Today’s question was suggested by Barbara:

Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?

That's a good question. I don't think that there is anyone being published at the moment who writes with the skilll of say a Tolstoy or a Hemingway but that isn't too say such people don't exist. The publishing industry is skewed heavily now to what will sell quickly and for new authors to get a deal they have to conform to certain trends in length and style so there is quite possibly many good books that never get published. Let's remember that The Thirty Nine Steps would undoubtedly not be published today because it's length is considered to short - a publisher wouldn't even read it, likewise The Great Gastby is also considered too short. I can't see a publisher trawling through War and Peace were it submitted by a first time author either.

That is not to say that I think there are many people who could do it, but I'd not count it out altogether because I genuinely think the industry now is geared to quick selling stuff or specific genre fiction which is expected to fill it's mould. There is not the breathing room for most writers to be able to publish books of literary merit because that's not what books are sold on. I think we'll never know if there are gifted authors out there who this generation will miss because the publishing industry is too unwilling to take anything it percieves as risk. This is partly due to rampant capitalism and partly due to books being pushed into direct competition with movies and television.

Undoubtedly there will be books from today that stand the test of time, though I'm not sure that any direct comparrison can be made so soon after writing to the greats. Of published authors William Boyd can write very well and I expect he may be around for some time, Arturo Perez-Reverte is an exceptional writer and I think probably the closest we have to someone in the Dumasian mould at present - while the Alatriste books are lightweight fun things like the Fencing Master have more detailed and in depth style. John Le-Carre is very talented but it's hard to compare him to past masters because his style is something very different to theirs. Joseph O'Neill wrote brilliantly in Netherland but the plot was wishy-woshy.

I hope that this generation will at some point produce something really special to remember it by, but I've yet to read it.