It is a truth universally acknowledged that when most people think of Jane Austen they think of this charming and humorous story of love, difficult families and the tricky task of finding a handsome husband with a good fortune.

A novel before its time, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-prize winner addresses issues of race, inequality and segregation with both levity and compassion. Told through the eyes of loveable rogues Scout and Jem, it also created one of literature’s most beloved heroes – Atticus Finch, a man determined to right the racial wrongs of the Deep South.

Jay Gatsby, the enigmatic millionaire who throws decadent parties but doesn’t attend them, is one of the great characters of American literature. This is F. Scott Fitzgerald at his most sparkling and devastating.

Gabriel García Márquez’s multi-generational spanning magnum opus was a landmark in Spanish literature.

The ‘true crime’ TV show / podcast you’re obsessed with probably owes a debt to this masterpiece of reportage by Truman Capote. Chilling and brilliant.

Jean Rhys wrote this feminist and anti-colonial prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre which chronicles the events of Mr Rochester’s disastrous marriage to Antoinette Conway or Bertha as we come to know her.

One of the greatest and most prescient dystopian novels ever written, this should be on everyone’s must-read list.

Cassandra Mortmain’s upbringing in a crumbling castle with her eccentric family may not be everyone’s experience, but we can guarantee her coming-of-age story with all its enchanting and disenchanting moments will resonate for many.

One of literature’s steeliest heroines, in her short life Jane Eyre has overcome a traumatic childhood only to be challenged by secrets, strange noises and mysterious fires in her new home of Thornfield Hall. All while falling in love with her employer, Mr Rochester. A Gothic masterpiece that was groundbreaking in its intimate use of the first-person narrative.

This novel is a masterful and completely captivating depiction of a man experiencing a profound mental unraveling. No amount of ethical bargaining on Raskolnikov’s part can free him from the parasitic guilt nested in his soul. A brilliant read if you loved Breaking Bad.

Donna Tartt's book follows a clique of smart, attractive students at an elite university and an outsider who finds himself forced to conceal a dark secret. A gripping and tense read.

Jack London was a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and used his experiences to write about a dog named Buck who becomes a leader of the wild. With themes exploring nature and the struggle for existence in the frozen Alaskan landscape.