What are your favorite British Chick Lit books/authors?  Here are some of mine:

• Bridget Jones: Helen Fielding
• Shopaholic series (and her others) - Sophie Kinsella
• Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham
• Notting Hell -Rachel Johnson
• Accidental Mother and Another Mother's Life - Rowan Coleman
• Marian Keyes - I know she is Irish but many of her books are set in London

Would love to hear about all of your favorites!

I love almost everything by Jane Green!

oh yes - I forgot her!  Love her books

I actually prefer to stay away from books set in London. Their lingo bugs me. But if it's not over the top, I generally enjoy it. LOVE the Shopaholic series.

Gemma Townley is Sophie Kinsella's sister. I loved When In Rome and The Importance of Being Married.

Hi,

I posted this list in another thread here:

Here are some suggestions-they're all British/Irish etc

Patricia Scanlan

Cathy Kelly

Monica McInerney

Melissa Hill

Sheila O'Flanagan

Colette Caddle

Imogen Parker

Annie Sanders

Annett Holliday

Sarah Ball

Marian Murphy

Elizabeth Noble

Martina Reilly

Catherine  Daly

Jane Moore

Isabel Wolff

Lisa Jewell

Anna Maxted

Josie Lloyd

Sharon Owens

Dorothy Koomson

Rosie Thomas

Also check the website for Poolbeg Press-it's all  Irish authors. You'll find tons of great ideas there.

Sherry

My faves:

1. Maggie O'Farrell

(more women's fiction than chick lit, really)

Best

My Lover's Lover

"O'Farrell's next book appeared in 2002, and continues the novelist's interest in examining the secrets of the past. Lily moves in with her lover Marcus, but finds that his flat still harbours signs of his recently departed ex-girlfriend Sinead: her dress, her perfume, a mysterious mark on the wall.

At first intrigued, Lily's curiosity soon turns to obsession: as Marcus refuses to discuss what happened to Sinead, Lily's imagination starts to take over. In the end, Lily ends up doubting herself, her lover, his flatmate....O'Farrell said herself that she wanted this dark novel to show "that what happens to you through choice is just as frightening as what happens to you through chance". (bibliography)

Debut Novel: After You'd Gone

"O'Farrell's first novel was published in 2000, with immediate success both critically and commercially. Its heroine, Alice, returns to her family home Edinburgh, where she sees something that changes her whole life: a few hours later, she steps into the traffic of a busy London street and is taken to hospital where she lies in a coma.

The novel cleverly switches between the present and the past (a narrative technique which O'Farrell returns to in The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox) as Alice slips between different levels of consciousness, sometimes hearing the conversations of her family sitting around her bedside, sometimes remembering the past. We gradually learn the secrets lurking in this family's history that have led to Alice's actions". (bibliography)

2. Cecelia Ahern

PS I Love You was not her best

Best

There's No Place Like Here

"Acclaimed novelist Cecelia Ahern's There's No Place Like Here tells the story of Sandy Shortt, an obsessive-compulsive Missing Persons investigator who suddenly finds herself in the mystical land of the missing, desperate to return to the people and places from whom she has spent her life escaping. With this imaginative fourth novel, Ahern, whose P.S. I Love You was made into a major motion picture, continues to establish herself as not only an icon of Irish chick lit, but also a bold and creative thinker. Continuing the whimsical trend she started with If You Could See Me Now, Ahern asks readers to step outside the boundaries of reality, and enter a world where missing people (and possessions) from all over the globe congregate to start anew. When Sandy goes on an early morning jog and strays too far into the forest, she too finds herself "Here," the aptly named home of the missing. In addition to finding her lost socks, diaries, and stuffed animals, she also finds many of the people she has searched for throughout her career. "(amazon)

Second best

If You Could See Me Now

"Ahern's charming third novel takes an imaginative twist, literally, as one of the main characters in her novel is an invisible friend, Ivan. Ivan befriends six-year-old Luke Egan, who is being raised by his aunt Elizabeth. Luke's mother, Saoirse, is 12 years Elizabeth's junior and very much like their flighty mother, who ran off and left Elizabeth and Saoirse with their cold father. Serious, grounded Elizabeth all but raised her sister, and now she's doing the same with her nephew. Elizabeth is distressed when Luke starts talking to his invisible friend Ivan, but it is Ivan who is truly puzzled when it seems as though Elizabeth can sense his presence. And then Elizabeth actually sees him, although she believes he's the father of Luke's friend, Sam. Ivan decides to get to know her, but things become complicated when Elizabeth and Ivan begin to fall in love. An imaginative twist on romantic comedy, Ahern's novel should have appeal among readers looking to move beyond the usual fare." (amazon)

3. Louise Kean

Best-

Toasting Eros

NOT your traditional chick lit - highly intelligent.

The Perfect 10 - more normal chick lit formula

4. Anna Maxted

Best

Getting Over It

"Written in a hip, readable, often poignant and always funny style, protagonist Helen Bradshaw's story is set in modern-day London, where the 20-something editorial assistant comes to terms with her father's death and her own life. The plot spans one year, beginning with the day Helen learns of her father's fatal heart attack. Helen struggles with faithless boyfriend, Jasper; her self-centered but sexy landlord, Marcus; and her solipsistic "best friend," Michelle. Meanwhile, her demanding and unsupportive boss at GirlTime magazine cracks the whip. A complex part of Helen's healing process is repairing her relationship with her overbearing mother, Cecilia, who, though she mourns her husband inconsolably, eventually finds new direction in her life. Helen discovers real love in the patient and humorous veterinarian, Tom, and she learns enough about real friendship to hold onto her loyal, true buddies Lizzy, Luke and Tina, saving the latter's life in the process. As she stumbles from one crisis to another, Helen is always likable, even if the decisions she makes often make the reader want to give her a good shake. Although the narrative tackles many issues, from the loss of a parent to the horrors of domestic violence, Maxted's bouncy, upbeat tone never falters. Revealing a touch for comic timing and versatility, she paints scenes of hilarious pratfalls, biting sarcasm and heart-wrenching pathos. While comparison between this work and Fielding's is unavoidable, Maxted's laugh-out-loud debut novel will come out ahead." from amazon

Second Best

Running in Heels

Funny chick lit, but deals with another serious topic - anorexia

5. Marian Keyes

Just too many to mention - check out amazon

6. Katie Fford

Light, easy, "village" fiction. Fun characters and friendships. girl always gets boy. there are many and all are good light beach reads.

Enjoy! Feel free to e-mail me with Qs or swaps!