As the annual flood of published novels grows ever greater, its a hard a job to keep up, let alone sort the wheat from the chaff. Fortunately, literary sleuth and academic John Sutherland is on hand to do precisely that. In the course of over 500 wittily informative pieces he gives us his own very personal take on the most rewarding, most remarkable and, on occasion, most shamelessly enjoyable works of fiction ever written the perfect reading list for the would-be literary expert.

His taste is impressively eclectic. An appreciation of ApuleiussThe Golden Ass arguably the first-ever novel is followed by a consideration of Ian FlemingsGoldfinger. The Handmaids Taleis followed byHangover Square,Jane EyrebyJaws. There are imposing Victorian novels, entertaining contemporary thrillers and everything in between, from dystopian works to romance.

The flavour of each is brilliantly evoked and its relative merits or demerits assessed. At the same time, John Sutherland shows how the work fits into a broader context whether that of the authors 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 bannedBambior that William Faulkner wroteAs I Lay Dyingon an upturned wheelbarrow; that Voltaire completedCandidein three days, or that Anna Sewell was paid £20 forBlack Beauty?

Encyclopedic and entertaining by turns, this is a wonderful dip-in book, whose opinions will inform and on occasion, no doubt, infuriate. It is also effectively a history of the novel in 500 or so bite-sized pieces.

John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London and previously taught at the California Institute of Technology. He writes regularly for theGuardian, The Timesand theNew York Times, and is the author of many books includingCuriosities of Literature,Is Henry V a War Criminal? (with Cedric Watts), biographies of Walter Scott, Stephen Spender and the Victorian elephant Jumbo, andThe Boy Who Loved Books, a memoir.

John Sutherland's very personal guide to the best novels ever written, and why they matter.