The second article in our Top 5 series, this time covering fictional books that every gentleman should read.
Zach Falconer-Barfield, 1st Gentleman
Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Mallory
The best known work of Arthurain Legend there is. It is the tales of Chivalry, Knights and acts of daring do. You can rea the Modern version ‘Once and Future King by T H White’ but start with the orginal.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
One for All and All for One’ – Dumas epitomises the Daring Action Gentleman who fight for honour, king and love.
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan
The Classic Chase tale but the Richard Hannay is a gentleman who takes on the sticky situation when no one else will.
Spenser Series by Robert B Parker
Spenser to me is a modern knight. He is a Boston PI, that follows his code of honour and it is a mighty strong one and is dicussed quite a great deal through the books.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Fooled by the foppish exertior, Sir Percy Blakeney is the gentleman advernturer underneath.
Tom Swanston, Media Gentleman
Sherlock Holmes series, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
So many brilliantly clever stories, with Sherlcok Holmes, the genius pseudo-gentleman, at its core. No wonder it’s received so many film, TV and theatre adaptations.
Jeeves and Wooster series, by PG Wodehouse
Hilarious and exquisitely written stories about the epoynumous Bertie Wooster, a boyish, bumbling, privilged and wealthy gentleman who fumbles his way from way romantic disaster to another. You will learn a lot about an old-fashioned gentleman and laugh a good deal along the way.
His Dark Materials series, by Philip Pullman
A fantastic, but dark trilogy, which delves into friendship, philosophy, morality, and religion through a truly gripping tale. Storytelling at its best.
Shardlake series, by C.J.Sansom
Historical fiction masterclass. Crime mysteries set in the Tudor Period (Henry VIII) following an expert lawyer (Shardlake) as he works for top level government in solving complex crimes and catching criminals threatening lives and the nation. Exciting, intricate and informative.
1984, by George Orwell
A sci-fi classic, and quite extraordinary when you think that it was written in 1948 as it predicts so much of what we experience today. The often used term “Big Brother” comes from this very novel.
