There are many, but here are a few. I enjoy Charles Dickens and his ability to take a Shakespearean cast of characters and seamlessly weave them through his stories. I have been heavily influenced by C. S. Lewis, his amazing depth and creativity as an author. Jane Austen captured the aristocracy, the intrigue, the forced etiquette and the psychological games and hypocrisies of the upper classes. The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, wrote mysterious, romantic gothic novels that are powerful, moving and deep. Thomas Hardy took simple characters living in a rural setting and created complex, multilayered stories.