Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (25 Feb)

It won every award, and it has been on our shortlist more times than any other book (I think). Finally, we read it and - by and large - loved it.

It's got a cast of characters, punchy scenes, and weighty issues that would (and will) suit a TV miniseries - a Tudor West Wing, if you like.

You feel like you are inside the minds of these historical people, at one moment lulled by something almost contemporary - irritation at paperwork, say - and the next you're confronted as a matter of fact, with something almost completely alien - routine executions, or Divine Right.

The second book was good too, and so were the plays...