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The vault: books for all times and every time

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books / plays / poetry / literature / drama

Emma by Jane Austen: An endearingly sarcastic triumph of romance.

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Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: An easily-led and naïve girl who sees life as the next gothic novel begins to find her way in the world.

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Austen's most-loved heroine slowly loses her prejudice when it meets its match in pride.

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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: Seductive as excitement is, kindness and good sense ultimately win in this romantic novel.

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Persuasion by Jane Austen: The autobiographical hints in this novel, about a spinster finding love, has made it one of Austen's most popular.

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: A clash of classes, wills and fate all mingle to make an amazing love-story.

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Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte: The tragedy of love and of unrequited love; incredible characterisation.

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The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: An extremely valuable moonstone is stolen, and its pursuit is followed through the narrative, introducing in beautiful language some of literature's most alive characters.

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Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky: Two beautifully crafted short stories about the effect of the Second World War on life in France

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Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks: Sebastian Faulks’ eye-opening account of World War One

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Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks: The adventures of a young woman acting as a secret agent in France in the Second World War

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Engleby by Sebastian Faulks: Faulks' latest novel, set in Cambridge, reveals the mind of a socially unstable man, whose actions have devastating consequences.

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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan: His short novel poignantly demonstrates the terrible consequences of lack of communication.

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Atonement by McEwan: McEwan's best-known novel is a love-story, a war-document, and an incredible investigation into literature itself.

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The Child in Time by Ian McEwan: A poignant yet life-affirming exploration of the difference between the states of adult and child, and the ability of these states to, along with time, fluctuate.

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Enduring Love by Ian McEwan: A thrilling novel that throws narrative into doubt along with everything else.

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Bleak House by Charles Dickens: One of Dickens’ finest novels concerning a long-running legal dispute with far-reaching consequences for all involved

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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Dicken's classic sees young Pip grow up; and entailed in the process is the subversion of everything he thinks he knows.

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The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: In the depths of the Great Depression, small farmers refuse to give up their dignity and spirit, retaining the dream that life can be better.

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The Pearl by John Steinbeck: A tragic novel about the corruption of wealth.

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Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck: America in the Depression – an unforgiving place, where even friendship is pushed to its limits.

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On the Road by Jack Kerouac: An account of travelling across America in the fifties, and the fast-living ethos that saturates its characters.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: The horror of trading one's soul for one's beauty.

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Paradise Lost by John Milton: John Milton’s great British epic, about the fall of man

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The Go Between by L. P. Hartley: A novel exploring growing-up, the lack of understanding a child has in an adults' world, and the devastating impact of a sexual awakening too early.

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Utopia by Thomas More: A new world: does it advocate early communism, or is it a parody of an undemocratic society?

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: Love brings only horror: fantastic portrayal of paranoia intermingling with truth.

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1984 by George Orwell: An alternate world, where private life made public and utter loyalty due to Big Brother on pain of torture in room 101.

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Animal Farm by George Orwell: George Orwell’s unique and clever critique of Communist Russia

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Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell: George Orwell’s semi-autobiographical account of living in poverty in Paris and London

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A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett: A child leaves her home of India and must adapt to life as a semi-orphan in England – and then to life as a servant, when her fortunes change.

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Fantastic imagination – the novel is a classic for children and adults alike.

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Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: The iconic story of Scarlett O’Hara set in the Old South during the American Civil War

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Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams: Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning play about the culture clash typified in the relationship between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski

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All My Sons by Arthur Miller: Arthur Miller’s play about the individual’s responsibility to society above all else

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Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill: O’Neill’s heart-rending semi-autobiographical play about the effects of addiction

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High Windows by Philip Larkin: A collection of verse by Philip Larkin, confirming him as one of the finest poets in British literary history

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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, two “star-cross’d lovers” in a fit of teenaged angst

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Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s dark tragedy of revenge, grief and moral corruption

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Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy

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The Sonnets by William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s famous sonnets, primarily concerned with love, beauty, politics and mortality

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Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: An unvalued worker metamorphoses into a beatle.

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Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: In a beautiful story, a man is torn between two women, against the backdrop of the Russian revolution and subsequent civil war

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: The story of Charlie Bucket inside the eccentric Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

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The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memories of her childhood in the American Midwest in the late 1800s

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The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: J. K. Rowling’s immortal children’s series about Harry, Ron and Hermione, enjoyed by those of all ages

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Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot: So good, it’s recommended by a dog lover! T. S. Eliot’s whimsical collection of poetry about cats

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The decay of the American Dream as it shifts from the pursuit of happiness and individualism to the pursuit of money

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The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: Edith Wharton questions the assumptions and morals of New York society at the turn of the century

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Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote: The characters create this short novel; an absolute must-read.

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Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres: This charming novel centres around the war romance between an Italian captain and the daughter of a Greek doctor in Cephallonia.

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Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah: The true story of an unwanted girl, regarded by her family as a bad omen because her mother died in childbirth.

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The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer: Chaucer’s savagely funny tales, exposing human nature in its truest form

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Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: Rushdie’s unique chronicling of events in India’s history

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Watership Down by Richard Adams: A revealing and thoughtful masterpiece about rabbits finding a home.

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To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: Woolf's streams of consciousness weave together to create this masterpiece.

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Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt: Romance and academia: the exploration of the researcher’s sense of ownership over his subject

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Beloved by Toni Morrison: A rich, personal and historical account of the impact of slavery

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Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: Hardy’s powerful criticism of social conventions in a moving and poetic novel

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A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway: The despair of Frederic and Catherine, two lovers caught up in the First World War

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Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: To get out of the war, you have to be mad; if you claim to be mad, you surely must be sane. The ultimate Catch-22.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Racism and childhood, and the virtue of strength and the pursuit of what you know to be right.

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The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: Sylvia Plath’s semi autobiographical novel about the descent into mental illness

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The Color Purple by Alice Walker: The novel explores class, race, sexuality and friendship, in beautifully written letters, first to God and then to the protagonist's sister.

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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: Don't expect Dr Who – time travel involves sadness as well as excitement. Brilliant mixed narrative.

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The Gathering by Anne Enright: The Booker prize winning novel about love, secrets and disappointment

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The Shining by Stephen King: Stephen King’s classic story of horror, isolation and the descent into madness

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Ray Bradbury takes the reader to a time where reading is outlawed and firemen are little more than book-burners

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Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey: The impact of a bet between obsessive gamblers

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Hester Prynne, persecuted for adultery by her community, nurtures her independence despite her lover’s hesitation and her husband’s scheming

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: The heart-warming story of the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy

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England, England by Julian Barnes: A savage satire of “Englishness” at the end of the twentieth century

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What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt: Friendship, age, work, children, life – beautifully expressed.

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The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: An architect follows his own vision instead of pandering to a crowd who want only the fashion: the difficulty of living life as you see it should be lived.

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Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: A man who has invented one of the cleverest machines of the industrial age allows it to be destroyed – and for the good of mankind. A novel that redefines every preconception.

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The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing: The birth of a fifth child disrupts a harmonious family; the novel forces questions about the extent to which parents are responsible for their children, and what is left for them to do when the child represents a devil-like figure.

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The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory: Elizabeth I, the virgin queen, has a lover...and it isn't any of her potential suitors.

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The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory: Katherine of Aragon's story: her determination to become Queen of England sees her marry her husband's brother.

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The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory: Young Hannah seeks refuge as a Jew in a Christian world – and finds potentially blasphemous work in the court of the king.

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Anita and Me by Meera Syal: A Punjabi girl growing up in Britain in the Sixties tries to find her way in a world where each of her cultures are changing.

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The Good German by Joseph Kanon: Set in the aftermath of the Second World War, amidst intrigue, occupation, and adjustment.

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A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby: Three strangers find themselves at the top of the same tower block, ready to throw themselves off

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Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby: Nick Hornby shows football fans in a good light in his witty semi-autobiographical homage to football

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About a Boy by Nick Hornby: An unlikely friendship between a thirty six year old bachelor and an eccentric twelve year old

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The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis: C. S. Lewis’ much loved fantasy series for children

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The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger: In the midst of teenage angst and rebellion, Holden Caulfield displays disturbing cynicism about life and people

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Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller: A creepy and riveting account of a teacher’s affair with a pupil from the view of her colleague

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: Brian is stranded in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet for his survival.

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Hatchet: The Return by Gary Paulsen: Brian's pangs for the forest and the life he, and no one else, understands, see him return to the wilderness – only to find himself facing an even trickier situation than last time.

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Hatchet: Winter by Gary Paulsen: Survival in the winter is an entirely different experience to summer self-sufficiency.

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The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: A most British man talks of his life and his past; his politeness and 'Englishness' see him act with restraint when openness might be more appropriate.

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The Outsider by Albert Camus: Is it one's social duty to love one's mother, and to feel sorrow for a murder committed in passion?

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Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood: Escape and insight into the past.

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Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker: A play exploring the influx in the late seventeenth-century of English prisoners to Aboriginal land.

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Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: Stella Gibbons parodies the romanticised, doom-laden accounts of rural life

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Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys: Jean Rhys’ prequel to Jane Eyre portrays Bertha and Rochester in an entirely different light

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