Jess Kidd’s detective heroine inhabits a Victorian London that is revealed in all its stench and glory

Family history and mythical lands pervade a rich, clever, rueful and sometimes maddening work

A surprisingly sober fictionalised recreation of the King’s early life with Gladys

A delightful memoir by the fashion photographer about his troublesome, flamboyant boyhood — and a later passion for hats

Two heartbroken people seek out a shared life in this ambitious, refined novel about attraction, disappointment, loss and care

Susie Boyt on why kindness in literature, from Austen to Bellow, should be cherished and treated with caution

A memoir of an upbringing in an intellectual elite full of clashes and strictures

A girl’s imagination adds colour to rural life in 1930s England in this evocative tale

Susie Boyt unfolds the immaculate allure of the linen cupboard

A daring collection of short stories with an aura of cool and featuring dislocated characters

A moving and involving story about a Las Vegas showgirl attempting to conquer past demons

Susie Boyt, herself a devotee of extreme entertaining, shares her tips: from lavish food to fragrant flowers and the vital importance of “a bit of theatre”

Two sisters in flight from a troubled home find solace in the Scottish wilderness

Rebecca Rose selects her must-read titles

A funny tale about the effects of grief on a family and the wider repercussions of the death of a celebrity

‘Mad Men’ creator Matthew Weiner’s dark debut novel explores the collision of privilege and hardship

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