What speaker for being close to rear wall?

"English speakers also generally seem to get mentioned a lot."

I've noticed that, too. My speculation is that it reflects England, where living rooms are said to be smaller. (Easier to fit speakers in if they go close to a wall.) Plus I imagine it's less common over there to have dedicated listening rooms.

At a local (Seattle) dealership, I heard a very nice demonstration of the Wilson Duettes in a close-to-the-wall configuration and I thought they sounded very nice.

I have KEF207/2's and they do just fine close to the rear wall. They are also remarkable speakers (see Stereophile review). Good luck@

A pair of Guru QM-10's just went up for sale here.

Vienna Schoenberg series is designed for on-wall or near wall use. Not great, but not half bad.