The Best Political Novels of 2025: The Orwell Prize for Fiction
From a book based on the actual love letters a British prime minister sent to his mistress in the run-up to World War I, to a fantastical tale that takes its cue from the Epic of Gilgamesh, there's a wide variety of novels to choose from on the shortlist of this year's Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. The comments are from the judging panel, chaired this year by British novelist Jim Crace.
NONFICTION BOOKS The Coming Storm by Gabriel Gatehouse
“Why are the Clintons the target of so much craziness? What lies behind QAnon? Who planned the 6 January assault on the Capitol? It’s all here in this riveting page-turner”—Judges of the 2025 Orwell Prize for Political Writing
CLASSIC LITERATURE The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
“Stephen King declared that The Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest ghost stories ever written”—Joan Passey, literary scholar, University of Bristol
THRILLERS The Magus by John Fowles
“The layers are peeled back: every time you think you’ve understood what’s going on, another layer of falsehood is peeled back to reveal that what you thought was a truth is anything but.”—J.S. Monroe, thriller writer
HISTORICAL FICTION The Book of Days by Francesca Kay
“I’d advise readers to sit with this book, sit and breathe, as we might sit and breathe with a Book of Hours. The story is tense and full-bodied – you want to know what happens”—Katharine Grant, judge, Walter Scott Prize
HISTORY BOOKS Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford
“There are many factual errors in this book, but he’s an incredible writer and, as an anthropologist, he brings a perspective that many books on Chinggis Khan don’t have”—Timothy May, historian, University of North Georgia
MYSTERIES An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James
“Cordelia Gray takes over the Pryde detective agency on the death of her boss and has to run it. This is the first case she comes across. She’s asked to investigate the death of a young student in Cambridge”—Jeffrey Archer, writer and politician
NONFICTION
🏆 Winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature In Light of India by Octavio Paz
“This is easily the most accessible and stimulating book or introduction to India that you can read”—Pankaj Mishra, writer
COMIC THRILLERS A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray
“It’s insightful, it made me laugh, it made the story flow beautifully”—Justin Albert, judge, Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
THE BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
“I think it’s really sweet the way she lives. When they get a shop-bought thing, they all get excited because most of the time they have to make everything themselves—the dresses, the food, the drink, the entertainment”—Izzy, age 10
FICTION James: A Novel by Percival Everett
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
“The magisterial craft of James by Percival Everett lies in its combination of biting humour and a page-turning plot, with ruminations on sovereignty and Voltaire along the way”—Lara Choksey, judge, Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
ECONOMICS BOOKS One from the Many by Christopher Meisner
“Ultimately it argues, ‘globalization is nothing more than the urge to trade and improve the quality of life. These goals are a significant part of our shared humanity'”—Jason Furman, economist, Harvard
Best Beach Reads 2025
“Looking for the perfect books to escape with whilst you’re on holiday? From thrillers to romances and fantasy to cottage core, these are our top page-turners”—Francesca Martin, journalist
HISTORY BOOKS The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark
“…the difference between people who think that the First World War was caused by German aggression and those who think it was all a terrible accident and that the world slipped into war. That’s the view of Christopher Clarke’s book, The Sleepwalkers“—Jonathan Boff, historian
AI BOOKS ChatGPT-4 offers its own opinions on artificial intelligence “These books offer valuable insights into the development, challenges, and future prospects of AI”—ChatGPT-4, AI chatbot
SCIENCE FICTION The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin
“This is part of Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle…It follows a human logging company on a small planet that’s covered in ocean and a few islands covered in forest.”—Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist
FANTASY FICTION Uprooted: A Novel by Naomi Novik
“Much of the book is the heroine coming into her own power, learning that she has her own magical talents. As she becomes more powerful, she has to go and save her friend, who has been taken by the forest”—Ursula Vernon, Novelist
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