For avid readers always on the lookout for new books to fall in love with, finding a good author and reading every single book they've ever written is a not uncommon strategy. British crime novelist Lesley Thomson introduces some of her favourite books, all works of historical fiction set in England.

What will historians say about the latest period in British history? What has stayed the same, and what is vastly different from our parents' generation? Andrew Hindmoor, professor of politics at the University of Sheffield and author of Twelve Days that Made Modern Britain, recommends books that give insights into contemporary British history.

A city of hidden depths and morbid fascination, by turns respectable and savage. Iain Sinclair picks five novels that capture the spirit and rich history of London.

The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl, looks at how the histories of the previous generation have shaped Princes William and Harry. She picks the best books on the British royals.

The British Broadcasting Corporation celebrates its centenary this year. The beloved institution has always had a paradoxical identity: part monopoly and government organ, part commercial enterprise and government critic; part bringer of change, part defender of the status quo. Here Simon Potter, Professor of Modern History at the University of Bristol, talks us through the history and the transformations the BBC has undergone since it was first founded in 1922.

Boudica was an Iron Age queen who led her people into rebellion against Roman rule in the province of Britannia. She was defeated, but only after she had burned several towns, including London, to the ground. Here Richard Hingley, Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, explains how to sift the truth from the myth, and why Boudica has remained an enduring source of fascination down the centuries.

Black British writers have been storming the bestseller charts in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Here, Jacqueline Roy—the novelist and lecturer in Black literature—selects five of the best books by Black British writers that deserve more attention.

The Industrial Revolution transformed the world forever by enabling self-perpetuating economic growth. But historians are still at odds about why the industrial revolution happened where it did and when it did. Here, Sheilagh Ogilvie, Chichele Professor of Economic History at All Souls College, Oxford, guides us through the debates and why they are still relevant today.

From the North-South divide to middle-class insecurity and the correlation of petrol use and obesity, Danny Dorling with five books on what makes Britain British.

In our Shakespeare series, we ask experts to select their favourite plays from the Bard's oeuvre. Here, preeminent Shakespearean scholar Sir Stanley Wells chooses five plays that best chart the evolution of the Bard of Avon during his 25-year career.

He was the Machiavelli of English kings – a chancer and usurper with a highly dubious claim to the throne. But Henry VII ruled for 25 years and founded a dynasty. His biographer tells us how he did it

Author Matt Lynn says that good thrillers need a sense of foreboding and tension – and a brilliant central character. "The thriller has always been a very political genre, a kind of snapshot in time"

When William of Orange came from Holland to take the English throne in 1688, was it a foreign invasion, or a revolution from within? Yale historian, Steven Pincus, talks us through the conflicting views on the Glorious Revolution and argues for a new perspective.

As is the norm in many countries with proportional representation, the United Kingdom's government depends on a small political party to stay in power. Who are the Irish unionists? What is the ideology that guides them? Historian and pro-vice principal of Glasgow University, Murray Pittock, recommends the best books to read to better understand Irish unionism.

Much as some Brexiteers like to pretend it isn't, England is not only in Europe, but has been, in various centuries and in various ways, at the very heart of it. The former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, Nick Clegg, discusses his favourite European novels and the founding text of his own political ideology, liberalism.

It's a dictionary that seeks to document any word that exists—or ever existed—in the English language and track its evolution over time. Lexicographer Peter Gilliver chooses books to help understand the enormous undertaking that is the Oxford English Dictionary.

The 19th century opium war marked the clash of the world’s great empires of the age – Britain and China. Historian Julia Lovell says its legacy of Chinese humiliation is still felt keenly in Beijing.

History is not about understanding the past for the sake of it, it's about understanding human nature, says the historian and novelist Ian Mortimer.

Beleaguered 'citizens of nowhere' will be pleased to know they have their own literary genre. For anyone who has ever wondered where they belong, or why, when you leave your home country, it's never the same when you return, here are the best five books to read—including some by the greatest authors of the 20th century.

William Wordsworth probably did not get his greatest creative impetus from solitude, but from his extremely close relationship with his sister, suggests Oxford scholar Lucy Newlyn

Britain is a bewilderingly motley nation of phlegmatic grumblers, says the author and editor Matthew Engel – a seaside resort-going, class-conscious people haunted by loss of empire, and we can’t even agree on what the country is called

The history professor tells us why it’s less interesting to argue about whether the Empire was a force for good or ill, than to understand how it worked and why it fell apart. He suggests a reading list to get us started.

It's their frailty that makes politicians such interesting characters, says Tony Blair's biographer Anthony Seldon. He tells us about the art of political biography and the writers who've best captured leaders such as Churchill and Thatcher

Freud said he owed them everything and even people who have never read a poem in their lives speak their language today. Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Professor of Environmental Humanities and English at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, explains who the Romantic poets were and recommends five of the greatest Romantic poems.

Hugo Vickers talks about what makes a good royal biography, and how he helped Helena Bonham Carter prepare for her film role as the Queen Mother

Current UK higher education policies, which treat students as consumers, are not only killing thinking but also likely to lead to a financial crisis. And yet, academia is a beautiful vocation, with the power to transform lives year in, year out. University of London professor, Les Back, picks the best books on academia.

What are the economic effects of immigration? Economist Ian Goldin, a professor at Oxford University and founding director of the Oxford Martin School, recommends books and explains.

Christine L. Corton describes how Londoners loved and hated the fog that defined their city for over 200 years. Fog bought confusion, suicide and death; but also anonymity, mystery and beauty. Here, she picks the best five books on the pea-souper

The social historian argues London is an intrinsically addictive city. He charts its history through its dependencies on chocolate, tobacco, coffee, and tea.

The historian and biographer of London Peter Ackroyd picks five books that shine a light on parts of this vast, complex and confusing city where, he says, pathos and pantomime meet.

Why do huge stories sometimes go unreported? Our news media are good at promulgating conventional wisdom but find it much more difficult to deal with evidence that contradicts it, says the former Washington Post reporter

Harvard professor and Pulitzer prize-winning historian Bernard Bailyn recommends reading on three centuries of empire, conflict and slave trading between the Americas, Europe and Africa

The 1930s are hugely underrated as a decade, says the historian. She tells us about the social and design revolutions that made the thirties much more than just a prelude to war

The US has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in Afghanistan. Former soldier, Andrew Exum, tells us about flawed policy, unhappy outcomes and what could and should have been different.

Women’s historical role in politics wasn’t always as limited as we might assume. Medieval historian Helen Castor tells us about powerful women in British history and how they were constrained or conspired against.

The professor of history at Cambridge asks why Oliver Cromwell remains Britain's most controversial ruler, and what the morbid story of Cromwell's head after his death has to say about British history.

The Director of the Centre for History at the University of the Highlands and Islands talks to us about the history of the Highland Clearances in Scotland. Interesting reading on 19th Century Scottish history

Bestselling novelist and historian Stella Tillyard says the 19th century Regency era was, apart from the duels and empire-line dresses, much like our own – a time of war and economic uncertainty.

McCrum looks at three stages of evolution in the English language. The first British, the second American and then the third - the globish stage - the one in which English is used as international default position

Bestselling author Harry Mount thinks that the British sell themselves short when they fail to appreciate their architecture. He also expresses his thanks that Christopher Wren didn't redesign London on a Parisian/New York grid system following the 1666 fire.

The English countryside on a sunny summer's day is one of the most beguiling places in the world to be. But how has it changed since the Black Death? Is there still a meaningful difference between urban and rural society? Rural historian Paul Brassley talks us through the best books to get a fuller understanding of England's green and pleasant land.

Political commentator and President of YouGov.com chooses older books from both sides of the Atlantic to show what really matters in politics.

Samuel Johnson, author of the 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language, was not a hard-hearted Tory caricature, but a champion of the poor and enslaved, according to Margaret Thatcher’s Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Peter Lilley.

The editor of the Encyclopaedia of British Film talks about Britain's cinematic offerings. ‘I love Brief Encounter – I cry from the moment Celia Johnson speaks until the credits come up at the end.'

The journalist and Labour peer, formerly adviser to British Prime Minister James Callaghan, explains his selection of five books about British Politics. Touches on subjects from climate change to the British constitution

The founder of the British Social Democratic Party (SDP) says that the House of Lords should be a fully elected body, and that Tony Blair’s careerism is a disgrace. David Owen selects five books on constitutional reform.