A windswept seaside village, a cosy little bookshop, a bakery filled with freshly made bread – open a Jenny Colgan novel and you’re almost guaranteed to wish you could move in. The bestselling author has sold more than 15 million books worldwide, winning readers over with her irresistible mix of romance and humour in novels including Little Beach Street Bakery and The Bookshop on the Corner.
But even the queen of cosy fiction needs a little escapism herself. Here, Colgan shares her five favourites which have shaped her life and writing…
All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot
It has been so lovely seeing a new generation fall in love with these memoirs all over again through the Channel 5 adaptation. Following young vet James Herriot as he tends to the animals and their eccentric owners in the Yorkshire Dales, the books are full of charm.
The warmth and gentleness of Herriot is a balm to the weary soul; the books are funny, and kind, and singular and make me very happy. Also, the romance between James and Helen, a local farmer’s daughter, is just beautifully done.
Pan, £12.99
Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Some people (not me, I adore it) find Little Women too pious, in which case this is the ultimate cosy alternative. Following a family living in a log cabin in 19th-century America, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series of books are full of the simple pleasures of life: falling asleep in front of the fire while wolves howl outside, or making maple syrup from your own trees.
I remember reading them to my children – who adored them – and feeling terribly ashamed when we reached the Christmas chapter and the children were beside themselves with joy at receiving a new pair of gloves. Mine did not share this sentiment in the slightest. Anne of Green Gables has a similar effect, although Anne is of course spikier, and more likely to make you sob big, gouty tears, which you may or may not find comforting.
Farshore, £7.99
The Morning Gift, by Eva Ibbotson
I proselytise about this novel everywhere; I think it’s my favourite romance of all time. Ibbotson, a Jewish refugee in London in the Second World War, wrote, in her own words, “books for very clever women who have the flu”, which is something I strive towards in my own work.
All her books are brilliant, but this one is my favourite. It’s about a young Jewish girl hiding out in a museum in Vienna, whose older protector reluctantly marries her to ensure her safety – and you’ll never guess where it’s going. It is funny and touching and sexy and completely swoonworthy in every way. You will not be sorry for picking it up.
Picador, £9.99
The Dentist, by Tim Sullivan
This is the first in what is now a nine-book series known as the George Cross Mysteries. In The Dentist an autistic detective investigates the murder of a homeless man, which leads him to a long-buried crime. I don’t know why I find these books so soothing. It is probably because they’re charming and reassuring and logical, and you know everything is going to work out fine in the end.
In fact, quite often, if I have to read something harrowing or difficult for work, I will slip in a couple of chapters of George afterwards to make it all okay.
Head of Zeus, £9.99
The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
It’s lovely to be cosy when the evenings draw in, it’s dark outside and there’s Christmas to look forward to. And the enduring popularity of Susan Cooper’s series is heartening.
The second book, The Dark Is Rising, about Will, a perfectly ordinary boy – or is he? – is scary, mysterious, clever and exciting by turns, and whisks you off to a snowy, old-fashioned England. It’s absolutely ideal to sink into in front of the fire. Or by candlelight, if there are no fires to hand.
Puffin, £8.99
‘The Secret Christmas Library’ by Jenny Colgan is out now in paperback (Hodder, £9.99)