The Canons

The Canons are books without boundaries. Some are classics already, the rest will be soon.

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki cover
A cross-cultural tale of two women brought together by the intersections of television and industrial agriculture, fertility and motherhood, life and love, from the Booker-shortlisted author
All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki cover
A compelling and compassionate novel about environmental activism, community and starting over, from the Booker-shortlisted author
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki cover
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, this is a timeless and compassionate novel about what it means to be human
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble cover
An award-winning novel about the perils of motherhood in a failing healthcare system and a woman’s fight against the social stigma of the Sixties
The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble cover
Loosely based on Drabble’s own experiences, a compelling, beautifully written novel following three generations of women in one family
The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble cover
The first in a trilogy, this startling novel charts the radical change in Britain during the Eighties through the eyes of three women
A Summer Bird-Cage by Margaret Drabble cover
Witty and compassionate, the extraordinary debut from one of our greatest novelists, about lies and deceit, love and forgiveness
Jerusalem the Golden by Margaret Drabble cover
Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, an intimate novel about human desire against the backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the Sixties
The Needle's Eye by Margaret Drabble cover
An honest and moving portrait of the everyday messiness of life, and the complications of love
Lost Woods by Rachel Carson cover
A collection of excerpts from unpublished writings and speeches by the New York Times bestselling author of the Sea trilogy and the seminal Silent Spring
Dante's Divine Trilogy by Alasdair Gray, Dante Alighieri cover
Alasdair Gray’s remarkable retelling of Dante’s Divine Comedy; this edition brings Gray’s Hell, Purgatory and Paradise together into a single edition for the first time
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino cover
A fantastical retelling of the Japanese myth of Izanami and Izanagi from the internationally bestselling author of Out
Benjamin's Crossing by Jay Parini cover
A powerful and moving novel recounting the life and death of Walter Benjamin from the award-winning author
The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson cover
The third volume in Rachel Carson’s classic and New York Times bestselling Sea trilogy, about the delicate beauty of the shoreline, introduced by Margaret Atwood
Lanark by Alasdair Gray cover
40th anniversary commemorative hardback edition of the modern classic
McGrotty and Ludmilla by Alasdair Gray cover
A fantastical comedy from the irreplaceable Alasdair Gray
The Fall of Kelvin Walker by Alasdair Gray cover
From the genius of Scottish letters, a satire of religion, the media and London
Redeployment by Phil Klay cover
The New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning story collection which takes readers to the frontline of the Iraq wars. ‘A must read’ Guardian
Reconciliation by Naoya Shiga cover
An autobiographical novella recounting the move towards reconciliation between a father and son; translated for the first time in English
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West cover
A travel literature classic. Introduced by Geoff Dyer: ‘As a book about Yugoslavia it’s a kind of metaphysical Lonely Planet that never requires updating’
Misadventures by Sylvia Smith cover
The extraordinary memoir of an ordinary woman’s life
The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble cover
A beautifully written and deeply personal book on the jigsaw and the part it plays in the patchwork of its distinguished author’s life. A mix of memoir, jigsaw history and the strange delights of puzzling
Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky cover
A groundbreaking new translation of Dostoyevsky’s most radical work of fiction. Introduced by DBC Pierre
The Boat by Nam Le cover
A remarkable collection about what it means to be human, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize