Deborah Moggach Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Deborah Moggach is an English author born in 1948, best known for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

+Biography

Deborah was born to Charlotte Hough and Richard Hough, both of whom were writers. The author, who was one of four daughters, attended schools like Queen’s College in London and Camden School for girls.

Her Degree in English was earned from the University of Bristol in 1971. Deborah also had a chance to train as a teacher. It was during her stint at the Oxford University Press that she met Tony, her husband, from whom she was eventually divorced.

Deborah has been involved with people like cartoonist Mel Calman, Hungarian Painter Csaba Pasztor and journalist Mark Williams. Her relationship with Calman ended when he died in 1994. She married Williams in 2014.

+Literary Career

Deborah Moggach has made a name for herself both as a novelist and a screenwriter. Her novels explore the various difficult of normal life, analyzing facets like the disappointment of relationships, family, and divorce.

Deborah has been repeatedly commended for the humor in her work, though she has been known to write some surprisingly dark stories, including one that saw English Family values clash with the Muslim faith.

Deborah has also dabbled in history, writing novels about the First World War and painters from bygone eras. As a screenwriter, most people might know Deborah for writing the award-winning script for the Keira Knightley led Pride and Prejudice.

Though, she has produced numerous TV dramas, most of which have gone unnoticed by the mainstream crowd.

+Deborah Moggach Movies

IN 2004, Deborah Moggach produced a book called ‘These Foolish Things’ that followed a group of older individuals looking for affordable care in Asia. The book was translated into ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, a movie that was released in 2011.

Directed by John Madden, the British comedy film starred notable names like Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Penelope Wilton. The movie was a hit to the surprise of many, not only making money at the box office but attracting critical acclaim.

A sequel, The Second best Exotic Marigold Hotel, was released in 2015.

Deborah Moggach has two children, a teacher, and a journalist. Along with pursuing journalism and theater, not to mention writing numerous short stories, Deborah is also a strong proponent of the concept of assisted suicide.

+The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Ravi Kapoor can no longer stand to breathe the same air as his father-in-law. When he asks his wife whether they can’t simply send the obnoxious old man away, he gets no easy answers, at least not until Sonny comes into the picture.

Entrepreneurial as ever, his cousin has set up a retirement home like no other. Despite being designed to recreate some lost corner of England, the retirement home is actually situated in Bangalore, which is just far enough for Ravi’s peace of mind.

The retirement home has everything a pensioner from Britain might want, from inexpensive travel to an abundance of willing staff. Initially called ‘These Foolish Things’, this book makes a lot of humorous observations about the differences separating certain cultures.

Fans of the movie adaptation of this book will notice some changes between the two mediums. The book, despite being so humorous, has a lot of things to say about elderly people and the way they are perceived.

While some of the elderly individuals in Deborah Moggach’s book were stranded at the Bangalore retirement home because their families couldn’t be bothered to deal with them, others were driven to migrate because of financial issues, with the Marigold Hotel giving them the most inexpensive opportunity to receive the care they desire.

The differences between elderly men and women in Britain and those in India are very stark. While Deborah’s characters have been largely neglected, India proves to be quite the surprising destination because it is a nation that respects and values its older citizens.

One can see that Deborah wrote this book while wistfully thinking about the complications surrounding her own age, especially as she looked into the future and wondered what challenges she would face.

While Deborah has been known to write some truly bleak books, this one isn’t nearly as dreary. In fact, it endeavors to inject a little hope into the mix, revealing that aging can actually bring a sense of beauty and depth, and even the elderly can continue to grow, changing as new and unexpected experiences buffet them.

Some readers have been known to complain about Deborah’s ideas, especially the callous manner in which her characters treat the locals in their retirement home.

+In the Dark

1916 finds Eithne Clay running a genteel but somewhat shabby boarding house in South London, this while her husband fights in the war. Eithne has a fourteen-year-old son called Ralph that she must look after, assisted by a good hearted country girl called Winnie who works as the maid.

The lodgers prove to be a curious bunch, this including a victim of a gas attack in the trenches called Alwyne Flyte.

When a telegram makes a bad situation worse, Ralph, Winnie, and Eithne all struggle to deal with the consequences even as life begins to buffet them with new challenges and opportunities.

Dreams, secrets, and fantasies alight.

Anyone looking for a great book about the Great War and its consequences on a London family will find this Debora Moggach novel especially impressive, though some people have suggested that it is inferior to her other work ‘Tulip Fever’.

Winnie, Ralph, and Eithne make an interesting family that is merely struggling to survive. The waxing and waning of the Great War don’t bring with them any opportunities, instead making the family susceptible to predators. This book tackles the transformations that London begins to suffer in the aftermath of the Great War, some of them good and others bad.

For the most part, this is a story of survival. The War looks like it might be ending but there isn’t nearly as much hope in the air. Deborah creates very realistic characters. She also brings London to life, giving people a taste of the dirty, grimy lives people suffered through back then. Avid readers will enjoy the many twists and surprises, especially when they are paired with Deborah’s descriptive language.