Books by Andrew Miller
“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 – perhaps the moment – when we shifted from looking backwards to the Second World War which, for so many, was still the defining event of their lives, towards the future. People were still finding, and some losing, their post-war way; the sixties were not swinging yet. Down in the West Country, where The Land in Winter is set, we experience this Janus moment, this pause, this snow-suspension, with two couples negotiating themselves and their marriages. Intense, immersive and beautifully paced, we move with Bill and Rita and Eric and Irene towards an uncertain spring.” Read more...
The Best Historical Fiction of 2025
Katharine Grant, Historical Novelist
“We’re lucky to live in the era of Andrew Miller. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free is just the latest in a series of remarkable novels, each of which is so fresh, so vivid that I sometimes wonder if he’s possessed of magical powers.” Read more...
The Best of Historical Fiction: The 2019 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist
Katharine Grant, Historical Novelist
Interviews where books by Andrew Miller were recommended
The Best of Historical Fiction: The 2019 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Katharine Grant
The best historical novels are those so immersive and natural in tone that their period setting is a ‘by-the-way,’ says Katharine Grant, the novelist and judge for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. Here she discusses the six brilliant books that made the 2019 shortlist.
-
1
What We Can Know: A Novel
by Ian McEwan -
2
We Do Not Part
by Han Kang, translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris -
3
Flashlight: A Novel
by Susan Choi -
4
The Life of Violet
by Virginia Woolf -
5
Dream Count
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -
6
Heart Lamp: Selected Stories
by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi
New Literary Fiction
New Literary Fiction
Keep up to date with the best new releases in literary fiction here on Five Books. Our deputy editor, Cal Flyn, an award-winning author herself, writes seasonal round-ups of the best new novels from ‘literary’ writers: from buzzed-about debuts to critics’ darlings, new work from the globally recognised greats and beloved sleeper hits from writers’ writers. We love it all here at Five Books.
The Best Historical Fiction of 2025, recommended by Katharine Grant
Every year, the judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction highlight the very best new books published in that genre over the past twelve months. In 2025, the six book shortlist features historical novels set as widely apart as ancient Sicily, 16th-century England, and 20th century Holland. Here, judge Katharine Grant talks us through their selection.
