Could anyone suggest some humorous books for elderly readers please?

[MissGreatBritain]

I've recently been working as a volunteer, delivering library books to the housebound, who are mostly elderly. Many of them request romance, family sagas etc but also humour. And I'm really struggling. There just don't seem to be many novels that are light and easy but also suitable for the older reader. I'm loathe to put in anything about 20 somethings, as I'm not sure they'll relate to it. Can you suggest any authors please who write with humour? Thanks!

[gramercy]

Me too, Esme!

How about The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield and Provincial Daughter by (the initials escape me) Dashwood? These are about daily middle-class life in (was it?) 1920s and for her daughter 1950s. They are both written in a wry amusing style.

[LLKH]

Jasper Fforde

[maxpower]

what about Sue Townsends latest Adrian Mole ones? My DH likes the Flashman books (he's a 75 yr old trapped in the body of a 35 yr old )

[elkiedee]

Most of the older readers I know have similar reading tastes to me - they're not housebound but my American friend who lives in Canada in her mid 70s is a great fan of Christopher Brookmyre - I'm not sure that everyone in their 70s and 80s should be assumed to have the same tastes.

That said, there are some good suggestions here. More Nancy Mitford. Mary Wesley.

I review books for a site called www.thebookbag.co.uk - I'm in my early 40s but one of the site owners, Sue Magee, is in her 60s and reviews a lot of "women's fiction" and crime fiction.

Could you do a little questionnaire for any of your readers who are willing to fill in?

Some questions:

Books/authors you've loved recently
Any that you've hated
What would you recommend to friends/family/other service users?
How do you feel about sex/violence/cruelty to animals in your books?

Some of your readers might like some/all of those things in their reading. (Mary Wesley has quite a bit of sex in her books I think, and she was 70+ when she started writing).

[meditrina]

If they like "comfort murders", try the Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters?

[oenophilia]

There's a wonderful little publisher called Persephone Books that reissues titles that have undeservedly gone out of print which would fit the bill brilliantly. Your elderly clients may well recognise having loved them in earlier years. I'm gradually reading my way through the list but my favorite so far is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson. I mentioned it to my Mum, who's 86 and she giggled straight away and recounted the story although she had read it over 50 years previously!

[myalias]

Maureen Lipman, Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood have written good humoured books.

[BarnMummy]

Second vote for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - brilliant at any age, but set in the 20s (I think) so it was like listening to my grandmother!

[gramercy]

I love Persephone Books. I wish it were my shop! Dh bought me a stack of books from there for Christmas. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but - they are so very pretty...

[Prunnhilda]

Ruth Dudley Edwards writes humorous murder stories and has a good poke at various bits of the British establishment each time. Can be v v funny.

[CrystalStair]

Garrison Keillor's lovely gentle humour in books like 'Lake Wobegon Days' and 'We are Still Married'. PLEASE look for those!

Also 'Going Gently'by David Nobbs who created Reggie Perrin. Look at this link for synopsis:

www.davidnobbs.com/synopsis.asp?ID=13

[CrystalStair]

Also recommend getting something like The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose' from the library and looking through it for more ideas...

[Terpsichore]

There's a series of books by Ann Purser details here set in a small English village - can't immediately remember the book titles (although, ahem, I've read them all, having bought them for my Mum), but they're a really lovely, easy, dare I say cosy read. None the worse for that, though! They're reminiscent of those Rebecca Shaw 'Village' books so would probably be perfect for slightly older readers.

Actually Ann Purser's also written a series of detective novels set in another village and with a cleaning lady called Lois Meade as her heroine - also a very enjoyable read, and quite funny.

[colditz]

PG Wodehouse

Tome Sharpe

Terry Pratchett is fairly ageless.

[Terpsichore]

Just realised that actually's no-one's mentioned Rebecca Shaw's books, so I'd suggest those too! All set in a village called Turnham Malpas and with the same (large) cast of characters who get up to various antics. She follows their stories from book to book so there's a thread, and parts are actually very funny, although it's the epitome of cosy.

It might be worth checking out her 'Barleybridge' vet novels too. Apparently she has an absolutely enormous readership.

[meditrina]

You might also like to look at the "Girls Gone By" website. I first came across it for Chalet School reprints, but there are loads more authors there - it sounds a bit childish in some ways, but when my mum was I'll recently, she loved being given reprints of old pony books.

[chickbean]

I love D.E. Stevenson - mostly gentle romances with really likeable characters - "Miss Buncle's Book" is funny, though.

[londonartemis]

Also - The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.
And I too second Persephone Books - check out these. I have enjoyed so many of them since I discovered them. They are reprints of books written early 20C.

[londonartemis]

ALso, have just come across a publishing label called Transita which publishes 'for the mature ' woman! (Hit upon it by accident!) You might want to check out some of their titles and authors which you might be able to recommend to your library users.

[Jellywoman]

Just to say how helpful this thread has been as I've just started choosing books for Housebound Library. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[VestalVirgin]

I second Pratchett. There's a few books that are about older people ... like the one where a group of elderly barbarian heroes goes on their last heroic quest.
Or the witches books - only Magrat, the "maiden" of the circle is a twentysomething, the two other witches are elderly ladies.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

2nd Alexander McCall Smith and tractors in the Ukraine book.

[Sosidges]

A lovely funny book is "miss Buncie's Book". A lady write a novel about her village and things in life start to reflect the book.
The travels of Maudie Tipstaff is amusing.

Patricia Wentworth writes the Miss Silver mysteries set in 20s and 30s

Love stories Enchanted April, Slightly Married, Summer on the River, Pomfret Towers, The Musgravess

Angela Thirkell writes lovely stories as does Marcia Willet.

For a long read starting at the 1st World War , R F Delderfield, long summer day.

[Helenluvsrob]

A short history of tractors in Ukrainian and the other books by that author especially we are all made of glue.

My elderly dads all time favourite 3 men in a boat.

About the last book mum read and really enjoyed was the 100 yr old man who climbed out of the window but you bees all your marbles as it's a bit backwards and forwards in time with a " now" and " when he was young" narrative