List of English Writers - P

P

• Ruth Padel (born 1946), poet and journalist
• Lynda Page (born 1950), novelist
• Russell Page (1906–1985), garden writer and landscape architect
• John Paget (died 1638), religious writer and Presbyterian minister
• Barry Pain (1864–1928), novelist and humorist
• Thomas Paine (1737–1809), political writer and pamphleteer, Rights of Man
• William Painter (c. 1540–1594), writer
• William Paley (1743–1805), philosopher, theologian and cleric
• Francis Palgrave (1788–1861), historian
• Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897), poet and anthologist, Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics
• William Gifford Palgrave (1826–1888), travel writer and orientalist
• Alan Palmer (living), historian and biographer
• Edward Henry Palmer (1840–1882), translator and orientalist
• Herbert Edward Palmer (1880–1961), poet and critic
• John Palmer (c. 1729–1790) religious writer and Unitarian minister
• John Palmer (1742–1786), religious writer and Unitarian minister
• Samuel Palmer (1805–1881), poet and painter
• Robert Paltock (1697–1767), novelist
• Julia Pardoe (1806–1862), poet, novelist and travel writer
• Bernard Pares (1867–1949), historian and Russian expert
• Edith Pargeter (also wrote as Ellis Peters, 1913–1995), novelist and history writer
• Emma Parker (fl. 1809–1817), novelist
• Henry Parker (1604–1652), political writer
• Martin Parker (c. 1600 – c. 1656), balladeer
• Matthew Parker (1504–1575), Bible translator and archbishop, the Bishops' Bible
• Norman Parker (born 1954), memoirist
• Samuel Parker (1640–1688), theologian, religious writer and bishop
• Samuel Parker (1681–1730), religious writer and translator
• Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925), writer and poet
• C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–1993), naval historian and writer on administration, Parkinson's Law
• John Parkinson (botanist) (1567–1650), herbalist
• Adele Parks (born 1969), novelist
• Tim Parks (born 1954), novelist and translator
• David Parlett (born 1939), writer on games
• Samuel Parr (1747–1825), political writer, scholar and educator
• Cecil Parrott (1909–1984), translator, biographer and diplomat, The Good Soldier Švejk
• Eliza Parsons (1739–1811), novelist, The Castle of Wolfenbach
• Frances Partridge (1900–2004), diarist and translator
• John Pass (born 1947), poet and scholar
• Paston Family (14th – 16th cc.), Paston Letters
• Walter Pater (1839–1894), essayist and novelist, Marius the Epicurean
• Coventry Patmore (1823–1896), poet and critic
• Simon Patrick (1626–1707), religious writer, theologian and bishop
• Brian Patten (born 1946), poet and children's writer
• Mark Pattison (1813–1884), writer and cleric
• Tom Paulin (born 1949), poet, academic and broadcaster
• Michelle Paver (born 1960), children's writer, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series
• Stel Pavlou (born 1970), novelist and screenwriter
• James Payn (1830–1898), novelist and miscellanist
• John Payne (1842–1917), poet and translator
• Nick Payne (living), playwright
• David Peace (born 1967), novelist
• Henry Peacham the Elder (1546–1634), writer on rhetoric and cleric
• Henry Peacham the Younger (c. 1573 – c. 1643), poet and writer on art and literature
• Lucy Peacock (fl. 1785–1816), children's writer, editor and translator
• Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866), satirical novelist and poet, Nightmare Abbey
• Mervyn Peake (1911–1968), novelist and poet, Gormenghast
• Philippa Pearce (1920–2006), children's writer, Tom's Midnight Garden
• Pearl Poet (unnamed poet, fl. 14th c.), poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Hugh Pearman (born 1955), critic and architect.
• Tim Pears (born 1956), novelist
• Hesketh Pearson (1887–1964), biographer
• John Pearson (born 1930), biographer
• John Pearson (1612–1686), theologian and bishop
• Edward R. Pease (1857–1955), writer and politician
• Reginald Pecock (c. 1395–1460), theologian and bishop
• Margaret Pedler (died 1948), novelist
• Arthur George Villiers Peel (also known as George Peel, 1869–1956), economist and politician
• J. H. B. Peel (1913–1983), writer, poet and journalist
• George Peele (1556–1596), playwright and poet
• Mal Peet (living), children's writer
• Samuel Pegge (1704–1796), antiquary, translator and cleric
• Isaac Penington (1616–1679), Quaker writer on religion
• William Penn (1644–1718), politician and political and religious writer
• Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), naturalist, antiquary and travel writer
• Roland Penrose (1900–1984), biographer and artist
• Hilary Pepler (1878–1951), writer and poet
• Michael Peppiatt (born 1941), art critic, art historian and biographer
• Emily Pepys (1833–1877), child diarist
• Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), diarist
• Thomas Percy (1729–1811), bishop, poet and anthologist, Percy's Reliques
• John Perrin (c. 1558–1615), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Chris Petit (born 1949), novelist and film director
• William Petty (1623–1687), economist and philosopher
• K. M. Peyton (born Kathleen Herald, 1929), children's writer, The Edge of the Cloud
• Gilbert Phelps (1915–1993), novelist, critic and educator
• St. John Philby (1885–1960), writer, intelligence officer and Arabist
• Ambrose Philips (1674–1739), poet
• John Philips (1676–1709), poet
• Katherine Philips (1632–1644), poet
• Caryl Phillips (born 1958), novelist
• Edward Phillips (1630 – c. 1696), writer and philologist
• John Phillips (1631–1706), writer
• J. B. Phillips (1906–1982), Bible translator and cleric
• Richard Phillips (1767–1840), writer and publisher
• Stephen Phillips (1864–1915), poet and playwright
• Eden Phillpotts (1862–1960), novelist, poet and playwright
• Henry Phillpotts (1778–1869), pamphleteer and bishop
• Gervase Phinn (born 1946), novelist, poet and writer on education
• Constantine Phipps (1797–1863), writer and politician
• David Andrew Phoenix (born 1966), writer, scientist and educator
• Barbara Leonie Picard (1917–2011), children's writer
• Tom Pickard (born 1946), poet and scriptwriter
• David Pickering (born 1958), compiler of reference books
• Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936), scholar, Qur'an translator and novelist
• Sarah Piers (died 1719), poet
• Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877–1959), economist
• Mary Pilkington, (1766–1839) novelist, poet and children's writer
• Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934), playwright
• William Pinnock (1782–1843) educational writer and publisher
• Harold Pinter (1930–2008), Nobel prize winner, playwright and screenwriter, The Caretaker
• Isaac Pitman (1813–1897), writer on shorthand
• Christopher Pitt (1699–1748), poet and translator
• Ruth Pitter (1897–1992), poet
• Mary Pix (1666–1709), playwright and novelist
• James Planché (1796–1880), playwright
• Victor Plarr (1863–1929), poet and biographer
• Alan Plater (1935–2010), playwright, screenwriter and novelist
• Karen Platt (living), garden writer.
• Max Plowman (1883–1941), writer and poet
• J. H. Plumb (1911–2001), historian
• Anne Plumptre (1760–1818), writer and translator
• Isaac Pocock (1782–1835), playwright and painter
• Tom Pocock (1925–2007), biographer and historian
• Richard Pococke (1704–1765), travel writer, diarist and bishop
• Frank Podmore (1856–1910), writer and politician
• Michael Podro (1931–2008), art historian
• Elizabeth Polack (fl. 1830–38), playwright
• John William Polidori (1795–1821), writer, poet and physician, The Vampyre
• Alfred Oliver Pollard (1893–1960), novelist, autobiographer and army officer
• Alfred W. Pollard (1859–1944), bibliographer and scholar
• Margaret Steuart Pollard (1903–1996), poet and writer
• William Pollard (1828–1893), Quaker writer on religion
• Jacob Polley (born 1975), poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Polwheele or Polewhele (c. 1651 – c. 1691), playwright
• Richard Polwhele (1760–1838), poet, writer and cleric
• John Pomfret (1667–1703), poet and cleric
• John Poole (1786–1872), playwright
• Alexander Pope (1688–1744), poet
• Dudley Pope (1925–1997), novelist, Lord Ramage series
• Jessie Pope (1868–1941), poet and writer
• Walter Pope (1627–1714), astronomer and poet
• James Pope-Hennessy (1916–1974), biographer and travel writer
• Samuel Pordage (1633–1691), poet
• Eleanor Anne Porden (1795–1825), poet
• Richard Porson (1759–1808), scholar, editor and translator
• Anna Maria Porter (1780–1832), novelist and poet
• Henry Porter (died 1599), playwright
• Henry Porter (born 1953), writer on liberty and novelist
• Jane Porter (1776–1850), novelist
• Roy Porter (1946–2002), historian
• Sheena Porter (born 1935), children's writer, Nordy Bank
• Jacob Post (1774–1855), Quaker religious writer
• Raymond Postgate (1896–1971), novelist and social historian
• Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), children's writer and illustrator, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Dennis Potter (1935–1994), playwright and screenwriter
• Robert Potter (1721–1804), translator, poet and cleric
• Anthony Powell (1905–2000), novelist, A Dance to the Music of Time
• Michael Powell (1905–1990), writer and film director
• Eileen Power (1889–1940), historian
• Rhoda Power (1890–1957), children's writer and broadcaster, Redcap Runs Away
• John Cowper Powys (1872–1963), novelist, A Glastonbury Romance
• Llewelyn Powys (1884–1939), travel writer and biographer
• T. F. Powys (1875–1953), novelist and story writer
• Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802–1839), poet and politician
• Terry Pratchett (born 1948), novelist, Discworld series
• Anne Pratt (1806–1893), botanical writer and illustrator
• Samuel Jackson Pratt (1749–1814), poet, playwright and novelist
• Thomas Preston (1537–1598), scholar and playwright
• Thomas Preston (1563–1640), religious writer and RC monk
• Diana Primrose (fl. 1630), poet
• Matthew Prior (1664–1721), poet
• Bonamy Price (1807–1888), political economist
• Nancy Price (1880–1970), dramatist, novelist and poet
• Richard Price (1723–1791), economist, moral philosopher and Unitarian minister
• Susan Price (born 1955), children's writer, The Ghost Drum
• Christopher Priest (born 1943), novelist
• Chris Priestley (born 1958), children's writer and illustrator
• J. B. Priestley (1894–1984), playwright and novelist, An Inspector Calls
• Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), theologian, natural philosopher and political theorist
• Alison Prince (born 1931), children's writer and screenwriter
• Peter Prince (living), novelist and screenwriter
• V. S. Pritchett (1900–1997), writer
• May Probyn (1856–1909), poet
• Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), poet and philanthropist
• Bryan Waller Procter (wrote as Barry Cornwall, 1787–1874), songwriter and playwright
• Sophie Amelia Prosser, (1807–1882), children's writer
• Sally Prue (living), children's writer
• J. H. Prynne (born 1936), poet
• William Prynne (1600–1699), religious pamphleteer and history writer
• John Pudney (1909–1977), writer and poet
• Sheenagh Pugh (born 1950), poet and novelist
• Pullein-Thompson sisters: Josephine, (born 1924), Diana, (born 1925) and Christine, (1925–2005), children's writers
• Charlotte Pullein-Thompson (wrote as Charlotte Popescu, born 1957), writer on ponies and gardening
• Philip Pullman (born 1946), children's writer, His Dark Materials
• Samuel Purchas (c. 1575–1626), travel writer
• C. B. Purdom (1883–1965), critic, author and biographer
• Libby Purves (born 1950), novelist, broadcaster and columnist
• Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882), theologian, scholar and cleric
• George Puttenham (1529–1590), and Richard Puttenham (c. 1520 – c. 1601), critics and courtiers
• Henry James Pye (1745–1813), Poet Laureate and writer
• Barbara Pym (1913–1980), novelist