16 of the best new reads for autumn 2020

One of the unexpected outcomes of the Covid-19 lockdown is that the nation rediscovered the joy of reading. In all, 41 per cent of Britons reported reading more since March, according to a survey by Nielsen Books, and 25 per cent said they had bought more books during this period.

The average amount of time we spend reading has shot up from 3.5 hours a week to six. While e-books and audiobook consumption rose slightly, the vast majority turned to good old-fashioned printed words. This was partly for entertainment, but 35 per cent also admitted that books were an ‘escape’.

We couldn’t agree more. So here, as part of a special literary issue, the Telegraph Magazine team brings you a preview of the 16 most-anticipated new releases to see you through the autumn.

1. The Lying Life Of Adults, by Elena Ferrante

This highly anticipated novel opens with 12-year-old Giovanna eavesdropping on her parents discussing her problems at school, after which she believes she’s no longer their golden child. Following Giovanna through her teenage years in the ’90s, it’s as intense and potent as the Neapolitan novels that made Ferrante the literary star she is today.

Out now (￡20, Europa Editions)

— Emily Cronin, senior fashion editor 

2. Just Like You, by Nick Hornby

Set in the run-up to the Brexit referendum, this centres around an unlikely affair between teacher Lucy and her babysitter Joseph. Joseph is black, 22 and doesn’t know what to vote for. Lucy is white, 20 years his senior and a staunch remainer. Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different in a country that’s becoming increasingly divided. Utterly endearing, plus it keeps you guessing until the end.

Out now (￡16.99, Viking)

— Lucy Dunn, deputy editor 

3. Dearly, by Margaret Atwood

We’ll forgive Atwood the 13 years it has taken her to release another poetry collection, as this is worth the wait. A poignant yet playful collection of verse, about endings and departures, it is sliced with clever, sharp humour. Blackberries is a standout. It’s about the passing of time – and why the process of ageing should be celebrated – told through the simple act of picking blackberries. Pure bliss.

Out 10 Nov (￡14.99, Chatto & Windus)

— Sonia Haria, beauty director 

4. Trio, by William Boyd

Boyd’s sublime gift for characterisation is given full flow in this pacy, utter treat of a novel. Set in swinging ’60s Brighton during the making of a movie, the titular trio are an alcoholic writer, a ‘family man’ producer and an actress with a dodgy ex. The unravelling of their duplicitous lives is delivered in short, sharp, moreish chapters. Be warned – it might result in a numb backside as you devour all 352 pages in one sitting.

Out 8 Oct (￡18.99, Viking)

— Marianne Jones, editor 

5. Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction, by Arundhati Roy

We were so enamoured by The God of Small Things, we’d read anything by Roy, even a dishwasher manual. But this book of essays – centred around ‘Azadi’, Urdu for freedom – is terrifyingly timely. Her observations about the pandemic are surprisingly uplifting, as she reflects that it is a portal between one world and another, and an invitation for humans to imagine a better place.

Out now (￡6, Penguin)

— Will Martin, deputy art director

6. The First Woman, by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 

The story of a girl growing up with her grandparents in Uganda. At 12, her desire to find her mother takes her to the local witch, from whom she discovers some uncomfortable truths. Makumbi balances heartbreak with humour (a man is described as ‘so old a hyena wouldn’t eat him spiced’). The novel is also a discourse on power (whether political, social or sexual), but executed with a beautifully light touch.

Out 1 Oct (￡16.99, Oneworld)

— Jessica Doyle, design and interiors editor 

7. Island Of Mercy, by Rose Tremain

Moving between Bath and Borneo, this beautiful novel, set in 1865, tells the story of a young woman caught between an affair with a female lover and the promise of a conventional marriage to a seemingly respectable doctor. At its heart, though, is an exploration of desire and the hunt for life’s meaning. Salman Rushdie once called Tremain ‘one of the very finest British novelists’. Couldn’t agree more.

Out now (￡18.99, Chatto & Windus)

 — Laura Powell, features editor (magazines) 

8. Burnt Sugar, by Avni Doshi

This Booker Prize-longlisted debut is beautifully tangible. It delves into the relationship between a mother, who once left her marriage to join an ashram and is now losing her memory, and her grown-up daughter who is faced with caring for a mother who she feels never cared for her. It elegantly explores the balance between resentment and love.

 Out now (￡14.99, Hamish Hamilton)

— Precious Adesina, lifestyle assistant 

9. Mr Wilder And Me, by Jonathan Coe

From Brexit to Hollywood. Middle England author Coe’s latest novel transports readers to the 1970s movie world, where a young woman, Calista, finds herself working for legendary film director Billy Wilder. Set at first on a Greek island that has been turned into a movie set, and later in Munich, it’s a coming of age story, which also offers a fascinating insight into fame – and the perils of an industry in flux.

Out 5 Nov (￡16.99, Viking)

— Anna Clarke, features assistant 

10. Jack, by Marilynne Robinson

In segregated post-war St Louis, a white man, recently out of prison, falls in love with an African-American teacher. It’s the fourth and final novel in Robinson’s series, which began with Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead in 2004, and serves as a sort of prequel. Barack Obama is a big fan and says her writing is ‘full of grace and intelligence’ and ‘defines universal truths about what it means to be human’. Need we say more?

Out 29 Sept (￡18.99, Virago)

— Tina Nandha, deputy chief sub-editor 

11. Murder On Mustique, by Lady Anne Glenconner

We were convinced there was no tale more thrilling than Lady Anne’s 2019 autobiography, but the 88-year-old baroness’s debut novel is just as dazzling. Described as a ‘tropical Miss Marple’, it’s a murder mystery set on the Caribbean island once owned by her husband, full of glamour, gossip and intrigue; and a curious blend of fiction and reality.

Out 12 Nov (￡16.99, Hodder & Stoughton)

— Bethan Holt, fashion news and features director  

12. Tom Stoppard: A Life, by Hermione Lee 

This doorstop of a biography (896 pages), traces Stoppard from his birth in what was Czechoslovakia, through exile in Singapore and India to arriving in Britain, and rising to become the foremost dramatist of modern times. Drawing on interviews with friends and conversations with Stoppard, it’s a vibrant portrait of an immensely likeable, prodigiously intelligent man.

Out 1 Oct (￡30, Faber & Faber)

— Mick Brown, features writer

13. The Lives of Lucian Freud, by William Feaver

Beginning in 1968, this biography continues until Freud’s death in 2011, and is based on conversations with his contemporaries and some of his 14 children. Feaver’s hectic style gives a heady impression of Freud’s outlook on life. He once described his mind as ‘running on like an overheated engine’, and this is the feel of the book: totally compelling.

Out now (￡24.50, Bloomsbury)

— Jessamy Calkin, associate editor 

14. The Haunting of Alma Fielding, by Kate Summerscale

Fans of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher will love Summerscale’s latest read, which similarly combines the thrill of a crime novel with painstaking historical research. It tells the real-life story of a 1930s housewife who appears to be under attack when she is covered in unexplained injuries. She blames a poltergeist. An absorbing and unsettling read.

Out 1 Oct (￡18.99, Bloomsbury)

— Francesca Ryan, assistant editor 

15. Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke

An original and (literally) other-worldly novel by the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Piranesi lives in a world of rooms populated by marble statues. He believes the world contains only himself and one other person. So far, so baffling. However, Piranesi is an assiduous journal-keeper and through these, he slowly makes sense of things… as does the reader.

Out now (￡14.99, Bloomsbury)

— Stacey Thomson, production director 

16. V2, by Robert Harris

This pacy Second World War thriller, by the bestselling author of Fatherland, centres around Germany’s development of the feared V-2 rocket. Harris expertly blends the stories of a rocket engineer tasked with launching V-2s at London and an English actor-turned-WAAF officer on a mission to newly liberated Belgium. A riveting read…with  a corker of a twist.

Out now (￡20, Hutchinson)

— Andy Greenacre, director of photography

Buy any of these books from the Telegraph Bookshop; books.telegraph.co.uk