The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,593 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Eagle and the Hart

Joanne Paul ❤️ loved this book because...

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Helen Castor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Eagle and the Hart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**THE TELEGRAPH'S BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024**

'A glorious work of history... a gripping and haunting tragedy... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut' - Tom Holland, The Spectator

'A dazzling tour de force of epic royal history: a compulsive, unputdownable real-life thriller, a gripping portrait of ruthless power politics, and a study of British tyranny ... written with the delicacy and elegance of one of Britain's most brilliant historians at the top of her game' - Simon Sebag-Montefiore

'If ever a book of history was blessed…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Tudor England

Joanne Paul ❤️ loved this book because...

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Lucy Wooding,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tudor England as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A compelling, authoritative account of the brilliant, conflicted, visionary world of Tudor England

When Henry VII landed in a secluded bay in a far corner of Wales, it seemed inconceivable that this outsider could ever be king of England. Yet he and his descendants became some of England's most unforgettable rulers, and gave their name to an age. The story of the Tudor monarchs is as astounding as it was unexpected, but it was not the only one unfolding between 1485 and 1603.

In cities, towns, and villages, families and communities lived their lives through times of great upheaval. In…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Marriage Portrait

Joanne Paul ❤️ loved this book because...

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Maggie O'Farrell,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked The Marriage Portrait as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.

“I could not stop reading this incredible true story.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)

"O’Farrell pulls out little threads of historical detail to weave this story of a precocious girl sensitive to the contradictions of her station...You may know the history, and you may think you…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

The House of Dudley

By Joanne Paul,

Book cover of The House of Dudley

What is my book about?

Told for the very first time, this is the shocking and extraordinary story of the most-conniving and manipulative Tudor family you've never heard of . . .

'A tour-de-force of Tudor history. Remarkable' DAN JONES
'Exciting and immersive. An immensely entertaining history' SUNDAY TIMES
'This is riveting stuff: death, desire, power and scandal' SPECTATOR
'A twist on the Tudors . . . Enormously entertaining - a sheer joy to read' THE TIMES
________

Was the House of Dudley out to steal the throne?

This was the question on the mind of Elizabeth I's courtiers when a forbidden book accused generations of the Dudley family of poisonings, plottings, murders, treason, incitement and other 'evil stratagems.'

For decades, the Dudleys had been close to the throne, rising from nobodies to the land's highest offices.

Under Henrys VII and VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and, finally, Elizabeth, they risked execution and imprisonment as they audaciously stole, murdered and swindled in the name of the monarch.

But were they loyally protecting the crown, or did they secretly covet it for themselves?
________

A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 ACCORDING TO THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH AND HISTORY TODAY

'A pacy narrative, vividly written, makes you want to read on and on. Joanne Paul is a major new talent in the field' ALISON WEIR

'Breathes new life into an old and familiar Tudor story . . . It's delightful, a joy to read' THE TIMES, 'BOOK OF THE WEEK'

'A thrilling and deeply researched study of power and conspiracy: the rise and fall of the other Tudor dynasty. The House of Dudley illuminates the fascinating men and women who almost became kings and queens in their own right' SIMON SEBAG-MONTEFIORE

'Rich and compelling. Conjures up the look and feel of Tudor life . . . You will find yourself drawn in, fascinated, and richly informed' TELEGRAPH

'Vivid, innovative and authoritative. I could not recommend The House of Dudley more highly. It's a real lesson in how to revitalise the writing of Tudor history' SARAH GRISTWOOD

'A full-blooded affair, as good on the horrors of war as it is on the soft power of the Dudley women, and written in a lively, episodic style that presents each Dudley as a foil to the monarch they served' JESSIE CHILDS

'An enthralling read told by Paul with great verve and an eye for the telling detail' LITERARY REVIEW

'The crowning jewel in its genre . . . I can't recommend this book enough. Unputdownable' LINDSEY FITZHARRIS

'When reading Joanne Paul's lively history of the house of Dudley, it is impossible not to be reminded of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy' MAIL ON SUNDAY

*The House of Dudley: Named one of The Times Books of the Year 2022*

Book cover of The Eagle and the Hart
Book cover of Tudor England
Book cover of The Marriage Portrait

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