In the course of over 500 wittily informative pieces, John Sutherland gives us his own take on the most rewarding, most remarkable and, on occasion, most shamelessly enjoyable works of fiction ever written. It is the perfect reading list for every literary aficionado. An appreciation of Apuleius's - arguably the first-ever novel - is followed by a consideration of Ian Fleming's . is followed by , by . There are imposing Victorian novels, entertaining contemporary thrillers and everything in between, from dystopian works to romance. The flavor of each is brilliantly evoked and its merits or downfalls assessed. At the same time, Sutherland shows how the work fits into a broader context - whether that of the author's life or of other books from the same genre or period. And he offers endless snippets of intriguing information: did you know, for example, that the Nazis banned or that William Faulkner wrote on an upturned wheelbarrow; that Voltaire completed in three days, or that Anna Sewell was paid £20 for ? Both encyclopedic and entertaining, this is a wonderful dip-in book, whose opinions will inform and, on occasion, infuriate.