Book clubs & reading recommendations
Join Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett’s reading conversation. Explore the standalone podcast’s single-book episodes, from familiar classics to contemporary fiction, with introductions to each work and fine editions to discover where available.
Selections shown: 37
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Episode 38 · 27 October 2026
A family's winter isolation in a mountain hotel intensifies a father's vulnerabilities and a child's disturbing supernatural perceptions.
Episode 37 · 20 October 2026
A lonely man’s brief encounter with a young woman becomes a story of hope, intimacy and disappointment in St Petersburg.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 36 · 13 October 2026
Esther Greenwood’s promising summer in New York gives way to a crisis of identity and mental health.
Episode 35 · 6 October 2026
James Bond investigates a wealthy gold dealer and uncovers a plan with consequences far beyond a rigged card game.
Episode 34 · 29 September 2026
Patrick Bateman’s account of consumption, status and violence turns Manhattan privilege into a disturbing satire.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 33 · 22 September 2026
An orphan's determination to live on her own terms is tested by work, love and the secrets of Thornfield Hall.
Episode 32 · 15 September 2026
A war veteran restoring a church mural finds a fragile refuge in the English countryside.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 31 · 8 September 2026
Schoolboys stranded on an island attempt to govern themselves as fear and competing claims to authority undermine their fragile community.
Episode 30 · 1 September 2026
An unreliable narrator attempts to justify his abuse of a child through a disturbing performance of literary sophistication.
Episode 29 · 25 August 2026
A young bride enters a country house still dominated by the memory of her husband's first wife.
Episode 28 · 18 August 2026
An American volunteer joins a guerrilla mission during the Spanish Civil War, confronting love, loyalty and sacrifice.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 27 · 11 August 2026
A society organised around engineered happiness exposes the costs of stability when individuals begin to question its assumptions.
Episode 26 · 4 August 2026
Two girls grow up in a poor Neapolitan neighbourhood, beginning a friendship shaped by rivalry, opportunity and the desire to escape.
No shop edition listed
Cover via ABC Radio National
Episode 25 · 28 July 2026
Richard Hannay flees across Scotland after a murder draws him into an international conspiracy.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 23 · 21 July 2026
The Greek enchantress recounts a life of exile and self-discovery, encountering gods and mortals while claiming authority over her own story.
Episode 22 · 14 July 2026
A Sicilian aristocrat watches his family's world change during Italian unification, weighing survival against the appearance of continuity.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 21 · 7 July 2026
Riverbank friends contend with changing seasons and an impulsive toad whose enthusiasms repeatedly disrupt their peaceful lives.
Episode 20 · 30 June 2026
Rival families compete for power in Westeros as older threats stir beyond the kingdom’s borders.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 19 · 23 June 2026
Four sisters grow toward adulthood, negotiating work, artistic ambition, family loyalty and different hopes for their futures.
Episode 18 · 16 June 2026
A disputed silver cow-creamer draws Bertie Wooster into another elaborate crisis that only Jeeves can untangle.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 17 · 9 June 2026
A beautiful young man remains outwardly unchanged while his portrait records the consequences of his choices.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 16 · 2 June 2026
A teenager volunteers for a televised contest in which children are forced to fight for the entertainment of an authoritarian state.
No shop edition listed
Cover via ABC Radio National
Episode 15 · 26 May 2026
Preparations for a London party open onto memories, social expectations and the lasting effects of the First World War.
Episode 14 · 19 May 2026
A formerly enslaved woman's household is haunted by a presence that brings an unbearable history into the present.
Episode 13 · 12 May 2026
A drawing teacher's encounter with a distressed woman begins a mystery involving identity, inheritance and an elaborate conspiracy.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 12 · 5 May 2026
A young huntress enters the dangerous world of the faeries after killing a wolf in the woods.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 11 · 28 April 2026
A legend of a supernatural hound surrounds a family's inheritance, drawing Sherlock Holmes into an investigation on Dartmoor.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 10 · 21 April 2026
The Trask and Hamilton families struggle with inheritance, rivalry and moral choice in California’s Salinas Valley.
Episode 9 · 14 April 2026
Two young Irish people repeatedly reconnect as class, insecurity and changing circumstances shape their relationship.
No shop edition listed
Cover via ABC Radio National
Episode 8 · 7 April 2026
Lyra’s search for a missing friend leads north into a conflict involving dæmons, mysterious Dust and powerful institutions.
No shop edition listed
Cover via Open Library
Episode 7 · 31 March 2026
A scientist's creation of a living being raises questions about ambition, abandonment and responsibility for the lives we bring into being.
Episode 6 · 24 March 2026
An outsider's entry into an exclusive college circle leads to a crime whose aftermath exposes the group's moral evasions.
No shop edition listed
Cover image: Penguin Random House
Episode 5 · 17 March 2026
Winston Smith attempts a private rebellion in a society where the state controls information, language and memory.
Episode 4 · 10 March 2026
A family living in Shakespeare's England experiences the illness and loss of a child, with particular attention to his mother's perspective.
No shop edition listed
Cover via ABC Radio National
Episode 3 · 3 March 2026
A mysterious millionaire's pursuit of a lost love exposes the hopes and deceptions beneath Jazz Age prosperity.
Episode 2 · 24 February 2026
Friends recall their secluded English childhood as the purpose of their upbringing gradually comes into focus.
Episode 1 · 17 February 2026
Heathcliff's attachment to Catherine Earnshaw drives a story of thwarted love and revenge across two Yorkshire families.