Guest Newsletter: Five Books - China and Historical Fiction


Five Books features in-depth author interviews recommending five books on a theme. You can read more interviews on the site, or sign up for the newsletter.

The Best China Books of 2025

From books exploring questions of identity and belonging in contemporary China to a charming memoir by a delivery driver, it's been an extraordinary year for books in English about China argues Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor at UC Irvine and specialist in modern Chinese history. Here, he talks us through some of his favourite books about China published in 2025. Read more


Booker Prize-Winning Historical Novels

Those who love historical fiction have plenty of choice among the list of past Booker Prize-winning novels. We asked Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn to put together an overview of the Booker's past victors that will sweep you from Tudor England to 20th-century India by way of the 19th-century Australian outback. Read more


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