Honor Blackman: My six best books
LONDON-born actress Honor Blackman, 84, is best-known as Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Pussy Galore in Bond movie, Goldfinger. She also appeared in the Nineties sitcom The Upper Hand. The first series of The Upper Hand is available on DVD.
The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
Penguin, £9.99
This is one of those stories which moves your heart and stays in your mind forever. Steinbeck is one of the best-loved American authors of the 20th century and this book, about a family forced to head west in search of the promised land, is wonderful.
Birdsong
by Sebastian Faulks
Vintage, £7.99
My father was in the First World War and Faulks’ descriptions of that period are second-to-none. His writing really makes the war live in your mind and the descriptions of being in the trenches are quite phenomenal. It’s not the most cheery read but it is so powerful and makes me realise what my father must have gone through.
Can You Forgive Her?
by Anthony Trollope
Penguin, £9.99
I like everything by Trollope and have read all his books. His observations of human nature are fantastic. He understands motivations so well and one meets the kind of characters he created even now, purely because he draws them so well. This is a fine account of the social world of Trollope’s day.
Room on the Broom
by Julia Donaldson
Macmillan, £5.99
I love this book and read it to my grandchildren. It’s such a smashing story and like all good children’s books, it paints wonderful pictures. It contains a real sense of drama, too, before triumph and joy prevail. It’s beautifully illustrated by Axel Scheffler and is all about a kind-hearted witch and her contented cat.
Poetry of the Thirties
edited by Robin Skelton
Penguin, £9.99
This volume contains work from all the great poets from the period, including Auden and Spender. I love poetry and often dip into this because it’s such a great collection of work.
The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
Penguin, £8.99
I love Wharton’s writing and this book fully portrays the difficulties some women faced when conducting any kind of love life in the 19th century. Women had such a tough time because there were so many restrictions and Wharton highlights these difficulties so well in this sexy, powerful story set in 1870s New York.
