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There's no doubt about it: 2020 has been a shocker of a year. But if we learnt one thing during the long days of lockdowns one and two, it was the value of being transported somewhere else by a brilliant story.
And there were plenty of books published in 2020 which did just that. From the Women's Prize-winning Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, to debut novels from Cosmopolitan faves Dolly Alderton and Emma Gannon, plus a new cookbook from the queen of the kitchen, Nigella Lawson. Told you some corkers were published in 2020. Here are the books we loved this year...
Did you know that Hillary Clinton turned down Bill's marriage proposal twice before accepting? This novel imagined what could have happened if she'd never said yes. In the book, the pair have a romance but some red flags ensure they split, and Hillary goes on to have a thriving political career. It poses some pertinent questions: do our romantic decisions impact our careers, and how do we respond to people with power?
Reid's debut novel was an instant hit on its January release, but in the wake of summer's Black Lives Matter protests became even more impactful. When 25-year-old Black nanny Emira Tucker is accused of kidnapping the white toddler she looks after, she is understandably mortified. As the story unfolds, it's clear her white employer Alex views herself as an ally, but the book subtly questions whether that's true.
Halls penned 2019’s biggest-selling fiction debut, The Familiars, and this year brought us another historical treat about the intricate lives of women. In 1754, Bess Bright returns to a foundling hospital to collect the illegitimate daughter she left there years earlier. When she learns her daughter has already been retrieved – by her – she sets out to find the truth. If you enjoy Mindhunter levels of suspense, you’ll love it.
Now an adult, Vanessa still considers her relationship with teacher Jacob Strane to be consensual and romantic - but when he is accused of abuse by other pupils, she begins to unpick that dark tangle of feelings. Explicit and harrowing, this novel made waves when it was published and gives an insight into how coercion and manipulation are used to pursue victims.
The final instalment of her Tudor trilogy following Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, The Mirror and the Light sees Anne Boleyn beheaded, Thomas Cromwell on the ascent, and ultimate f*ckboy King Henry VIII move on to domestic bliss (or not) with his third wife, Jane. Who needs to think about the present when the past is as dramatic as this?
Inspired by the tragic death of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, who died in childhood and inspired the writer's famous play Hamlet, O’Farrell returned to fiction this year (her last book was a memoir, I Am, I Am, I Am, about her 17 brushes with death) in blisteringly brilliant form. You’ll lap up this intricately told story of grief, love and the bond between twins, which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020.
When her best friends start getting married and having babies, protagonist Olive starts wondering whether she's wants to follow the same, cookie-cutter path. Writer and podcaster Emma Gannon's debut novel cut right to the heart of conversations around women and the stereotypes we either adhere to - or reject.
Her memoir, Everything I Know About Love, was an ode to friendship, but The High Low podcast co-host says she “got bored of writing about myself”, and penned her first novel. Ghosts sees Nina Dean, 32, attempt to navigate the weirdness of online dating, family and friendship, and is both wickedly funny and painfully relatable. Plus, it contains the best hen do scene we've ever read.
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Remember those Neapolitan novels that everyone and their BFF was reading a few summers ago? Well, their anonymous author returned this year with her first new story in five years, about the adventures of a Naples teen called Giovanna who goes on a journey of self-discovery after she hears her father making a not-so-great comment about her appearance.
Exciting Times was Irish writer Dolan's debut and was widely compared to Sally Rooney's novels. It's a love story about three expats in Hong Kong - teacher Ava, banker Julian, and the alluring Edith - and explores the nuances and uncertainties of modern love.
Journalist Sophie Heawood has interviewed just about every celebrity out there, but this year she told her own story of single motherhood. What happens when you have to look after a baby when you haven't yet figured out how to look after yourself? Unflinching yet comedic, The Hungover Games charts Heawood's path as she navigates life with her daughter, from nightclubs to nappies.
The second novel from the author of The Mothers, Brit Bennett's story of twins with diverging paths hit the bestseller lists in June. It's about the identical African American Vignes twins who run away from their stifling hometown aged 16. Ten years on, Desiree is back there raising a Black daughter, while Stella has decided to pass for white, with even her husband having no idea about her true identity. We loved how Bennett explored the concepts of belonging and family.
Chatto & Windus Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, recipes and stories by Nigella Lawson
All hail, Queen Nigella, who did it again this year and published another cookbook which we'll no doubt be cooking from until she rustles up her next offering. The recipes (including the viral fish finger bhorta and a peanut butter chocolate cake to die for) are dazzling and the prose that surrounds them is like the hug we've been waiting for all year. Oh, and if you haven't baked the chocolate cookies yet, you don't know what you're missing.
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