Talk:Elizabeth George

England

It would be nice to know if Ms. George ever lived in England. How on earth does she write all those novels set in England without some close touch with the country? Abenr (talk) 22:28, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

I agree. Unfort. we now have only awards sources online; biographical sources in print. --P64 (talk) 22:40, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

According to a few sources, she owns a flat in South Kensington[1] which she lives in occasionally. And while she spends much time researching the settings for her books she apparently never stays too long[2]. She has even stated, "I’ve never lived in Great Britain"[3].

Here's an excerpt from an interview you may find interesting:

AFG: Do you think if you lived in England, or if you were spending perhaps a year there, the atmosphere would be less inspiring? You’ve said before, that it would be difficult for you to write a book set in the United States, because you live here all the time. I know that can make it difficult to find a place that triggers an impulse in your mind to create a story.

EG: Yes, that’s exactly right. [laughing] That’s probably the most clear understanding anyone’s had about why I do it this way. When you live in a place, you become inured to the details. You don’t notice them any longer because you’re going about your daily business. And when one’s going about daily business, then one doesn’t see those things that make a place different from another place. You know, I’m going to the grocery store, so I’m not necessarily going to notice those things that are along my route. If I’m going to a restaurant, it’s likely an American restaurant, or an American version of a foreign restaurant. And it’s going to be far different from actually going to where the locals eat in a foreign location.

AFG: I know people who say, “Write what you know. If you live in Detroit, if you live in California, write about those places. Don’t set your stories somewhere you’ve never been, because even if you visit you’re not going to get as much knowledge as if you lived there.” What do you say to those people?

EG: Well, clearly it’s not true! But for some people that works. And I think the most important thing any writer can do is figure out what works for her. For me, it would not work to write about what I know, because when I began these books, what I knew was Huntington Beach, California, which I found depressing and boring. So I wasn’t interested in what I knew. I was a high school English teacher, I commuted 22 miles a day to my job in El Toro, California, and I find that whole area really disagreeable and would not be interested in writing about it. But then you have a writer like T. Jefferson Parker who sets his books there, and they’re wonderful, because he really loves southern California. I do think it’s really critical to write about a place you love, even if you’re going to look at that place with a critical eye, because at least you’re going to want to be there—to want to write about it. So for me, I can go to London and write about a really gritty area of London because I find it interesting to see, whereas I wouldn’t find a gritty area of Huntington Beach particularly interesting. Although truth to tell, the grittier the area, the easier it is to actually write about it.

—Elizabeth George, The Strand

Οἶδα (talk) 21:00, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

Yes, that would be interesting to know. She seems to know nothing about the English aristocracy and I'd wager nothing about the English working class either. She hasn't grasped either the reality of public schools and English universities. The backdrop to her novels could be as well never-never land. --87.147.37.140 (talk) 19:35, 28 March 2016 (UTC)

"Thomas Lynley" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Thomas Lynley. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2020 October 28#Thomas Lynley until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 19:04, 28 October 2020 (UTC)

Need a different picture

Comparison of the two pages for the different authors named Elizabeth George indicates that the same picture is being used for both. The official website for the author of the Thomas Lynley novels indicates this is the wrong picture. Can it be removed please? John Wilks; who no longer has access to the account he created years ago!