Now is the time for an epic story, told in multiple instalments. And no Netflix series can match the detail and immersion of a truly gripping literary world. From Tudor epics and fanatical universes to family sagas and frothy escapism, these are the book series that we return to again and again.
Edward St Aubyn's semi-autobiographical account of addition, trauma and aristocratic decay is engrossing and artful in equal measure. Over five books, you follow Patrick Melrose from a dreamy but dark childhood in a French château, through frenetic drug binges around Manhattan, into fractured marriage and strained fatherhood.
Each story is startling in its clarity and candidness. St Aubyn slices through generations of snobbery and stiff upper lips to uncover repressed suffering and its repercussions, all in prose so precise it sears into your mind.
Patrick Melrose has been immortalised on screen by a luminous Benedict Cumberbatch, but the excellent five-part TV series still doesn't match the intense humanity and arch wit of St Aubyn's writing.
All the books in order
Never Mind, Bad News, Some Home, Mother's Milk, At Last
This family saga tracing the aftermath of WWI through to the panic, frustration and seismic shifts of WWII captures an uncertainly that feels curiously current.
Every summer the Cazalets congregate at their family home in Sussex, three generations of children, siblings and cousins thrown together. Each branch of the family has its own issues, from bereavement, injury and infidelity to the irritation of being left out of the older children's games. Over five novels, the narrative shifts between different perspectives, showing how lives are shaped and stifled by the tumultuous interwar years.
Howard's storytelling is at once meticulous and panoramic, immersing you in the minutiae of family life and loves, while bringing the details of a particular period of history into sharp relief. In a canon crowded with 'war literature' these vivid novels give a new insight, showing how much of 'living through history' comes down to confusion and boredom. As such, they are the ideal companion during Covid-19 quarantine.
All the books in order
The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, Casting Off, All Change
Elena Ferrante's account of intense friendship scrutinises the multifaceted affections and resentments that ebb and flow over a lifetime.
Over four novels, the reclusive Italian writer builds an epic yet remarkably intimate study of two women. We follow Lenù and Lila, whose friendship strains and strengthens over 60 years as they face male oppression, motherhood, mobster rule, political revolution and the changing social landscape of post-war Italy. Rich descriptions immerse you in this volatile world, while the tender and nuanced focus on one complex friendship prompts you to reflect on your own relationships. The startling perceptiveness and detail of Ferrante's prose combines with dramatic developments that keep you enthralled and desperate to know what happens.
All the books in order
My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, The Story of the Lost Child
Philip Pullman's fantastical exploration of dark worlds and dust is wasted on children. There's more than enough intrigue, complexity and moral depth to the His Dark Materials trilogy and the follow-up The Book of Dust series to thrill any grown-up.
Lyra Belaqua's adventures with her daemon Pan in a parallel Oxford, up to the Arctic Circle and into different universes are thrilling stuff. But the real magic of Pullman's writing is how shrewdly his fantasy reflects upon our real world. As the narrative builds, these stories are astonishingly eloquent on matters of mental health, love and loneliness. You will certainly be entertained but prepare to be profoundly moved, too.
All the books in order
Start with His Dark Materials trilogy: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knight, The Amber Spyglass
Then read The Book of Dust trilogy: La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth, (book three is yet to be published).
The newly released final instalment of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy has become a lockdown must-have – with good reason. The double Man Booker-winning series traces the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, encompassing the tumult of Tudor England and the machinations of personal ambition. Vivifying historical drama, with an emotional arc that feels urgent and current, Mantel is the master of big, immersive, all-encompassing storytelling.
The books are dense but deft, with prose that's fleet-footed and fizzing with life. Just be warned if you plan to use coronavirus quarantine to read (or re-read) from the start, the shadowing presence of the plague feels surprisingly triggering right now...
All the books in order
Wolf Hall, Bring up the Bodies, The Mirror & the Light
Nobody writes glamorous escapism quite like Jilly Cooper. Her sprawling Rutshire series is the pinnacle of glossy chick lit. Sure it is not 'great literature' and some of the snobbery and 70s sexual politics have aged dubiously, but these books are cult classics for a reason: they are irresistibly entertaining and gloriously comforting.
Each novel has a self-contained plot centring on a different moneyed set, from showjumping and polo to fine art and classical music. They can be read separately but the general chronology and regularly recurring characters mean it's most fun to work your way through the whole series from the beginning. Characters are always devastatingly beautiful, romances are racy and endings are reliably happy. But Cooper writes with such copious wit and warmth you can't help but invest in her alluring fictional world. It certainly provides some light relief from watching the news or scrolling Twitter.
All the books in order
Riders, Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, Appassionata, Score!, Pandora, Wicked!, Jump!
This is a series that needs no introduction. But if you're one of those people who makes a point of having never read Harry Potter, perhaps now is the time to swallow your pride and go for it.
Because JK Rowling's magical universe is the perfect antidote to these unprecedented times. You don't need to be into kids' books or fantasy to be captivated by the wizarding world, with all its quirks and specificity. There is plenty of excitement in the plot – and you'd have to have been living under a rock to have no inkling of how it pans out between Harry and his nemesis Lord Voldemort. But the joy of Rowling's writing is in the tiny details (the bits that don't make it into the films) such as the different brands of enchanted confectionery, the effects of various jinxes or the tense anticipation of a Quidditch match.
All the books in order
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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