Chick Lit

Apparently it began with Bridget Jones and her diary.

However, going back in time, I once read a Mills and Boon novel and tried (and failed) to enjoy a strange whimsical book by Barbara Cartland where all the characters behaved very strangely indeed, eating their hearts out in long languishing episodes of very boring post-post-Romantic angst.

I picked up some entertaining books which seemed to be written mainly by and for women while the Boom Times were still raging through the land. Damned if I can remember any of the writers' names, but the novels were sharp, well observed snatches of life as she is lived. Journalese in style, but that is no crime.

These are the books you buy quickly to pass the time while travelling. They are useful for foreign language classes to introduce up to date vocabulary and explain cultural practices. Food is very often well described. A good Chick Lit writer knows that the crucial concerns of daily life are so often thrashed out at table.

Rona Jaffe's book "The Best of Everything" was a wow in the '50s and fans of "Mad Men" should enjoy the lively review by Viv Groskop in "The Telegraph".

In fact, now I think of it, Proust was an expert in the genre.
Maria Edgeworth and George Moore knew the tricks that make it so popular... gossip.

These seemingly light hearted and frivolous novels are very useful as morale boosters and often make the reader laugh.

No mean feat in a world where moaning has become "de rigueur".