Booksellers' Choice
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
New novels by Zadie Smith, one of the best writers of her generation, don't come along very often, but this, her first historical novel, was more than worth the wait. Set across the middle decades of the 19th Century, The Fraud explores the real life Titchborne case, one of the longest trials in English history, where the Claimant, an ordinary working man from the East End of London, claimed that he was Sir Roger Titchborne, who had previously been assumed lost at sea, and thereby entitled to the family inheritance. With clear references to the fake news populism of our present day and the questions this raises on the nature of truth, this is also a bittersweet tale of the disenfranchised, whether it be the principal female character in the tale, the wonderful Eliza Touchet, the slave workers of the Caribbean enabling the continued wealth of the British gentry or the working people of London whose desperation to get one over the establishment leads them to blind faith in one who claims to be a member of the establishment himself. This is cutting satire, smart social commentary, and a fascinating history all rolled into one.
Published by Penguin; £20
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
And our top 5 for Christmas and the New Year
A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett
Wonderful series of rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s. £20
A Stroke of the Pen The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnie has the answers! £20
Be Useful Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger j
All Around the Year by Michael Morpurgo
Diaries of Michael Morpurgo's Devon farm, with poetry by Ted Hughes, photographs from James Ravillious and an introduction from Katherine Rundell. What more could anyone ask? £16.99
All Around the Year by Michael Morpurgo
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
A welcome return. The first brand new Percy Jackson adventure for many years. £16.99
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
You Choose Christmas
Wonderful new seasonal You Choose picture book from Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart. £12.99
