Literature, film and comedy
The UK has a long history of great writing. Famous writers include Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility), Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, Great Expectations), Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), Thomas Hardy (Far from the Madding Crowd), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the Sherlock Holmes stories), Evelyn Waugh (Brideshead Revisited), Graham Greene and J K Rowling (the Harry Potter books).
British poets include William Shakespeare, Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, John Keats, Elizabeth Browning and Tennyson. Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon wrote about the First World War. Many poets are buried or remembered in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year. British writers who have won the Nobel Prize in Literature include William Golding, Seamus Heaney and Harold Pinter.
British film studios flourished in the 1930s. Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock began their careers in Britain. The Ealing comedies, the James Bond films, the Harry Potter series and Wallace and Gromit (by Nick Park) are well-known British films. The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) are the British equivalent of the Oscars.
British comedy has a long tradition, from Punch and Judy to satire. Monty Python’s Flying Circus was a famous comedy series.
Key facts
- Sherlock Holmes — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a Scottish doctor).
- Harry Potter — J K Rowling.
- Poets’ Corner — Westminster Abbey.
- BAFTAs — British film awards.
- Man Booker Prize — fiction prize awarded annually.
Important people
- Jane Austen: Novels including Pride and Prejudice.
- Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist, Great Expectations.
- Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Creator of Sherlock Holmes.
- Thomas Hardy: Far from the Madding Crowd.
- William Wordsworth: Romantic poet inspired by nature.
- Wilfred Owen: First World War poet.
- Roald Dahl: Born in Wales to Norwegian parents; children’s author; served in the RAF in the Second World War.
- Nick Park: Creator of Wallace and Gromit.
- Alfred Hitchcock: Film director who began his career in Britain.
Memory tips
- Detectives: Conan Doyle → Holmes; Agatha Christie → The Mousetrap (theatre).
Practice questions
1. Who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories?
- Agatha Christie
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Charles Dickens
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Show answer
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish doctor, created Sherlock Holmes.
2. Who wrote Oliver Twist and Great Expectations?
- Charles Dickens
- Thomas Hardy
- Jane Austen
- Evelyn Waugh
Show answer
Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.
3. Where is Poets’ Corner?
- St Paul’s Cathedral
- Westminster Abbey
- The British Library
- Stratford-upon-Avon
Show answer
Many famous poets are buried or commemorated in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
4. Where is Shakespeare buried?
- Westminster Abbey
- Stratford-upon-Avon
- London
- Canterbury
Show answer
Shakespeare was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon, although he is commemorated in Poets’ Corner.
5. Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?
- Charlotte Brontë
- Jane Austen
- George Eliot
- Mary Shelley
Show answer
Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
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