Campaign for the American Reader: Ten top depictions of British rain

Melissa Harrison is an author, freelance writer and occasional photographer who lives in South London. Her second novel, At Hawthorn Time was shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year award and longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her new non-fiction book is Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. At the Guardian, Harrison tagged her top ten depictions of British rain, including:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The rain in Wolf Hall isn’t so much about downpours as a constant dampness, a pitter-patter that seems to seep through the entire book. When Wolsey is turned out of York Place and dismounts his mule to kneel in the mud with Norris, the drizzle creates an extra layer of pathos. Elsewhere, without being foregrounded, it acts to create a subtle sense of chilly discomfort, powerfully but subtly evoking the harsher, less coddled world of the Tudors.