Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, Robert Graves' novel captures the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome. Both I, Claudius and Graves’s sequel Claudius the God are regarded today as pioneering masterpieces of historical fiction, as well as gripping reads.  

The autobiographical fiction draws on Maya Angelou’s life overcoming racism and trauma through her love of literature to her becoming a mother at the age of 16. Angelou went on to write six more volumes chronicling her life.

A medievalist protagonist encounters a series of misadventures in a comedic exploration of the human condition. John Kennedy Toole's novel is widely regarded today as a tragicomic classic that exposes 'intellectualism'.

Featuring Maugham himself as a character and adapted twice for the big screen, The Razor's Edge tells the story of an American pilot trying to adjust back to normal life following the First World War. It’s a gruelling look at the devastating effects of post-war trauma, and a philosophical journey to find meaning in life.

Many will remember the recent BBC series of the same name; Lark Rise to Candleford is author Flora Thompson’s semi-autobiographical recollections of her youth and growing up in Oxfordshire, and paints a delightful portrait of country life at the end of the 19th century.

When proud and passionate Eustacia Vye marries Clym Yeobright, she believes she can finally leave her rural life at Egdon Heath behind. But their unhappy marriage causes a chain of events culminating in tragedy, and their realisation that their destinies cannot be controlled.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was James Joyce’s first novel and details the young artist discovering his voice, craft and identity through his literary alter ego, Stephen Dedalus. There are echoes of his techniques here before they are refined in his later works such as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

Joseph Conrad’s novella has been deemed by many as a ‘difficult read’, but this enigmatic and atmospheric piece of fiction of Charles Marlow’s journey up the Congo river – which also provided the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now – will leave you unfolding its many layers for a long time after. 

A swooningly romantic book with an exhilaratingly combative pairing at the centre. The themes of wealth and gender inequality are woven in seamlessly and are completely integral to the electric dynamic between Margaret Hale and John Thornton.

‘When it first came out it was viewed as being far-fetched,’ said Margaret Atwood in 2017. The continued regression of abortion laws and women’s rights across the world has only made Atwood’s dystopian all the more pertinent; and ensures the book – and TV show’s – place in history as a lynchpin of the feminist resistance.

David, a young American, awaits his fiancée in Paris when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman. As their friendship develops into an intense affair, David is faced with a choice of following his heart and accepting his sexuality or marrying to suit social convention.

Both Mario Puzo's book and 1972 film adaptation became global phenomena with this searing portrayal of New York’s Mafia underworld. A powerful story of tradition, blood, honour and of course, family allegiance.