Blog
The Best Books of 2020: Fiction
From the triumphant release of Hilary Mantel's The Mirror & the Light in March to the appearance of Rumaan Alam's scintillating Leave the World Behind in November, book publishing has defied the chaos and privations of 2020 to deliver a stellar selection of titles. This year has seen immensely accomplished and important works such as The Vanishing Half, Betty and the Waterstones Book of the Year-scooping Hamnet, the return of storytelling geniuses Victoria Hislop, Ken Follett and Bernard Cornwell, and spectacular flights of imagination from Bridget Collins and Susanna Clarke. Ideal fireside companions over the festive period, here is our pick of 2020's greatest fiction.
Historical Fiction
£20.00
Hardback
Out of stock
One of our greatest living novelists resurrects the short life of Hamnet Shakespeare, the Bard’s only son, in a profoundly moving account of grief, family and genius in an era where life was ever precarious.
£25.00
Hardback
Click & Collect only
Only available in some of our shops
The triumphant conclusion to a modern classic, The Mirror & the Light carries the reader spellbound through the final, tragic era of Thomas Cromwell’s eventful life.
£20.00
Hardback
Click & Collect only
Only available in some of our shops
After captivating readers with his formidable Mythos and Heroes, Fry turns his attention to another great narrative from Ancient Greece, exploring the timeless human passions that beat at the heart of this iconic old story of heroism, love, despair and revenge.
£25.00
Hardback
In stock
Available
A stunning prequel to The Pillars of the Earth that delivers an enthralling slice of epic fiction in its own right, The Evening and the Morning tells the story of one man’s unquenchable ambitions for his abbey.
£14.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
Compelling, intricate and formidably crafted, The Betrayals opens the doors to an ancient, exclusive institution dedicated to the study of a strange, clandestine game.
£14.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10-15 working days
Weaving a rich gothic atmosphere, the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell mines a darkly fantastical vision with a tale of a very singular house and its mysterious inhabitants.
£20.00
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
Seething with intrigue, divided loyalties and epic battles, War Lord brings Uhtred’s magnificent story - and the Last Kingdom series itself - to an epic conclusion.
£18.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
Exquisitely rendered in Sebastian Barry’s rhapsodic prose, A Thousand Moons continues the tale of Winona - featured in the author’s Costa Award-winning Days Without End – as she makes her way through the forbidding and treacherous world of post-Civil War America.
£16.99
Hardback
10+ in stock
Available
Remarkably prescient and beautifully realised, this historical novel from the author of the seminal Room centres on a trio of female medics at the height of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
Postwar Fiction
£14.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
An uncompromising yet tender and warmly witty exploration of love, pride and poverty, Shuggie Bain charts the endeavours of its eponymous protagonist – an ambitious and fastidious boy from a dire mining town with a thirst for a better life.
£14.99
Hardback
Out of stock
Spanning the 1950s to the 1990s and from the Deep South to California, Bennett’s stunning novel follows the journeys of two estranged twin sisters leading very different lives – to the extent of adopting different racial identities.
£20.00
Hardback
5+ in stock
Available
Following the fortunes of an adolescent girl through changing family dynamics and growing self-realisation, The Lying Life of Adults is a pitch-perfect dissection of Italian family life and the follies of youth.
£20.00
Hardback
Out of stock
Written with Mitchell’s trademark lyrical flair and eye for the extraordinary, Utopia Avenue documents the rise and fall of the eponymous 1960s psych rock band, from destiny in Soho to nemesis in Rome.
£14.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
In this highly anticipated sequel to her bestselling The Island, Hislop returns to the isle of Spinalonga in a nuanced and absorbing tale of hope and tragedy.
£18.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
Exploring themes of love, racism and religion in post-war small-town America, Jack is another dazzling examination of faith and pastoralism set in the richly imagined community of Gilead.
£16.99
Hardback
10+ in stock
Available
Set amidst the brutality of Idi Amin’s Uganda, Makumbi's wise and tender novel is a hymn to survival, rebellion and the enduring power of the female spirit.
£14.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
Evoking a fully-rounded friendship with wit and psychological truth, O’Hagan’s masterful novel charts an epic night of debauchery in 1980s Manchester and its tragic aftermath thirty years later.
£14.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
Six years after the ground-breaking dystopia Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel weaves together the stories of a bartender, a hotel owner and a shipping agent into a kaleidoscopic mystery.
£20.00
Hardback
Out of stock
Moving between 1980s small town Ireland and New York, Home Stretch is a searing story of responsibility, blame and a young man’s quest for oblivion, from the author of A Keeper.
£12.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
Sweeping across five tumultuous decades in British politics, from the miners’ strike to Brexit, Scabby Queen is a tantalising portrait of a woman who defies the norm.
Contemporary Fiction
£16.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
The culmination of a hugely ambitious and fast-paced literary project, Summer continues the interplay between the recent past and modern day society that marked out Smith's preceding works as so resonant and insightful.
£16.99
Hardback
Out of stock
From the author of How to Stop Time comes this poignant, unique novel about regret, hope and forgiveness - and a library that houses second chances.
£14.99
Hardback
Out of stock
Both deeply unsettling chiller and audacious take on the febrile politics of twenty-first century America, Alam’s immersive page-turner places a vacationing couple at the mercy of strangers in need.
£14.99
Hardback
In stock
Available
A profound novel from the author of the highly acclaimed Ghost Wall, Summerwater is a bittersweet portrait of modern Britain, presented through the microcosm of a drab Scottish cabin park.
£12.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
Told in short snippets of crystalline prose, Weather's wry, quiet power, understated insight and keen intelligence illuminates aspects of everyday life in Trump’s America.
£18.99
£16.99
Hardback
10+ in stock
Available
Exploring the relationship between two bereaved men amidst the physical and emotional carnage of the West Bank, Apeirogon is a masterpiece of characterisation and subtle political commentary.
£12.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
A wild and unsettling story about alienation and not fitting in from the bestselling author of Convenience Store Woman.
£18.99
Hardback
Out of stock
Ranging from Afghanistan to the United States heartland, Akhtar’s freewheeling novel explores notions of identity and belonging through an American son and his immigrant father.
£14.99
Hardback
We can order this from the publisher
Usually dispatched within 10 working days
From the author of Night Boat to Tangier, this enthralling new collection of short stories is a tantalising meditation on Ireland – a modern country in an eternal dance with its ancient, enchanted past.
£16.99
£8.50
Hardback
10+ in stock
Available
Elegant and subtle, Miller’s portrait of a marriage in the dog days of late middle age embraces betrayal and emotional sterility with great power.
£14.99
Hardback
Out of stock
The latest novel from a beautifully distinctive voice in contemporary fiction captures an endearing, multi-faceted drifter at an emotional crossroads.
Related articles
Sign In / Register
Not registered? CREATE AN ACCOUNTCREATE A plus ACCOUNT
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
Click & Collect
Reserve online, pay on collection.
Or, add to basket, pay online, collect in as little as 2 hours, subject to availability.
Or, add to basket, pay online, collect in as little as 2 hours, subject to availability.
Thank you for your reservation
Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at
When will my order be ready to collect?
Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.
Call us on or send us an email at
Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order
Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at
Comments
There are currently no comments.