 | Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder by Evelyn Waugh
Buy new: £3.15 / Used from: £3.49 I read this book every year and every time I see in it something different. The atmosphere is magical, but this book provokes deep thought, particularly about the nature of Catholicism.
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 | The Balkan Trilogy: "Great Fortune", "Spoilt City" and "Friends and Heroes" by Olivia Manning
Buy used from: £0.01 These books are all gems. To me Harriet Pringle is a real heroine and you end up loving all the characters, even the wastrels and outcasts.
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 | Molesworth (Penguin Modern Classics) by Geoffrey Willans
Buy new: £7.14 / Used from: £4.20 I read this book whenever I need cheering up; having experienced a minor prep school myself, I find this book utterly hilarious. I particularly love Molesworth II and his penchant for radio malt.
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 | The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers
Buy new: £8.39 / Used from: £2.65 I can't recommend this enough; I love the illustrations, the story, the whole experience of the book.
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 | The Cornish Trilogy: The Rebel Angels, What's Bred in the Bone, and, The Lyre of Orpheus: What's Bred in the Bone, The Rebel Angels, The Lyre of Orpheus by Robertson Davies
Buy new: £11.19 / Used from: £1.95 This is an amazing work; everyone should know the work of Robertson Davies and he should be a bestseller everywhere, not just in Canada.
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 | The Salterton Trilogy: Tempest-Tost; Leaven of Malice; A Mixture of Frailties by Robertson Davies
Buy new: £10.49 / Used from: £1.26 I've bought this for so many people who have enjoyed it. Lighter than The Cornish Trilogy, it is still highly enjoyable, particular Tempest Tost, the first book.
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 | The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.45 I wish I could live the life of The Provincial Lady; in my spare time I too never get my bulbs in in time and long for a life of coffee mornings at the WI.
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 | A Dance to the Music of Time: Spring v.1: Spring Vol 1 (Dance to the Music of Time) by Anthony Powell
Buy new: £9.80 / Used from: £9.05 I chose Spring as it is the first volume, but all 12 of these books are wonderful. As with Olivia Manning, the characters are all richly engaging.
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 | The Ladies' Paradise (Oxford World's Classics) by Émile Zola
Buy used from: £3.62 This is the best Zola book I've read; it will be appreciated particularly by anyone who loves sewing and fabric; the descriptions of the silks and ribbons are wonderful.
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 | The Three Musketeers (Oxford World's Classics) by Alexandre Dumas
Buy new: £6.29 / Used from: £1.75 I read all 5 books that make up this saga in one 2-week run - I couldn't put them down until the final resolution.
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 | Bleak House (Oxford World's Classics) by Charles Dickens
Buy used from: £0.17 This is my favourite Dickens - again I've bought it for several people. It is Victorian drama at it's very best and has a wonderful Dickensian ending.
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 | Dombey and Son (Oxford World's Classics) by Charles Dickens
Buy used from: £0.01 Again, a fantastic piece of Dickens; I couldn't put it down and the final chapters are terrific.
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 | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Buy new: £3.18 / Used from: £0.01 I love all Sherlock Holmes - I couldn't say which volumes were my favourites. They stand up to reading again and again, even when you know whodunnit.
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 | A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Buy new: £6.94 / Used from: £0.40 I read this reluctantly after both my husband and then my manager declared their favourite book ever and was happily surprised; it is totally engrossing.
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 | Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels (Penguin Modern Classics) by Nancy Mitford
Buy new: £7.14 / Used from: £8.16 This is pure escapism; brilliantly funny. If you like Waugh, you'll also enjoy these books by one of his closest friends.
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