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John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Fiction is “the time-honoured resource of the ill-at-ease”, Edith Hope observes in Hotel du Lac. But which Anita Brookner novel should the ill-at-ease try first? My guide to her some of her best books, for @thebookerprizes.com:

thebookerprizes.com

Where to start with Anita Brookner: a guide to her best books | The Booker Prizes

Anita Brookner was a prolific writer and a master of both comedy and tragedy. Over the course of 28 years, she wrote 24 novels, winning the Booker Prize in 1984 with Hotel du Lac. But where should you...

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Lissa Evans @lissakevans.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is terrific - and reminds me that there are still several Brookners I have not yet read. Thank you!

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Nick McLoughlin @nickmacwrites.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is great John, thank you for posting. I’ve read only Brief Lives (so, so) and Hotel du Lac (thirty-five years ago, loved it), but I’m now looking forward to reading another one or two, at least.

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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Great list and I’m especially glad to see her second novel, Providence, on there. It seems to go under the radar quite a bit but for me it’s one of her best. The ending in particular is pitch-perfect. So bleak, and yet in hindsight so inevitable. It’s beautifully done.

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John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

‘Allow me to put the record straight,’ she wrote to The Times letters page. ‘I am 46, and have been for some years past.’

When Brookner won the Booker Prize, she became a public figure, which led to one uncomfortable experience.
Before publishing her debut three years earlier, Brookner had altered her date of birth in the directory Who's Who from 1928 to 1938. After her Booker win, an eagle-eyed observer spotted the change and informed the press.
Private Eye (which referred to her winning novel as A Stroke du Luck) observed that 'nothing, it seems, can be more rejuvenating than winning the Booker Prize'. When the story was also covered in the Times, Brookner put pen to paper. 'Allow me to put the record straight, she wrote to their letters page. 'I am 46, and have been for some years past?

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