Picture the scene: it’s a stormy Autumn evening, you can hear the pitter-patter of raindrops outside your window – you decide to light a candle, make a cup of tea and wrap yourself in a cosy blanket. What now? you think, longing to lose yourself in a good book. The only problem is, you don’t know what to read. Well look no further, here are my favourite novels for some visceral escapism.

‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt:

Donna Tartt’s debut, ‘The Secret History’ is a cult favourite (and for good reason). This novel is dark and intricate- with portrayals of meaningful friendships, scandals and even murder. Our protagonist, Richard Papen, starts out at Bennington College and stumbles his way into an elusive and elitist classics class. Here he meets an eccentric group of individuals, led by an enigmatic professor.

Tartt’s layered and descriptive novel is completely immersive and unlike any other murder mystery or novel I have ever read; the prologue portrays the climactic murder. However, the plot and characters are so engaging that, despite this, readers are hooked almost immediately and captivated by Tartt’s immersive prose.

‘The Doll Factory’ by Elizabeth MacNeal:

Filled with suspense, Elizabeth MacNeal’s ‘The Doll Factory’ is another hypnotic novel about obsession, art and the macabre. MacNeal’s debut focuses on aspiring artist, Iris, and her professional and romantic interactions with pre-raphaelite painter Louis Frost. Lurking in the shadows and haunting this novel is the ominous and isolated voice of Silas, a collector of the beautiful and bizarre. Iris captures his attention, and this obsession grows sinister.

‘The Doll Factory’ is wonderfully crafted and incredibly enticing. MacNeal carefully balances a romantic plot-line with a more disturbing counter-perspective, providing a suspenseful story that gives insight to both victim and villain.

‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë:

Emily Brontë’s acclaimed novel ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a classic tale about dysfunctional family dynamics, infatuation and undeniably unlikeable individuals. But once you adjust to the confusing family tree and unsympathetic characters, this novel makes for a fascinating read on a stormy night. 

Brontë’s characters are complex and detailed; a reader might not particularly like them, but they will be interested to find out what makes them tick. Heathcliff is an outsider, surrounded by people who mistreat him. Perpetuating this hatred, Heathcliff then becomes the monster others expect him to be. There are so many angles and perspectives to view this novel from that a literature lover cannot help but be intrigued.

‘Kindred’ by Octavia E. Butler:

A recent autumnal read of mine is Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Kindred’. A time-travel story, this text is a combination of slave narrative, science-fiction and fantasy, switching between 1970s California and antebellum Maryland. Dana, our protagonist, is sent back in time repeatedly to save her ancestor, a white plantation owner called Rufus. She struggles to come to terms with her heritage and ancestry, wanting to save Rufus to preserve her own blood-line but being closely repulsed by him as a black-american woman.

‘Kindred’ is an in depth dive into America’s horrifying past, combining real-life historical accounts of slavery and fiction. Butler’s work is both engaging and terrifying, with complex characters, both slaves and slave-owners. The story is excellently paced and impulsively readable whilst also maintaining an important mission by exposing hard-hitting social truths. 

To conclude, I hope you now look forward to some cosy evenings reading these immersive stories. Grab a warm drink, put on some mood lighting and escape into another world, even if it’s just for a little while.

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