Written in the form of a letter to Marcus Aurelius, this timeless novel reimagines the Roman emperor Hadrian, looking back on his life. The prose is exquisite, the musings on art and death, ... read more
This love story tacks between an English boarding school and the Western Front. A moving historical debut; compelling and unexpectedly funny (for the Somme).
Published in 1954, STW's wonderful last novel depicts an early Victorian merchant family on the Norfolk coast, harried by the good intentions of its flawed paterfamilias. Her coruscating int... read more
From Bath in 1865 to Dublin and Borneo: a novel about transgressive relationships and a woman's sense of her own destiny being other than what convention dictates.
The discovery of a corpse sends Cat Hakesby and James Marwood on a dangerous path that seems to lead to Charles II's favourite courtier... The sixth in this excellent series of historical th... read more
The discovery in 1799 of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance. Atmospheric historical fiction with a delightful heroine.
A first historical novel, set in Willesden and Jamaica. Brilliant and funny, of course, not least for its opening in Harrison Ainsworth's collapsing library.
A novel based on letters from the 1930s between the pianist Vladimir Horowitz and a student, revealing a gay relationship that remained secret from everyone including VH's wife (Toscanini's ... read more
The story of the protagonist is told from several points of view by different generations. Against the backdrop of Germany's imperial ambitions in Africa and Arctic explorations, through the... read more
Connecting with her sequence 'Gilead', 'Home' and 'Lila', this new novel concerns the family's errant son Jack, the intelligent, drunk, courteous, poetry-loving, foolish ne'er-do-well. Aspir... read more
Reymont was a Polish novelist who won the Nobel prize in 1924; this is his magnum opus, an epic of nearly 1000 pages set in the C19th, about a small Polish village. At its centre are a weal... read more
Who in the UK now remembers Ransmayr's 'The Last World', about Ovid in exile, which was such a bestseller in 1990? He remains a major European literary figure, and his new novel about Aliste... read more
Set in 1742, this is a rollicking reworking of Moonfleet in which a wild, cross-dressing teenage girl joins a bloodthirsty gang of smugglers to avenge her father's murder.
This excellent author has set his new novel in Roman Britain: a tribal princess given away as part of a peace treaty flees through Wales with her Roman lover.
When a young woman in Renaissance Italy is taken by her husband, the Duke of Ferrara, to a remote villa, she realises he intends to kill her... Richly told, by the author of Hamnet.