Which are the most borrowed library books in the UK? Which are the most borrowed library books in the UK? Five children’s authors among the top 10 most borrowed authors in UK libraries 5 February 2016 • 6:54am The importance of libraries to national literacy was underlined again today with the news that five children's authors – Julia Donaldson, Daisy Meadows, Francesca Simon, Jacqueline Wilson and the collective who write under the pen name Adam Blade – are among the Top 10 most borrowed authors in UK libraries, according to figures from the latest annual data released today by Public Lending Right . The survey, released on the eve of National Libraries Day, covers 2014-15 and shows again the dominance of thriller writer James Patterson, who topped the chart for the most borrowed author for the ninth year running, and crime writers such as Lee Child. It was also the first year that payments were made for audio books.

Here are 10 things we learned from the findings: 1: JAMES PATTERSON IS LIBRARY KING The man who has churned out more than 300 novels (or paid other writers to do so, having given them a "detailed outline") released 15 books in 2014 alone. The popularity of his thriller novels remains undimmed. James Patterson is still the most borrowed author and has four books - Invisible, Unlucky 13, NYPD Red and Burn Century - in the top 20 most borrowed titles. He is also the author with the most appearances in the Top 100 most borrowed titles list, with 10. However, although overseas authors such as Patterson and Lee Child are included in the loans figures, they aren’t eligible for PLR payments. The 202 authors who receive the maximum capped £6,600 are all from the UK. Overall, crime fiction and thrillers are hugely popular, with UK library borrowers. Nine of the Top 10 most borrowed books belong to this genre.

This include two titles by the most borrowed author, James Patterson Credit: Rex Features/Telegraph 2: ROALD DAHL 1 SHAKESPEARE 0 Shakespeare came in only 10th in the list of most borrowed classic authors. Roald Dahl was top, with Enid Blyton second and Agatha Christie third. Shakespeare, whose 400th anniversary is being celebrated this year, was also beaten by Charles Dickens, PG Wodehouse and JRR Tolkien. Things weren't all Bard for Shakespeare: he did at least beat Jane Austen (11th). And sneaking in at 20th place was Nevil Shute, the not-forgotten-it-seems author of the 1950 classic A Town Like Alice. Charles Dickens: his best characters in pictures 3: AUDIO WAS GOOD FOR JEFF HARDING This year’s PLR payments include, for the very first time, loans of audiobooks that were made by public libraries in 2014-15. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter titles occupied the second and third most loaned slots but the most borrowed audiobook was Lesley Pearse's Without a Trace, read by Emma Powell.

Few of you may remember Jeff Harding's acting performance in Father Ted (he played an American priest called Buzz Cagney) but many of us it seems know and like his voice reading books. He was the king of the 109 narrators who registered with the PLR (more should, as there are now more than 16,000 audiobooks in UK libraries). Harding registered more than 650 titles including The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver, and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. His 20% narrator’s share in these titles will earn him more than £3,000 in the February 2016 payment round. He said: "I honestly thought that PLR income would be pennies, not pounds. I am happily surprised and sure to spread the good word among my fellow narrators.” 4: DAVID WALLIAMS CONTINUES TO SOAR. AND DOODLING IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME David Walliams’w popularity continues to grow and he’s now the 41st most borrowed author compared to his 157th position in 2012-13.

His book Awful Auntie was also the most borrowed title in libraries in Northern Ireland. “What fantastic taste the children of Northern Ireland have,” said Walliams. “I am beyond delighted. Libraries are vital for children and adults to discover a wide variety of books. Long may they live!” Another big riser was Liz Pichon (64th from 160th last year), who was told off for doodling as a child. But the author of the excellent Tom Gates series, which she writes and illustrates, is one of the most popular in libraries. David Walliams’s popularity continues to grow and he’s now the 41st most borrowed author compared to his 157th position in 2012-13 Credit: Rex Features 5: WE STILL LIKE THE SIMPSONS The most borrowed book across the UK in the humour category was Bart Simpson: Big Shot! by Matt Groening. Readers in the south east did not have the same standards, though, preferring Is it Really Too Much to Ask? by Jeremy Clarkson. So many writers benefit from PLR money.

In February 2016, PLR will make payments totalling £6 million to 22,347 writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, translators, adaptors, narrators, producers and abridgers. This year’s rate per loan is 7.67 pence. 9: FEMALE AUTHORS HAVE STAYING POWER Despite having been dead since 1998, Catherine Cookson remains the UK’s most borrowed author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 32 million times between 1995 and 2015. Jacqueline Wilson is the UK’s most borrowed children’s author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 24 million times between 1995 and 2015. 10: IF IT'S POETRY, IT'S PAM Once again, the most borrowed poetry book was You Made Me Late Again, by Pam Ayres.

The English humourist, now 68, is as popular as ever, with gems such as this one called Had a Little Work Done: O Botox, O Botox, I’m ever so keen, To look as I looked at the age of sixteen. Induce paralysis, do as I ask, Give me, O give me a face like a mask. O take up a surgical bicycle pump, And give me some lips that are lovely and plump, Young men will stagger and say ‘Oh my God! Here comes Pam Ayres …and she looks like a cod!’ Pam Ayres Credit: Rex Features Top 250 most borrowed books from UK libraries | News | theguardian.com Top 250 most borrowed books from UK libraries Find out which authors are the most popular in Britain's libraries • Get the data Most borrowed author James Patterson photographed by Rankin for RandomHouse Do you know much about James Patterson? If so, you may be one of the many who have propelled the American thriller writer to the top of the UK's lending library chart.

Find this on the Guardian bookshop As Charlotte Higgins writes today , Catherine Cookson, for years the most ­borrowed writer, has been comprehensively overshadowed by the giants of American popular fiction. Cookson is still the 10th most borrowed author of the decade – largely due to the "astronomical" ­numbers in which her books were borrowed in the first half of the noughties, according to Jim Parker, the registrar of the Public Lending Right (PLR). The top three adult authors for July 2008-June 2009 were all Americans: the thriller writer James ­Patterson, followed by the romantic novelists Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. "She has fallen away completely," said Parker of Cookson. "It's partly down to the fact that when you stop producing books, you tend to fade away." Cookson died in 1998. Thanks to the PLR, we have the full list for you - the top 250 most borrowed books from the UK's libraries for 2008/09. Can you do anything with the data?

Catherine Cookson Book List - FictionDB General Fiction Mar-2000 A novel that is vintage Catherine Cookson, Kate Hannigan's Girl is alive with the captivating stories, detailed settings, and wonderful characters that have made her a beloved writer of historical fiction. It is the story of Annie, the illegitimate d... General Fiction 2000 Invalided out of the army at the end of the Second World War, Matthew Wallingham wonders what place there is in a new social order for a blind man, even if he is a decorated war hero. He has the sympathy of family and friends, but it seems the only p... General Fiction Feb-1999 Alison Read, orphaned when she was two years old, had for some years lived and worked with Paul Aylmer, her appointed guardian. Paul, an experienced antique dealer whose business thrived in the south coast town of Sealock, had come to rely on Alison,... General Fiction Nov-1998 With a harsh childhood behind him, Riley left school with little but optimism, secure in the knowledge that one of his teachers, Fred Beardsley, had faith in his future.

On honeymoon in Paris, Fred and his wife are amazed to find Riley appointed as a... General Fiction 1998 Bridget Gether's parents were killed in the wartime Blitz so she had lived with the Overmeers at Balderstone, their sprawling property in the Northumbrian countryside, since she was a child, Unaware that she had been manipulated into agreeing to marr... Romance 1998 As soon as she saw Shekinah Hall on the wild moorlands near Hexham, Constance Stapleton was attracted to it. With her marriage to Jim on the brink of collapse, Connie sensed that the move would initiate the separation from Jim she knew was inevitable... Romance Sep-1997 Fourteen-year-old Marie Anne Lawson, youngest daughter of a prosperous Northumbrian family, fleeing from something she couldn't bear to see, fell and broke her ankle. She was discovered by a local man who, because of a disfigurement, was known therea... Contemporary Romance Jul-1997 Pine Hurst has been home to the wealthy Steel family for generations.

And since her mother's death, eldest daughter Beatrice has controlled the estate -- ruling her father, Simon, and her three younger sisters with an iron fist. For Beatrice, control... Romance 1997 Money is tight in the farming communities around Fellburn in the 1880s, so when Hector Stewart announces that he is to marry wealthy Moira Conelly, it is his son Daniel who guesses the real reason for the union. However, Moira has not been entirel... General Fiction Jan-1997 Years ago Bill Bailey had met and married Fiona, a young widow with her own family. The Baileys made their home in the Tyneside town of Fellburn, where Bill's business prospered. When one of Fiona's children, Willie, acquired a new friend, the waywar... General Fiction Mar-1995 Even in the heat of battle, Geoff Fulton, a professional soldier, would always carry with him the memory of the night he was on leave, when his timely intervention rescued fourteen-year-old Lizzie from the oldest of perils for a young girl, and there...

Historical Romance 1994 Close to her fifteenth birthday, Jinnie Howlett, a reluctant inmate of a northern workhouse, was offered a position as a maid-of-all-work by the Shalemans at Toilet's Ridge Farm, a bleakly isolated farm near the Cumbrian border. Before long, howe... General Fiction Jan-1994 The day Joe Remington brought his new bride to Fell Rise, he had already sensed she might not settle easily into his home just outside the Tyneside town of Fellburn. She made plain her disapproval of Joe’s familiarity with the servants, and questio... Historical Romance 1993 The Golden Straw, as it would be named, was a large, broad-brimmed hat presented to Emily Pearson by her long-time friend and employer Mabel Arkwright, milliner and modiste. And before long it was to her employer that Emily owed the gift of the busin... Historical Romance 1993 Struggling to maintain a facade of family harmony for the sake of their religious beliefs and three grown children, Winifred and Daniel Coulson begin a legacy in which their youngest son, Donald, must choose between the values of the past and present...

General Fiction Jan-1993 Fatherless at five, Joseph Jebeau grows up to defend his country and himself against Hitler's mad ambitions, against his mother's ruthlessness, and against secrets from the past. By the author of The Love Child. 35,000 first printing. Lit Guild & Dou... Historical Romance 1992 When Kate Mitchell applied for a job at Tor-Fret, a lonely house on the Northumberland fells, she had no idea that it was composed only of men. She could not understand her moody employer and his hatred of his brother, but slowly she begins to discov... Historical Romance 1992 Ward Gibson knew what was expected of him by the village folk, and especially by the Mason family, whose daughter Daisy he had known all his life. But then, in a single week, his whole world had been turned upside down by a dancer, Stephanie McQueen,... Historical Romance Oct-1991 Unable to obtain a divorce from his alcoholic wife, Nathaniel Martell and his mistress defy convention and live together openly. They manage not only to feed, clothe, and educate their six children but to create a warm family life. As Anna Martel...

Historical Romance 1991 Ellen Jebeau married a man who did little but dream, and who then died with debt his only legacy. Whatever else her marriage had lacked, however, she had her son Joseph. Ellen resolved he should have all in life she had missed and to achieve that end... Historical Romance 1991 Orphaned at a tender age, Millie Forester is adopted by "Raggie Aggie" Winkowski, and she suffers misfortune and misplaced love as she grows to adulthood side by side with Aggie's son, Ben, whose love for Millie increases over the years.... Historical Romance 1990 A century or so ago there lived at Heap Hollow Cottage, situated near Fellburn in County Durham, a man and a woman and their six children. By all appearances they were a close and loving family. Yet across the happy facade lay a shadow that had lengt... Historical Romance 1990 Even the approach of Christmas, 1913, fails to excite the restless Agnes Conway, the twenty-two-year-old manager of her feckless father's adjoining sweet and tobacconist shops.

There are dark secrets in Arthur Conway's past, and these come tragically... Historical Romance 1989 This modern-day tale features an irresistible hero, Bill Bailey, who, from the moment he arrives to take up residence in Fiona Nelson's home, makes his presence felt in no uncertain terms. As a young widow left badly off, and with three children t... Historical Romance 1989 Bridget Dean Mordaunt was a woman of consequence in her own part of the world. Inheriting her father's businesses at the age of 19, by the time she was 23 in 1880, she was running them as confidently as any man. Yet the path destiny required her ... Bill Bailey - 3 In this, the third novel of a trilogy, the atmosphere in the Bailey household was alive with anticipation. It was not only because Christmas was approaching, or even that Bill Bailey was tackling the biggest project of his career. No, all the excite...

Historical Romance 1988 At twenty-one, Jinny Brownlow was, to all intents and purposes, alone in the world, a typist at a large engineering firm in the Tyneside town of Fellbum, with her only outside interest the local theatre group, where the only role she seemed to play w... Historical Romance 1988 The Harrogate Secret is a tour de force of historical imagination, a story with an enthralling plot, thick with the intertwining stories of richly drawn characters, and a brilliantly detailed portrait of the oppression of the poor by those who reaped... Historical Romance Jun-1987 IN THE RAW NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTRYSIDE, A PROUD WOMAN STRUGGLED WITH THE FATEFUL CHOICE BETWEEN LOVE, LOYALTY AND DESIRE... Nancy Ann Hazel--free-spirited child bride, she abandoned the shelter of the vicarage to embrace a life of vibrant challenge... Bill Bailey - 1 From the moment Bill Bailey arrived to take up residence at Fiona Nelson’s home in the Tyneside town of Fellburn, he made his presence felt in no uncertain terms.

As a young widow left badly off, and with three children to bring up, Fiona had come ... Historical Romance 1985 Roddy Greenback -- handsome, ambitious, a talented artist, he fled his heritage for the wider world, while a terrible secret haunted all his dreams... Mary Ellen Lee -- she desired Roddy with a young girl's first recklass passion -- but sens... Historical Romance 1985 A legacy of hatred can be a terrible force in life, over which not even an enduring love and all the fruits of material success may prevail. Catherine Cookson explores this theme in a major novel that will absorb and enthrall her readers as irresisti... Tilly - 2 Beautiful and bewitching Tilly Trotter has served Mark Sopwith devotedly for twelve years -- his wife in all but name. But now his is dead and Tilly's whole future at Highfield Manor looks uncertain. -- Four months pregnant with Mark's child, Till... General Fiction Oct-1980 ‘The child was bright, the voice on the phone had said; and quite normal…’ Why had they said that? They were holding something back. He had felt it from the very first.

Was she a cripple, he had asked? No, the voice had said, she wasn’t a cri... General Fiction Mar-1980 While staying with his grandparents on the eastern coast of England in 1890, 16-year-old Eddie finds himself allied with his rather prickly and reputedly deaf grandmother in the struggle to free his sister and the household maid from a band of white ... Tilly - 1 The first novel in an epic trilogy set during the reign of Queen Victoria. It follows the fortunes of a young girl who goes from a small village in Tyneside, to a new life in America as the wife of a wealthy man - only to return and encounter the... Historical Romance 1979 There are men who can at times be stirred by the power and conflict of their own emotions to the point of shedding tears. Such a man was Abel Mason. Unhappily married to the shrewish Lena, he sought release in a love affair that soon ended in brutal ... Historical Romance 1978 The cinder path which led from the Northumberland farmhouse would always symbolise defeat for Charlie MacFell.

People saw him as a born loser, a nice chap who always got the dirty end of the stick. At the root of the matter were boyhood humiliations ... Historical Romance 1977 Her name was Hannah Boyle, but to the people of the village she would always be "The Girl"--Matthew Thornton's bastard. -- Savagely treated by Matthew's wife Anne, she fled for protection to the devil-may-care horse-dealer, Ned Ridley, who had earl... General Fiction Aug-1976 "I WANT TO BE A VET!" In his daydreams, fifteen-year-old Matty would stand up to his dad and tell him he didn't want to be a dockworker, no matter how good the pay. But life isn't made of daydreams, and Matty knew that even if he got around his f... Historical Romance 1976 The Price of Love. She gave up everything for him. Her reputation. Her chance for the kind of future every woman wants. She followed him-- not when was a man of means--but when he had nothing. She gave willingly, gladly, never knowing if his feelin...

Historical Romance Oct-1975 The turbulent story o f a fascinating, ruthless man with gambling in his blood, courage in his heart and laughter in his soul. Rory Connor, the pride of Jarrow Road, whose furious ambition led to violence and danger for himself and those around hi... Historical Romance 1975 It was a white wedding, but it was not a love match. Annie Cooper married Georgie McCabe for one reason only: she was expecting his child. Georgie might not be all that bright, but he was a hard worker; and as time went by, the family prospered. Four... General Fiction Sep-1974 Davy and his deaf and dumb younger brother, John Willie, find themselves homeless after their father is killed in a mining accident. Eccentric Miss Peamarsh offers a chance for a new future - but then Davy stumbles across a horrifying secret from Mis... General Fiction Jul-1974 The Mallen Litter is the third and final part of the multi-generation story of the Mallens, which began with The Mallen Streak and continued with The Mallen Girl.From generation to generation bad luck and misfortune had befallen each and every member...

Mallen - 1 Mallen of High Banks Hall had many sons, most of them out of wedlock. But to all of them, he passed on his mark – a distinctive flash of white hair running to the left temple known as the Mallen Streak. It was said that those who bore the streak, b... Historical Romance 1972 Angus McBain, the brutal master of Cock Shield Farm who was too easily tempted to sin, too sinful to escape a hideous retribution.. . Jane, his gentle daughter who devoted her life to caring for her deformed young brother...Amos, the legless child wh... Historical Romance 1972 Mary Walton was the apple of her da's eye. For long now he had been out of work, and Mary was his only comfort during those dark years of the Depression, when unemployment and a nagging, ambitious wife gnawed away at his self-respect. Once he was a m... Historical Romance 1971 Cissie Brodie was an impoverished orphan, the daughter of a farmer, and a proud, beautiful young woman.

Clive Fischel was Lord Fischel's arrogant son, a man raised to despise his inferiors in Victorian England's class-conscious society. One afternoon... Historical Romance 1970 When the Gallachers received an invitation from the Duke of Moorshire to attend an evening at Lea Hall, Maggie was overwhelmed. She could still scarcely believe her eyes, even if it was a long-overdue honour – after all her husband Rod had done for... Historical Romance 1969 Annabella Lagrange had the kind of childhood that most can only dream about. The only child of an aristocratic couple, raised on their magnificent estate in the English countryside, she was loved by her parents and coddled by servants who acquiesced ... Historical Romance 1966 TWO KINDS OF SIN Beautiful young widow Cissie Thorpe sensed it was wrong to accept the attentions of her employer, brilliant lawyer John Emmerson. But it seemed quite innocent to offer friendship to this man trapped in a loveless marriage, so lone... Romantic Suspense 1965 Prudence Dudley was a woman who appeared to have everything: an undeniably attractive woman who had already achieved considerable success as a novelist.

Yet she remained at odds with life. It all stemmed from the past: her sad rejected childhood and ... Historical Romance 1965 SHE WAS DESPERATELY, HELPLESSLY IN LOVE ... Ever since girlhood, Jenny Chilmaid had lived in the shadow of her stunningly beautiful cousin Bett. Bett made Jenny her best friend--only to use her to witness her triumphs in love, and to listen to her... Mary Ann - 6 Mary Ann is now engaged to be married and the wedding is to take place in a few week's time. But Mary Ann still manages to become involved in the knotty problems of those dear to her and sets out to solve them in her own inimitable manner.... Historical Romance 1963 HOW COULD SHE TELL HER HUSBAND? HOW COULD SHE LIVE WITH HERSELF? Sarah knew that it would break her husband David's heart and destroy his pride if he learned that she had surrendered herself to his brother John, who had dominated David his whole li... General Fiction Jan-1963 Deep in the wild fen country, Rosamund Morley lived a cloistered, poverty-stricken existence with her sister Jennifer and her alcoholic father.

She was the prop and stay of the family – and it was she who ran for help the night her father set his b... Historical Romance 1962 NEVER WOULD HER HUSBAND FORGIVE HER FOR REBELLING AGAINST THE CRUEL DECEPTION OF THEIR MARRIAGE Grace Rouse knew that her husband Donald would never willingly let her go free, so she tried to make herself invulnerable to his vengeful bitterness--b... Mary Ann - 4 Her expensive convent education hadn’t changed Mary Ann Shaughnessy one little bit. Sure, she could come over all refined when she had to, but who’d want to talk ever so nice on a farm?But in other respects she was growing up fast. As Mary Ann be... Historical Romance 1960 A novel set in a mining town featuring a girl blessed - or cursed - with the indefinable appeal that drives men to the brink of obsession. Three men dominated her life, until one day a stranger, came to the river bank near her home and she found ... Historical Romance 1959 Fanny McBride was a large, cheerful. indomitable Tyneside widow with a large cheerful family.

When she reached her fifties, she began to feel, for the first time in her life, a little lonely. All but one of her sons and daughters had married and left... Historical Romance 1959 FEARFUL PASSION From the moment strikingly lovely Leonine Carter first laid eyes on Peter, she felt a tremor of fear. It was not the obviously dazzled look of instant adoration from this handsome young man that filled her with misgiving. Leonine w... Mary Ann - 3 When Mary Ann is sent from her native Tyneside to become a pupil at a high-class convent boarding school on the South Coast, the idea in her benefactor's mind was that she should be turned into a little lady. In this, the third story in the Mary ... Historical Romance 1958 Other Women Were Pretty But none of them attracted men the way she did. Their quiet, sensual beauty proved no match for her boyish slimness and unblushing eagerness for love. Other Women Were Satisfied They accepted whatever life offered. Pam Tu... Historical Romance 1957 "You're a lucky man, Rooney," his friends kept telling him.

As he watched them struggle to feed a large family or forgive an unfaithful wife, the comfortable bachelor was forced to agree. And yet there was an emptiness in Rooney--an aching emptine... Mary Ann - 1 'Me da's a grand man!' Mary Ann Shaughnessy has spoken; question her who dare. For although Mary Ann may look quite an ordinary small girl from a dockland tenement, always hot in defense of a ne'er-do-well father, she is in fact a one-man army, armou... Historical Romance 1954 There were plenty around Fellburn who said she was as plain as a pikestaff, but Maggie Rowan more than made up for it by her dogged determination to succeed. They reckoned that once a miner's daughter like Maggie had tasted power, she'd be like a beg... Historical Romance 1953 THE COLORS OF LOVE Ever since Rose could remember, she knew she was different. Her relatives, her teachers, her schoolmates, even her own mother, all made her aware of that. For Rose's father was of an alien race, and her perfect beauty bore unmis...

Historical Romance 1952 Life in the Fifteen Streets... was a continual struggle for survival. Some families gave up hope and descended into a state of perpetual despair. Others, like the O'Briens, maintained a fierce determination to transcend the bitter poverty into which... BBC News | UK | Catherine Cookson dies Catherine Cookson dies The BBC's Andrew Burroughs: "reckoning with her past inspired a prolific outpouring of books" One of the most popular romantic authors Dame Catherine Cookson has died just nine days short of her 92nd birthday. Dame Catherine, who was born into poverty, died one of Britain's wealthiest women at her home near Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne, at 12.30pm, on Thursday. The announcement was made by Anthony Shiel, who had been her agent since 1970. He said her family were "desperately upset". "It's very sad. She had been under the weather for the last few months. In a way it was not unexpected," said Mr Shiel. "I know she had serious blood problems all her life and had suffered several haemorrhages.

Bookshelves full of her books are a common sight "The last time I saw her was last summer and she was in perfectly good spirits. "She was very weak and had lost a lot of weight but she was still laughing, joking and had retained full mental capacity." Even though her first novel was not published until almost halfway through her life, Dame Catherine sold more than 100 million books in 30 different countries. "She was a unique woman. I remember her most for the hard life she led, her zest and curiosity. She is irreplaceable," said Mr Shiel. "I write about ordinary people" Catherine Cookson speaking about her books The success of her books, which centred mostly on the Tyneside she grew up in, remained undiminished by modern life. She has rarely been out of the top ten most-borrowed books in British public libraries, and in 1997, for the second year running, nine out of ten out of the most popular library books borrowed were written by Dame Catherine. After a childhood of poverty, a few weeks before her 84th birthday, a Sunday newspaper named her as Britain's 17th richest woman with an estimated fortune of �14 million.

Tyneside tributes Tributes have been paid by those in the literary world and also from the area she called home. Mark Barty-King, managing director of Dame Catherine's publishers Transworld, said: "We have lost not only a most prolific novelist but a very true and loyal friend. Each book, she said was "remarkable for its sincerity and warmth". "She will be greatly missed by all who knew her and by her millions of readers throughout the world." Best-selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford praised the work of a fellow writer. "I think she did what a novelist was supposed to do. She entertained, she brought human emotion to the paper." The chairman of the Romantic Novelists' Association, Angela Arney said: "She was held in very high esteem. She didn't just write romantic novels but social history. "I think everyone wanted to be like her. She encapsulated the spirit and the times of the period she wrote about." Dame Catherine was revered on Tyneside, and South Tyneside Borough Council now markets itself as 'Catherine Cookson Country.' The authority's leader described her as the area's "favourite and most famous daughter".

Councillor Paul Waggott said the death of Dame Catherine "leaves the borough with a sense of deep loss". "Her death comes as a great shock to those who have known and admired her tremendous courage in battling against ill-health for many years. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her devoted husband Tom." And the ordinary people of the area were equally sorry to hear the news. She was described as "a wonderful woman", by some while others believed "everybody from the town will miss her dearly." Catherine Cookson drops out of library charts | Books | The Guardian Books Catherine Cookson drops out of library charts Rise of the US crime thriller leaves tales of northern, plucky women on the shelf, figures for most borrowed books reveal Charlotte Higgins , chief arts writer Thursday 11 February 2010 14.43 EST First published on Thursday 11 February 2010 14.43 EST Close This article is 6 years old Catherine Cookson, for years the most ­borrowed writer from the UK's lending libraries, has been comprehensively overshadowed by the giants of American popular fiction, latest figures reveal.

She dominated the library charts for years – but there is no trace of her among the 100 most borrowed books of 2008-9. She is still, however, the 10th most borrowed author of the decade – largely due to the "astronomical" ­numbers in which her books were borrowed in the first half of the noughties, according to Jim Parker, the registrar of the Public Lending Right (PLR). Instead, the top three adult authors for July 2008-June 2009 were all Americans: the thriller writer James ­Patterson, followed by the romantic novelists Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. "She has fallen away completely," said Parker of Cookson. "It's partly down to the fact that when you stop producing books, you tend to fade away." Cookson died in 1998. But Parker said her downfall also represents a sharp change of taste. Out are Cookson's survival tales of plucky women, rooted in the industrial north of England; in are bloodthirsty thrillers. "Cookson's books are dark in a way, but not graphic," he said.

"People now want to go into details, and the more bold the better, like Patricia Cornwell [number 12 on the list of most borrowed adult authors for 2008-9]. Cookson's books are tragic but safe – you can turn the page without risking a sex scene or a graphically described murder." Thrillers , romance and crime novels were the most popular genres in ­libraries, according to the PLR's research. But surprisingly, although many of the top names are familiar – such as John Grisham, Joanna Trollope and Ian Rankin – the league table of books borrowed from libraries differs significantly from bestsellers. There is no Dan Brown among the top 100 books (though his latest, The Lost Symbol, was published in the autumn, and so does not fall into the current list). Nor is there any showing from the crime novelist Stieg Larsson, or Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series of vampire books beloved by teenage girls. Tracy Chevalier, author of The Girl With the Pearl Earring and an adviser to the PLR, said: "I'd assumed that Dan Brown and JK Rowling would be in the top 10, but they're not.

I think that ­suggests libraries are a little disconnected from publishers' marketing ­campaigns, and I suspect librarians probably take a longer view of books. Bestsellers are the quick waves crashing on the shore; library books work over a longer timescale. Perhaps our reading tastes are less predictable than publishers think. Libraries seem to represent the eccentric underbelly of British life." The library figures are also, however, revealing of who uses them. Once the figures for children's and adults' books borrowed in 2008-9 are combined, Patterson retains pole position (in raw numbers, his book Sail was borrowed 80,000 times). But in general, children's authors show their supremacy, taking second, third and fourth position and occupying 13 of the top 20 slots. Of the children's authors, Tracy Beaker author Jacqueline Wilson, the perennial favourite, has been tipped to the top position over 2008-9 by Daisy Meadows, the pseudonym for the four authors of the Rainbow Magic series of fairy stories. But Wilson is still the most borrowed author of the decade, followed by JK Rowling and Cookson.

In the combined adult-children list for 2008-9, children's authors Francesca Simon, Mick Inkpen and Julia Donaldson came in on Wilson's heels. Classic children's works retain a foothold: Enid Blyton comes in at 13 in the combined children's/adult list and Roald Dahl is at number 17. "Parents come into libraries to feed the voracious reading habits of children," said Chevalier, "but then the habit dies away when children become teenagers." That might account for Meyer's absence from the list. According to Chevalier: "If you're a teenager you want to own your own copies of Meyer's books – you will read and re-read them." Literary fiction is striking by its virtual absence on the adult league table. Sadie Jones's The Outcast is at number five and Peter Ho Davies's The Welsh Girl at 86 – both had been featured on the Richard and Judy book club. But none of the 2008 Booker prize shortlisted novels appeared. Non-fiction is also barely represented. "The lists show why people read," said Chevalier, "and it's basically about entertainment and escapism.

People don't go around killing people or having steamy adulterous affairs but they do like to read about it." On the PLR's list of most borrowed classic titles, the top slot is occupied by JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, with three different editions of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in the top 10. More surprising is the dominance of Daphne Du Maurier on the classics list: 10 of the top 20 books are hers. Five are by Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer also figures – possibly a reflection of the tastes of an older generation of users.

Question: Which author who died in 1998 was the most borrowed author from British libraries for over twenty years?
Answer: Catherine Cookson