Recommendation

Hilary Mantel's acclaimed masterpiece is the first instalment in the Wolf Hall trilogy, tracing the rise of Thomas Cromwell under the cruel and capricious Henry VIII. A shrewd and ambitious self-made man, Cromwell emerges as a powerful force within the court, but even he is subject to the fickle wishes of a King who can offer favour as well as ruin. An impeccably researched and thoroughly immersive historical novel which established Hilary Mantel as one of the greatest British writers of the century.

Deemed by Dickens as his 'favourite child', David Copperfield is the most autobiographical of Dickens' novels. In it, the protagonist recounts his life from his childhood to the discovery of his writing talent and eventual success as a novelist. Populated with an unforgettable cast of characters, this Bildungsroman is a classic for the ages.

Adventurous and gripping, the Jack Aubrey novels comprise twenty completed volumes and one unfinished set during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin. In 2004, O'Brian's unfinished novel was published posthumously. The series received international acclaim and was adapted into the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

When Sarah M. Broom's mother bought a shotgun house in New Orleans, it was 1961 and life seemed full of promise. Widowed, Sarah's mother remarried, and the house came to host twelve children. But when her husband died, that same house turned into her most unruly child. Ambitious and moving, this book traces a hundred years of family history and the history of one of the most fascinating American cities.

Barbara Trapido's acclaimed and beloved debut, Brother of the More Famous Jack redefines the coming-of-age novel through the story of eighteen-year-old Katherine. As she enters the eccentric home of Professor Jacob Goldman, the young Katherine seems to have finally found her place. But when a romance ends in heartbreak, she is forced to leave and grow up away from those she loves. Ten years later, her return to the Goldmans will yield a delightful series of surprises...