to her own kids, making it a true family favorite.
From Austen to Radical History
As she entered her teenage years, Gregory was a truly voracious reader. She devoured the works of Rudyard Kipling and eventually wandered into the wonderful world of Georgette Heyer’s historical tales. But perhaps her most defining early encounters were with the novels of Jane Austen.
Gregory consumed Austen’s work early on, picking up valuable lessons in precise storytelling and stylistic economy. To this day, she still regards Austen as arguably the finest writer in the entire English language.
However, it wasn’t just fiction that molded her worldview. When she was a young woman, a powerful work of non-fiction completely shifted her perspective: E.P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class. This radical historical account of how working-class consciousness emerged was an absolute revelation to her. It taught her the true weight of writing history and showed her the fiery passion a great historian can channel into their subject. That book became a major blueprint for her own creative work, proving to her that uncovering and writing about hidden histories is a deeply worthy pursuit.
Speaking of her academic background, Gregory completed a PhD thesis that involved reading over one hundred of the most popular novels from the 18th century. We are talking about massive classics like Don Quixote, Clarissa, Gulliver’s Travels, and Moll Flanders. She describes this intense academic deep-dive as the ultimate author’s apprenticeship. By not only reading but thoroughly analyzing all those texts, she mastered the mechanics of pacing, structural design, and character creation—learning the very craft of novel writing from the era when the novel was first being invented.
Later on in life, she also developed a deep appreciation for Charles Dickens, admitting she didn’t quite click with his work until she was older. Now, she views him as a master of the “big book.” One of her particular favorites is Dombey and Son, praising how Dickens blends heartbreaking sentimentality around a fragile, beautiful child with a gripping tale about an utterly ruthless social climber. She loves it for being a wonderfully unpredictable and grand reading experience.
Comfort Reads and Late Discoveries
Every writer needs a go-to comfort read, and for Gregory, that book is Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, the Sea. She turns to it whenever she needs a sense of comfort, noting that great writing has a special way of giving significance to any human experience while transporting us to completely different times and places.
Even though the book’s themes are far removed from her everyday life, she finds it brilliantly captures the universal human struggle: trying to possess the person you love when you know it’s impossible, learning to conquer your own greed and vanity, and recognizing the true companions and friends in your life. Underneath those heavy philosophical themes, it’s also just an immensely entertaining story about a gossipy, vain retired theatre director living by the seaside.
More recently, Gregory stumbled upon a fantastic literary discovery later in life: Molly Keane, an Anglo-Irish novelist who wrote between the wars. At first glance, Keane’s stories might look like delightful, charming tales about an eccentric and wealthy Anglo-Irish elite. But if you look closer, every single one of her novels is sharply aware of the deep injustices holding that society together.
One of Gregory’s absolute favorites by Keane is Good Behaviour. It follows a pair of adorable siblings living on a massive estate whose entire world revolves around hunting, their horses and dogs, and their father (whom they affectionately call “The Sir”). Gregory loves it as a wonderfully charming piece of fiction that paints a vivid, unforgettable picture of a society that has vanished entirely.
Isn’t it amazing to see how a lifetime of reading—from childhood gothic tales and Austen classics to 18th-century experiments and hidden historical accounts—can forge one of our most beloved historical novelists? Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these gems, or which book fundamentally changed your own reading journey!
source: theguardian.com (www.theguardian.com)