Margaret Oliphant was a prolific 19th-century Scottish novelist admired for her realism, especially in Miss Marjoribanks and the ghostly Chronicles of Carlingford series.
If you enjoy reading books by Margaret Oliphant then you might also like the following authors:
Anthony Trollope is an excellent choice if you enjoy Margaret Oliphant's detailed portraits of Victorian society and thoughtful character development. His realistic, observant storytelling often revolves around everyday life, smaller communities, and social issues.
A good novel to sample is Barchester Towers, which combines gentle humor with thoughtful insights into English clergy and society.
George Eliot offers deep psychological insights and richly layered novels, similar to Margaret Oliphant’s attention to character motivation and moral complexity. Eliot's style is intelligent and compassionate without being overly sentimental.
You might enjoy Middlemarch, where she beautifully captures interconnected lives, honest human struggles, and the complexities of rural English society.
Elizabeth Gaskell writes thoughtfully about social issues and dramas within local communities, much like Margaret Oliphant. Her books combine insightful commentary with engaging characters and relationships.
Consider reading North and South, which vividly explores social class, industrial change, and the personal lives caught in between.
Charlotte Brontë's novels offer emotive storytelling, strong-willed female characters, and a richly intense exploration of inner lives. Her works provide a slightly more passionate, dramatic contrast to Oliphant's gentler realism.
Brontë's Jane Eyre is a great place to start, featuring vivid emotions, social critique, and an unforgettable heroine.
Mrs. Henry Wood captures readers with her vivid storytelling, darker atmosphere, and intriguing plots about secrets and societal tensions. Like Margaret Oliphant, her novels often feature female leads dealing with personal and social challenges.
Try her suspenseful novel East Lynne, known for its dramatic twists, emotional depth, and exploration of Victorian morality.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon is a great choice if you like Margaret Oliphant's thoughtful portrayals of Victorian society and complex characters. Braddon often explores hidden secrets, social expectations, and morality in her novels.
One of her best-known books is Lady Audley's Secret, a sensational story about a woman whose past threatens to unravel her carefully built facade.
Dinah Mulock Craik is a good writer to try next if you enjoy Oliphant's ability to craft relatable characters dealing with real-life struggles. Craik writes gently and sincerely, often highlighting themes of family life, personal growth, and steady heroism.
Her novel John Halifax, Gentleman is a wonderful example, tracing a young man’s journey from poverty to respectability through integrity and hard work.
If you're drawn to Oliphant's emphasis on family ties and moral lessons, you might like Charlotte M. Yonge. Her novels often revolve around domestic life, virtue, and personal development.
Her most admired novel, The Heir of Redclyffe, portrays the struggles and trials of a family as they cope with change, love, and tragedy, expressing strong Victorian ideals of conduct and duty.
Wilkie Collins offers an exciting change of pace if you appreciate the suspenseful and dramatic elements sometimes found in Oliphant's work. Collins specializes in sensation novels, blending mystery, suspense, and shady secrets to entertain and surprise his readers.
His novel The Woman in White is particularly popular, full of haunting atmosphere and unforgettable characters caught up in a complex puzzle that slowly comes together.
Rhoda Broughton might appeal to you if you like Oliphant's candid exploration of women's lives and their place in Victorian society. Broughton is known for a more straightforward and somewhat daring style, portraying women questioning traditional roles and expectations.
Her novel Cometh Up as a Flower deals openly with romance, social constraints, and the emotional lives of women, providing interesting insights into Victorian femininity and rebellion.
Fans of Margaret Oliphant will find much to enjoy in Frances Hodgson Burnett's heartfelt stories and engaging characters. Burnett often looks at family dynamics and personal struggles with sensitivity and warmth.
Her beloved novel, The Secret Garden, explores themes of healing, personal growth, and the transformative power of friendship amid life's challenges.
Catherine Gore offers insightful glimpses into Victorian high society, similar to Oliphant's skillful social commentary and sharp eye for detail. Gore's novels are known for their clever wit and nuanced exploration of social class, ambition, and relationships.
A prime example is Cecil, or Adventures of a Coxcomb, a witty novel that emphasizes society's superficiality and the consequences it holds for individuals.
If you appreciate Oliphant's thoughtful observations of the struggles women faced in Victorian times, you'll value Anne Brontë's honest and clear-eyed writing.
Anne's works frequently tackle difficult topics such as domestic unhappiness, social expectations, and women's independence. Her novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a groundbreaking exploration of a woman's courage in escaping an oppressive marriage and creating a new life.
Like Oliphant, Sarah Grand portrays women's changing roles in society with honesty and passion. Grand directly engages with progressive issues of her day, especially women's rights, morality, and double standards.
Her notable work, The Heavenly Twins, addresses the injustices faced by women, demonstrating strong feminist ideas and encouraging meaningful social reform.
George Gissing offers a realistic portrayal of Victorian society and human behavior, much like Oliphant's perceptive storytelling. His fiction focuses on urban life, poverty, and social struggles, reflecting deep empathy for his characters.
In New Grub Street, Gissing explores the harsh realities of literary life, examining ambition, hardship, and the moral compromises people face in the pursuit of success.