Modern Fiction (post 1945)

A coming-of-age novel about love and obsession, set in a silent convent in 1950s Italy Isabella is worldly, alluring and brazen. Everything that Bridget is not. So when they both...

From the American master of historical fiction, an award-winning coming-of-age story set amidst the gangster underworld of Depression-era New York City It's 1930s New York and Billy Bathgate, a fifteen-year-old...

A stunning novel by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling, Times Top 10 bestseller and Man Booker long-listed author of Olive Kitteridge and My Name is Lucy Barton Anything...

In America at the turn of the twentieth century, when society abounds with movers and shakers such as Houdini, J.P Morgan, Henry Ford and Emma Goldman, and the sultry rhythms...

First published fifty years ago, this classic novel was Albert Wendt's first published book. This classic has been released in the Popular Penguin format to mark 50 years of publishing...

Lou Connor wants to escape her emotionally crass family and life of poverty, so she travels from Sydney to the USA as an exchange student. But her host-family, the Hardings...

Wresting his family from the easy living of nineteenth-century Sydney, Cornelius Laffey takes them to northern Queensland where thousands of hopefuls are digging for gold in the mud. They confront...

The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea allows us a precious glimpse into a simpler kind of childhood in a country that no longer exists. In 1941, Rob Coram is six. The...

A classic novel that became a classic film. An international bestseller that was made into a multiple award-winning film. Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather's love and attention. But he is...

High in the Himalayas sits a dilapidated mansion, home to three people, each dreaming of another time. The judge, broken by a world too messy for justice, is haunted by...

Sagan's stylish, shimmering and amoral tale of adolescence and betrayal on the French Riviera Published when she was only eighteen, Fran oise Sagan's astonishing first novel Bonjour Tristesse became an...

A richly compelling tale of folklore and witchcraft from this modern master, new to Penguin Modern Classics Jacob, a Jewish slave held in a mountain village after escaping a massacre...

Larry McMurtry's hilarious and touching novel, in Penguin Modern Classics for the very first time Sam the Lion runs the pool-hall, the picture house and the all-night cafe. Coach Popper...

'There is a depth and clarity to his writing that captivates the reader' - Sunday Times When Joel Knox's mother dies, he is sent into the exotic unknown of the...

I'm a God boy, Sister, 'I said. 'You don t have to worry about me, I'm a God boy.' Jimmy Sullivan believed he was protected by God until his parents...

Years in insurance and marriage to the joyless Hilda have been no more than death in life to George Bowling. This and fear of another war take his mind back...

With a new introduction by Emma Larkin Set in the days of the Empire, with the British ruling in Burma, Burmese Days describes both indigenous corruption and Imperial bigotry, when...

Set in the volatile Paris summer of 1938, The Age of Reason follows two days in the life of Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, and his circle in the cafes...

A stunning new series look for one of the greatest writers of the 20th century in Penguin Modern Classics In the din and stink that is Cannery Row a colourful...

A tragic tale of a young woman's descent into isolation and despair, inspired by Jean Rhys's own experiences First published in 1934, Voyage in the Dark is the story of...

'We're not Christians, Christ stopped short of here, at Eboli.' Exiled to a remote and barren corner of Italy for his opposition to Mussolini, Carlo Levi entered a world cut...

Flann O'Brien's first novel is a brilliant impressionistic jumble of ideas, mythology and nonsense. Operating on many levels it incorporates plots within plots, giving full rein to O'Brien's dancing intellect...

Jim Dixon has accidentally fallen into a job at one of Britain's new red brick universities. A moderately successful future in the History Department beckons. As long as Jim can...

'Pat Barker's novel is not only a vivid evocation of the agony of the First World War. It is a multi-layered exploration of all wars, challenging assumptions about the relationship...

Flame-haired Grady McNeil is beautiful, rich and defiant. Her privileged society life leaves her wanting, and excitement comes in the form of the highly unsuitable Clyde, a Brooklyn-born, Jewish parking...

Multi-award-winning, a bestseller andmade intoan award-winningfeature film, Looking for Alibrandi has become a modern classic. Melina Marchetta'sstunning debut novel Looking for Alibrandi is one girl's story of her final year...

From the author of The Circle, the brilliantly executed story of one man struggling to make sense of the world In a barracks on an abandoned military base, miles from...

Our Wives Under the Sea meets The Bone Clocks in the most mesmerising novel of 2025- 'this book will sneak into your dreams and haunt you' When two grieving strangers...

From the bestselling novelist, travel writer, and "master of the short story" (NPR) comes a brilliant new collection The stories in Paul Theroux's fascinating new collection are both exotic and...

A mother and son, estranged for many years, reckon at last with the secret that has kept them apart in this highly anticipated novel by one of the most talented...

For readers of BREASTS AND EGGS and CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN comes Junko Takase's Akutagawa Prize-winning novel about the pressures of modern life, and the pleasure of eating well WINNER OF...

A luxury hotel full of assassins - what could go wrong? The original, twisty and inventive sequel to the international bestseller Bullet Train 'Fresh and fun and full-throttle' A.J. FINN,...

THE DESTINATION READ OF 2024. Your paradise awaits ... 'A magical novel, so uplifting, heartwarming, funny . . . This feels as if it was written specifically to give comfort'...

A daughter searches for her father; a mother for her son. From isolated Tasmania to vibrant Morocco, two women seek the truth about what happened to the same man. Khadija...

'Pacy, exciting and often unexpectedly moving storytelling.' THE AUSTRALIAN Like the moon landing itself, a feat of enormous ingenuity imagining the lives of the Apollo mission heroes, and those on...

'A good rom-com is a balm for the harshness of the outside world, and no one does romance and comedy better than Rachael Johns.' Australian Women's Weekly When serial dater...

'The feelgood read of the year.' - Better Reading 'Prolific, entertaining and charming, Rachael Johns is arguably the best romantic writer in Australia.' The Australian Named after a famous fictional...

Look who's back in hot water! The highly anticipated new novel in The Tea Ladies mystery series, a runaway bestseller of the year. Ideal for fans of Richard Osman and...

The heart-stopping new crime thriller in the Detective Jack Hawksworth series by blockbuster author Fiona McIntosh. Superstar footballer Luca Bruni is being blackmailed for a night of lust he swears...

Set between rural Australia and London, The Echoes is a story about the weight of the past and the promise of the future 'This is stranger, darker and more brilliant...

From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF A...

From the iconic author of the international sensation CRAZY RICH ASIANS THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF CRAZY RICH ASIANS Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshamsbury and son of...

The world's number one thriller writer introduces a cast of unforgettable characters in twenty pulse-pounding standalone short stories, collected together for the first time. I was the guy who always...

From the bestselling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love- a sharply funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely relatable story of heartbreak and friendship, and how to survive both....

Kate Grenville's latest bestselling novel, now in a beautiful paperback edition What if Elizabeth Macarthur-wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney-had written a...

'A powerful achievement.' Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer 'Transcendent.' THE AGE 'Anam is a beautiful book. I loved its hypnotic rhythms, its restlessness, the way memories, dreams and ideas, like...

Judy Nunn's latest bestselling novel will take you from the cotton mills of England to the magnificent theatres of Melbourne, on a scintillating journey through the golden age of Australian...

A highly evocative family mystery of secrets and betrayal from the bestselling author of Croc Country. The darkest secrets are buried the deepest. An Unexpected Summons Meg Morrissey has just...