Wendy Craig: My six best books
Wendy Craig, 76, is best known for the hit sitcom Butterflies.
She is a vice-president of The Leprosy Mission. For further details visit www.leprosymission.org.uk
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Puffin, £6.99
This first book I loved as a child was read to me aloud at school when I was very small and gave me a great love of literature. I just adored sitting by my teacher’s knee as the story about these wonderful riverside characters unfolded.
A Passage to India
by EM Forster
Penguin, £9.99
A marvellous exposé of the tensions and prejudices of the colonial British and the native Indians at the time of the Raj.
It shows so well the different national characteristics, rings very true and is written with such humanity and insight.
The Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
Hodder Religious, £7.99
An inspirational book written by a very courageous woman who was a member of the Dutch underground in the Second World War.
Corrie Ten Boom tells the tale of how she helped Jewish people to escape from the Nazis, hiding them in a secret room.
The Message
by Eugene H Peterson
Out of print
So if you’re reading the Bible and haven’t got a clue what they’re going on about, you can look up the relevant passage, and all will become clear.
The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende
Black Swan, £8.99
An epic family saga by the Chilean author this novel combines the history of the clan concerned with telepathy and the supernatural, making for a fascinating read. A very strange and hypnotic book it had me totally spellbound.
Poems of the War Years: An Anthology
compiled by Maurice Wollman
Out of print
I was introduced to this book when I first went to drama school. I didn’t know much about poetry at the time but I’ve loved it ever since.
It features verse after moving verse by some of the 20th century’s finest poets.