World War II forced people of many nationalities into extraordinary circumstances, says Lori Inglis Hall—who works in the archives of WW2 photographer Lee Miller and whose new novel follows twins forced apart by conflict. Here, she recommends five of the best novels set during World War II, both historical fiction and novels written immediately after or during the war by eyewitnesses.

The Edgar Award for Best Novel is one of the most prestigious prizes in the mystery and crime fiction genre, and an excellent starting point if you're looking for a flavour of what kind of books are out there. As we start our list of the best mystery books of 2026, Five Books editor Sophie Roell runs us through this year's shortlist, from Dickensian London to the wilds of the Southern Ocean.

In early January 2026 US forces arrested the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and took him into custody in the US, charged with drug offences. Political scientist Julia Buxton chooses five books on modern Venezuelan politics and explains that this is only the latest political catastrophe to befall a country that has been plagued by its vast oil reserves. An endowment of natural resources that was expected to make the country rich when they were discovered in the early 20th century has only succeeded in making it poor and politically unstable.

Fairies have long stood for the numinous other, and since the twentieth century authors have put fairy tradition to a variety of uses. Award-winning author Jo Walton introduces us to five landmark stories of fairies – wide-ranging in setting and themes, but always at once alluring and discomfiting.

Every era has its monuments. What architectural legacy has the Industrial Revolution left behind? Jeff Brouws is a photographer whose work explores the American cultural landscape through a typological lens. His latest book, Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project, documents concrete coaling towers that once fueled steam locomotives across North America. He talks us through five essential books on industrial photography—from the Bechers' rigorous documentation to intimate portraits of displaced steelworkers—and explores what we preserve when structures themselves vanish.

In recent years, there has been a slew of novels retelling old myths and epics from the perspective of a female character, but books with strong female leads are nothing new. From classic fiction to memoirs, from fantasy to thrillers, literature is populated with female leads — both fictional and real — who are strong in different ways.

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there," wrote L.P. Hartley. The question is: in what ways? Historian Ian Mortimer talks us through five influential books that shed light on daily life in medieval England—from monastic communities and great households to the gruelling lives of the peasantry.

The best historical fiction should transport the reader directly into the past, yet offer insight that reflects upon the present, argues Emily Howes, whose new novel Mrs. Dickens will be released later this year. Here, she recommends five of her favourite historical novels that, like her own books, are drawn from true stories.

Friedrich Hayek was not a great formal economist, but he has been hugely influential politically and in the evolution of modern microeconomics, perhaps in spite of himself, argues Philip Mirowski, a historian and philosopher of economic thought. He talks us through books to better understand the Austrian émigré who ended up in the United States as the great convener of neo-liberalism in the mid-20th century and whose ideas are still influential in the new populism.

Sci fi writers have busy, flexible minds and give us a lot to enjoy beyond their famous novels, says our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop. Here, she recommends five of her favourite lesser-known works by big names: from novels to short form, and from the wonders of science to glorious nonsense.