The Best Mediterranean Novels, published by Foundry Editions
Publisher Foundry Editions was set up in 2023 to showcase beautiful writing, unusual storytelling, unforgettable characters and intelligent entertainment from across the Mediterranean region. Here are five of their most recent books, now available in English for the first time, from Spanish noir to historical fiction from Cyprus, an Italian bestseller and a family saga and gothic ghost story set in Palestine.
FICTION The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction
“It’s really about the relationship between the two women, and also about how history rises up unbidden and knocks your life aside. It’s very well written. I think it will be a classic. It’s short as well”—Kit de Waal, judge, Women’s Prize for Fiction
CLASSIC LITERATURE The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
“Stephen King declared that The Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest ghost stories ever written”—Joan Passey, literary scholar, University of Bristol
HISTORICAL FICTION The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
“In choosing the winter of 1962 when, for some weeks, life in Britain paused, suspended in heavy snow, Andrew Miller has subtly identified a moment…when we shifted from looking backwards to the Second World War… towards the future”—Katharine Grant, judge, Walter Scott Prize
NONFICTION BOOKS The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
“I cried throughout reading this book. So did a lot of my fellow judges”—Kavita Puri, judge, 2025 Women’s Prize
HISTORY A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous
“This book, A Woman in Berlin, is one of the great diaries of the whole war. Although it was published anonymously we do know the name of the woman who wrote it now.”—Antony Beevor, historian
THRILLERS The Magus by John Fowles
“The layers are peeled back: every time you think you’ve understood what’s going on, another layer of falsehood is peeled back to reveal that what you thought was a truth is anything but.”—J.S. Monroe, thriller writer
MYSTERIES An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James
“Cordelia Gray takes over the Pryde detective agency on the death of her boss and has to run it. This is the first case she comes across. She’s asked to investigate the death of a young student in Cambridge”—Jeffrey Archer, writer and politician
NONFICTION
🏆 Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
“I had no idea Steinbeck was interested in science…He conveys a boyish enthusiasm for nature but some truly grown-up observations about man’s place in it”—Tom Clarke, science journalist
COMIC THRILLERS A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray
“It’s insightful, it made me laugh, it made the story flow beautifully”—Justin Albert, judge, Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
THE BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
“I think it’s really sweet the way she lives. When they get a shop-bought thing, they all get excited because most of the time they have to make everything themselves—the dresses, the food, the drink, the entertainment”—Izzy, age 10
NONFICTION BOOKS Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow
“The book goes through awful accidents in complex systems and explores why they happened – the human failings that go into them, the systemic consequences”—Tim Harford, economist
Best Beach Reads 2025
“Looking for the perfect books to escape with whilst you’re on holiday? From thrillers to romances and fantasy to cottage core, these are our top page-turners”—Francesca Martin, journalist
HISTORY BOOKS The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark
“…the difference between people who think that the First World War was caused by German aggression and those who think it was all a terrible accident and that the world slipped into war. That’s the view of Christopher Clarke’s book, The Sleepwalkers“—Jonathan Boff, historian
AI BOOKS ChatGPT-4 offers its own opinions on artificial intelligence “These books offer valuable insights into the development, challenges, and future prospects of AI”—ChatGPT-4, AI chatbot
SCIENCE FICTION Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
“I just thought it was a hoot, and had all the twists and turns that I wanted from a murder mystery”—Mary Robinette Kowal, sci-fi novelist
FANTASY FICTION The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
“The opening scenes of it are just… it takes you over the threshold from this world into that world. The characters are very well rounded. Oh, it’s just a magical book all the way through”—Robin Hobb, Novelist
Our aim is to make Five Books the place to go to on the web for book recommendations, arranged by topic. Help us achieve our goal by making a reading list on a subject you know a lot about. These lists have been created by our readers using our new interactive tool. Browse them all, or make your own.
