Emerald Fennell: my six best books
The actress and writer chooses her favourite books, from Jane Austen to Nick Cave

Emerald Fennell, who won an Oscar for her screenplay for Promising Young Woman, will be speaking at the Hay Festival Winter Weekend on 28 November.
Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel (2003)
Hilary Mantel is one of those impossible, once-in-a-lifetime visionaries. She feels like she’s descended from William Blake, or a medieval anchorite. Her horror writing is peerless, and there is nothing quite so harrowingly visceral as her memoir.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fourth Estate £8.99; The Week Bookshop £6.99
The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous by Jilly Cooper (1991)
Jilly Cooper’s bucolic world of picturesque cottages, adorable dogs and hardcore bonking cannot be beaten. Kind-hearted serial-shagger Lysander Hawkley is one of the best in her irresistible rogues’ gallery.
Corgi £10.99; The Week Bookshop £8.99
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nothing That Meets the Eye by Patricia Highsmith (2002)
Patricia Highsmith’s stories are every bit as monstrous as her novels, and this collection of unpublished stories is seething with her usual exquisite, gleeful sadism.
Bloomsbury, out of print
The Complete Lyrics: 1978-2013 by Nick Cave (2013)
I write to music, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are the band I most frequently listen to while I do. Cave’s lyrics are just as much a pleasure to read as they are to listen to. Gothic, violent and beautiful.
Penguin £14.99; The Week Bookshop £11.99
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
I love all of Ishiguro’s books, but this is the one that most effectively rips your heart out. A perfect story of lost love and regret. It is masterful at showing the foolishness (and, often, cruelty) that is at the heart of British restraint.
Faber £8.99; The Week Bookshop £6.99
Persuasion by Jane Austen, (1817)
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late.” There can’t be a single confession in all fiction more devastating than this one. Jane Austen single-handedly established the romcom as we know it – Tim and Dawn from The Office are the love-children of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.
Wordsworth; The Week Bookshop £4.99
-
How is the Trump bill changing 529 plans?
The Explainer The new bill provides a boost for people pursuing trades and vocational careers or seeking professional licenses and certifications
-
Destination unknown: the exciting ins and outs of mystery travel
The Week Recommends Surprise yourself the next time you vacation
-
'It feels less like advertising and more like brainwashing'
Instant Opinion
-
The easy elegance of Cap Ferret
The Week Recommends 'Elemental and otherworldly' destination is loved for its natural beauty
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Spring greens and chickpea curry recipe
The Week Recommends This mouthwatering curry is quick to throw together
-
Gazer: 'paranoid noir chiller' is a gripping watch
The Week Recommends Ryan J. Sloan's debut film is haunted with 'skin-crawling unease'
-
William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity – a 'bold' exhibition
The Week Recommends The South African artist brings his distinctive works to Yorkshire Sculpture Park
-
Sarah Dunant shares her favourite books
The Week Recommends The British novelist picks works by Sergeanne Golon, Jill Burke and Natalie Zemon
-
Inter Alia: Rosamund Pike is 'electric' in gut-wrenching legal drama
The Week Recommends Australian playwright Suzie Miller is back with a follow up to her critically-acclaimed hit play Prima Facie
-
Unforgivable: harrowing drama about abuse and rehabilitation
The Week Recommends 'Catastrophic impact' of abuse is explored in 'thought-provoking' series