Kate Mosse and the Writer's Choice Read more about Kate Mosse
Following in the steps of Sebastian Faulks, Philip Pullman and Nick Hornby, Kate Mosse has had complete freedom to select each title that appears on her Writer's Table. She has used this freedom to build a diverse list that spans a myriad of genres, times and cultures.
With books ranging from classics (Emily Bronte, Guy de Maupassant, Joseph Conrad), biography (Claire Tomalin, Arthur Koestler, Jung Chang), crime (Ian Rankin, Agatha Christie) and history (Karen Armstrong, Zoe Oldenbourg) to adventure (Jules Verne, H. Rider Haggard), modern fiction (Margaret Atwood, Louis de Bernieres, Marilyn French, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) and poetry (TS Eliot, Emily Dickinson), Kate Mosse's list is enjoyable, stimulating and readable - an inspiring choice from one of the UK's most beloved authors.
Read more about Kate Mosse
"With titles from all over the world, there is something here for everyone. Kate's choice touches on over two thousand years of human history. It is full of surprises, but remains throughout a selection of moving and entertaining stories of the human condition."
Toby Bourne, Head of Fiction, Waterstone's.
See Sebastian Faulks' Writer's Table See Philip Pullman's Writer's Table See Nick Hornby's Writer's Table
See the Children's Laureate Writers' Table
The Writer's Choice
Birds Without Wings by
Louis de Bernières
"Set in a village in south-west Anatolia, brought vividly to life - an elegiac and timeless tour-de-force about religion, identity and the violent struggle for nationhood."
Montaillou by by Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie
"The extraordinary story of life in a French village in the Pyrenees in the 14th century as Cathars and Catholics struggled to live side by side. Immaculately detailed."
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"An epic, ambitious and brilliant personal novel about the Biafran war of independence. Moral responsibility, the nature of violence and the end of colonialism."
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
"The sweep of English history told through the changing faces of Salisbury. Panoramic, nation-building, our island story."
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
"Lively, fast-paced novel laying bare the lives, desires, dreams, hopes and expectations of four Saudi girls. Subtle story of cultural conflict and traditions versus modern life"
My Antonia by Willa Cather
"One of the greatest of all frontier novels, Cather brings the beauty and the hardship of rural Nebraska to life at the beginning of the 20th century. Women's rights, land, the American dream, all here!"
Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas
"Vargas is an academic, archaeologist and gripping storyteller. Odd, supernatural tale from French Queen of Crime, cult!"
Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson
"With 1800 poems and more published in her lifetime, this is a lyrical, subtle section of her works on immortality, death, solitude from this 19th century classic poet."
The Map of Love by Adhaf Soueif
"A passionate love story, the complexities of Cairo a century apart, in this beautiful page-turner that should have won the Booker Prize!"
The Bible: The Biography by Karen Armstrong
"Accessible, erudite, even-handed biography of the book itself, from a leading philosopher and theologian. Superb and brainy."
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
"Melancholic, subtle, heart-rending, political, a novel of self-image and race told through the voice of one girl. Life-changing."
The Women's Room by Marilyn French
"International feminist classic of the 70s, bringing American in the 50s, 60s and beyond to vivid life - a must read..."
The Wise Woman by Philippa Gregory
"Superb historical debut from the unrivalled fictional chronicler of the Tudors. Inspired, gripping, fun."
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
"Even after all these years, this is a novel I come back to time and time again. Passion, place, isolation and the dreadful beauty of the Moors. Perfect!"
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
"Moving, Terrifying, the original horror story with the power to frighten, entertain and cause the reader to weep. A devastating indictment of man's (and woman's) arrogance!"
Massacre at Montségur by Zoé Oldenbourg
"Superb, narrative and dramatic history of the fall of the Cathar fortress of Montségur in 1244 from this Russian exile."
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
"The last published Miss Marple crime novel and one of the best from the Queen of Crime. Clever, tricky, beautifully put together."
Four Quartets by TS Eliot
"Simply, for me, the greatest sequence of poems - my Desert Island choice. Philosophy, theology, nature, the four elements, the quintessential poem of mood and landscape. Perfect."
King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard
"Published in 1885, this is the first of the "Lost Worlds" genre of adventure writing, starring the original action hero, Allan Quartermain. Fabulous fun!"
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
"Pulitzer-prize winning novel, a meditation on faith, life and America in the words of an aging Congregationalist preacher. Magnificent, literary fiction at its best."
Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
"The winning crime combination of Edinburgh detective Rebus and Rankin. This, the break-through novel based on real-life Scottish serial killer. Gripping. Dark."
Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood
"Early novel from, arguably, the world's greatest living novelist. Dark, challenging, an exploration of the lust for sexual and political power."
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
"Brilliant, Soviet fantasy satire of the USSR Moscow, published posthumously - the devil comes to town, a play within a play, a masterpiece."
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
"17th century Iran brought vividly to life in this debut about a young girl who, like the boys, wants to be allowed to make carpets. Mythology and folktales."
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
"Three generations of women in China, before, during and - in hope - after Mao. A revelation and essential reading."
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
"Fine, poetic examination of the consequences of the Holocaust in Poland, Greece and contemporary Canada. Beautiful."
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
"Published at the outbreak of World War Two, an immense, epic story of the Depression, dirt bowl America and one family's struggle to survive."
Affinity by Sarah Waters
"My favourite (so far) of Waters original, atmospheric novels - 19th century spiritism, sexy and ghostly, a wonderfully chilling read."
The Time-Torn Man by Claire Tomalin
"Life, works, loves and hopes of the 19th century poet and novelist, Thomas Hardy. The perfect biography."
Scum of the Earth by Arthur Koestler
"A work of genius about the hazy beginnings of World War Two in France, internment, enemy aliens and the nature of false patriotism. Brilliance and poetry."
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gillman
"1891 American feminist classic. A woman kept prisoner in an upstairs room, a meditation of sad, mad and bad attitudes to free women."
The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch
"The 23rd novel by the late, great Murdoch, a literary dazzler of philosophy, Marxism, the birth and death of ideals and friendships. A towering work of fiction."
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
"One of the greatest ghost stories ever written - creepy, suggestive, disorientating. Read with the door locked and all lights in the house burning..."
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
"Amoral, wicked, sardonic laying bare of 19th century French social climbing by the master of fin-de-siècle literature."
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
"Science, 19th century European exploration, fabulous characters in this classic adventure story set deep within the world's lost centre."
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
"Published in the 1840s, the story of d'Artagnan and his companions. All together now - "One for all, all for one." Great fun."
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
"Haunting tale of the quest for advancement, identity and the colonial project stripped bare, in Marlows search in the Belgian Congo for the enigmatic Kurtz. Dazzling."
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
"Two men wait by a tree on a country road for a man who never comes. A theatrical masterpiece of comic despair."
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
"Sensitive, plangent novel of the First World War, after and during, from the German point of view. A reminder, if needed, that everyone suffers. Sold 2 ½ million copies in 1928/9 alone."
The Chateau by William Maxwell
"An American couple travel to France after the end of the Second World War. Gentle, mesmerising novel of misunderstanding and false impressions, the forerunner of "On Chesil Beach" in tone and style."
