Stephanie Merritt

In this deeply personal but wryly funny memoir, the author examines her Middle Eastern ancestry and asks what it means to witness her community and their traditions fade from memory

In this valuable, brutally honest guide, the broadcaster argues that a supposedly joyful time is often steeped in drudgery and social isolation

Beecher’s beautiful memoir, written partly in response to the death of her brother aged 25, describes in startling detail the highs and lows of existence

An environmental writer returns to her father’s home for his funeral in a family memoir that becomes an examination of Shetland’s crucial role in the energy landscape

The British historian on the drama and resonance of the lives of Richard II and Henry VI, the writers she most admires and the book she wishes she had written

Two important new books find that the choices – and obstacles – facing mothers and would-be mothers have changed little in the past 50 years

Inspired by research for her role in Sex Education, the actor has collected a rich picture of modern women’s sexuality through clandestine contributions

The American author on her rage-filled new novel about the end of a marriage, the extraordinary response to it, and the authors she thinks are most underrated

In this painful, candid book, a reporter with a history of abuse sits in on Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, identifying bias in all its forms and dramatising the lives of the victims

This lively, accessible insight into four female writers in Elizabethan and Jacobean England explores the complex political, patriarchal and religious backdrop to their lives

In this sequel to The Searcher, the bestselling author picks up with retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper and co in a richly told tale of tangled loyalties

Miller’s adaptation of her celebrated play about sexual assault and the legal system lacks the economy and tautness that made for such compelling theatre

A biracial family in rural Somerset struggle with relationships and identity in a debut novel of subtle originality

This fascinating and richly detailed study of the evolution of magic in the 15th and 16th centuries reveals that accusations of witchcraft rarely stuck to learned men

The anthropology professor’s account of her conversations with two men living in Regent’s Park brings insights to her own life as well as theirs

Over the course of a day, six astronauts reflect on their relationship with Earth in Harvey’s profound and lyrical fifth novel

The veteran actor’s pragmatism, generosity and wit are to the fore in these reflections on her career – and there’s plenty of room for rude anecdotes

José Luis González Macías became fascinated by the buildings when researching a design project and has published an ‘atlas’ of the most striking examples

This collection of essays and journalism is a poignant reminder of the novelist’s expansive mind, and of what more she might have achieved

A French peasant with an insatiable appetite lives through revolutionary chaos in a vivid, beautifully written historical novel