I loved this book BEFORE the Beeb serialised it. Exquisite & moving study of layered relationships. Timeless.

It's Tartuffe that justifies inclusion here. Moliere's greatest verse comedy - and most contraversial. Banned for 5 years after publication.

No apologies for having a second Arnold Bennett in the list. The best of his works set outside the potteries. A picture of obsession.

A novel that absolutely deserved the Booker Prize. Evocative and revealing, intensely gripping, its a parable based on a boy who is shipwrecked, the sole human survivor

An epic, exotic novel of love, revenge and shocking cruelty. Read it.

An intricate, deeply personal novel, which sheds light on London, particularly literary London, at the end of 19th century: but more noteable and more enjoyable for the well-drawn characters