Eva Hanagan - ‘The Jane Austen of the 20th Century’
Posted on May 08, 2009 under Juliet Archer's Diary |Eva Hanagan’s obituary was in today’s Times. It was Auberon Waugh’s description of her - ‘The Jane Austen of the 20th Century’ - that caught my eye.
I must admit I’ve not read any of Eva’s novels. Her first one, In Thrall, was published in 1977 when she was 54; her last, The Daisy Rock, in 1998. All seven of her novels were well received, but she later turned to teaching creative writing. She became the first novelist to be appointed as a writer in residence to the Prison Service!
According to The Times, the ‘Jane Austen’ label arises from her ’sharply observed social satires rich in dark irony, by turns tragic and comic’.
Like me, she ‘gained a proficiency in French, German and Russian’ but she also became ‘an accomplished amateur pianist’ - unlike me!
If any of you have read Eva’s novels, please email me at juliet@julietarcher.com.
