Here are 7 books that The English Masterpiece fans have personally recommended if you like The English Masterpiece. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Small Things Like These

By Claire Keegan ,

Book cover of Small Things Like These

donnat.

From Donna T.'s 3 favorite reads in 2025.

By donnat.

Unknown Author Why Donna T. loves this book

A sweet book about the goodness in people that can change lives

Small Things Like These

By Claire Keegan ,

Why should I read it?

30 authors picked Small Things Like These as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize

"A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers

Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him…

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Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

The Frozen River

By Ariel Lawhon ,

Book cover of The Frozen River

alicia1

From Alicia's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

By alicia1

Unknown Author Why Alicia loves this book

I love stories based on real events/real people.

The Frozen River

By Ariel Lawhon ,

Why should I read it?

44 authors picked The Frozen River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

"Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive."—The Washington Post

"Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine." —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When…

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A Shadow in Moscow

By Katherine Reay ,

Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel

Deborah Lawrenson Author Of The Secretary

From my list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines.

By Deborah Lawrenson Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.

Deborah's book list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines

Book cover of The Widow Spy Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Why Deborah loves this book

Not one but two superlative women across two timelines, from the 1950s at the height of the Cold War to the 1980s, in this twisty tale of espionage under the noses of the KGB in Moscow.

I really appreciated the depth of historical research and the human insights as this evocation of Cold War tradecraft gripped my imagination. These are women of the highest courage: Anya’s role working in a military research lab prompts her to pass vital Soviet designs to the CIA in an effort to end the 1980s arms race.

This clearly draws on “the billion dollar spy” Adolf Tolkachev’s spying for the West and highlights Reay’s use of real-life events and historical accuracy while giving us a fascinating feminine twist.

A Shadow in Moscow

By Katherine Reay ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Shadow in Moscow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the thick of the Cold War, a betrayal at the highest level risks the lives of two courageous female spies: MI6's best Soviet agent and the CIA's newest Moscow recruit.

Vienna, 1954

After losing everyone she loves in the final days of World War II, Ingrid Bauer agrees to a hasty marriage with a gentle Soviet embassy worker and follows him home to Moscow. But nothing within the Soviet Union's totalitarian regime is what it seems, including her new husband, whom Ingrid suspects works for the KGB. Inspired by her daughter's birth, Ingrid risks everything and reaches out in…

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Book cover of With You

With You by Amanda Waters,

Sometimes, you have to leave home to find your heart.

Most single women in their 40s would stay in the city they love, with the killer apartment, a successful career, and good friends. But Kristen Barnes craves change. Arriving in the small town of Riverton, she expects new scenery and…

Exposure

By Helen Dunmore ,

Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Author Of The Secretary

From my list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines.

By Deborah Lawrenson Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.

Deborah's book list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines

Book cover of The Widow Spy Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Why Deborah loves this book

Love, loyalty, and betrayal combine in a chillingly real early-1960s Cold War nightmare for Lily, the wife of a civil servant inadvertently caught up in a no-win situation after helping a friend, then accused of passing papers to the Russians in London.

What resonates with me is the terrible aftermath and the effect on his family of political intrigue more powerful than any of them knows. Or does Lily’s husband know exactly what he has done? What I love about this novel is the quiet way the tension grips until the marriage and family are no longer ordinary.

The writing, as always from Helen Dunmore, is lyrical, elegant, and restrained, adding another dimension of pleasure.

Exposure

By Helen Dunmore ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Exposure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A spy novel but one that has been quietly and ingeniously deepened well beyond the ambitions of genre . . . [it] is one of those books that you read with your heart in your mouth, your mind fully engaged, and with a sense of desolation as you note the dwindling number of pages left before it comes to an end.”—Chicago Tribune

“Dunmore has always been fantastic on the complexity of people's motivations and the secret reasons they act as they do. This book is no exception . . . a page turner...as much a surprising love story as it…

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Secret Servants of the Crown

By Claire Hubbard-Hall ,

Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence

Deborah Lawrenson Author Of The Secretary

From my list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines.

By Deborah Lawrenson Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.

Deborah's book list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines

Book cover of The Widow Spy Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Why Deborah loves this book

This meticulously researched history of the unsung women of the British intelligence services is like a master key that will unlock a vault of quiet heroines who were never known in their lifetimes. Dr Hubbard-Hall explores the world of ‘secretaries’ and administrators who almost always knew as much, if more, as the men of the Secret Service.

I particularly enjoyed learning about Kathleen Pettigrew, who inspired Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny, and the intrepid Rita Winsor and Ena Molesworth, who set up an extraordinary ‘travel agency’ to gain access to Russia, China, and other restricted countries in the 1950s. What makes this book shine is Hubbard-Hall’s ability to tell a rip-roaring story so that the lady spies, with all their quirks and daring, come to glorious life on the page.

Secret Servants of the Crown

By Claire Hubbard-Hall ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Secret Servants of the Crown as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Drawing on private and previously classified documents, this definitive history of women's contributions to the intelligence services is the first authoritative account of the hidden female army of clerks, typists, telephonists, and secretaries who were the cornerstone of the British secret state across two world wars and beyond.

A must read for fans of A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell and THE SISTERHOOD by Liza Mundy.

To the undiscerning eye, they were secretaries, typists, personal assistants, and telephonists. But those innocuous job titles provided the perfect cover for what were in reality a range of complex technical, clerical,…

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The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt

By Sarah Armstrong ,

Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt

Deborah Lawrenson Author Of The Secretary

From my list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines.

By Deborah Lawrenson Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.

Deborah's book list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines

Book cover of The Widow Spy Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Why Deborah loves this book

I enjoyed this distinctly unusual take on a Cold War novel. Martha is not a spy; she is a young new wife living in Moscow in 1973 with her rookie diplomat husband. She’s not even a wife in every sense, as her husband Kit is a gay childhood friend using her as cover.

The closed embassy community is well-evoked, especially the low-level threat to Westerners. People–and even places–disappear, and suicides happen. Wives must obey the rules for their own safety, and there are consequences when they do not, such as when Martha makes a dangerous friend.

Far from the usual Moscow thriller, this is more subtle and transporting, not least because Martha does actually like Moscow and Russia, and wants to explore and understand what she sees.

The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt

By Sarah Armstrong ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lead Fiction, Spring 2019: This thriller brilliantly evokes 1973 Moscow and a world of diplomacy and counter-espionage.

Escaping failure as an undergraduate and a daughter, not to mention bleak 1970s England, Martha marries Kit - who is gay. Having a wife could keep him safe in Moscow in his diplomatic post. As Martha tries to understand her new life and makes the wrong friends, she walks straight into an underground world of counter-espionage.

Out of her depth, Martha no longer knows who can be trusted.

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The Widow Spy

By Martha D. Peterson ,

Book cover of The Widow Spy

Deborah Lawrenson Author Of The Secretary

From my list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines.

By Deborah Lawrenson Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.

Deborah's book list on Cold War espionage with women spies and heroines

Book cover of The Widow Spy Book cover of The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel Book cover of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence Book cover of Exposure

Deborah Lawrenson Why Deborah loves this book

This Martha is the real deal! Her autobiographical account begins in Laos during the Vietnam War when her husband, a CIA officer, is killed. Back in the USA, she puts heartache to one side and joins the CIA herself. Her first posting was in Moscow in 1975.

I was riveted by the raw details of her lonely arrival: the grim airport and grimy hotel room, her awareness of being watched. She plays an integral part in the running of Soviet agent Aleksandr Ogorodnik in Moscow, under cover of being an ‘unimportant’ embassy woman and using old-style tradecraft for hours to make sure she is not being followed. Eventually, she is arrested by the KGB and detained in the infamous Lubyanka Prison.

It’s utterly gripping, not least for Martha Peterson’s amazing courage. 

The Widow Spy

By Martha D. Peterson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Widow Spy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Widow Spy is the first hand account of a true Cold War spy operation in Moscow, told exclusively by the CIA case offiicer who lived this experience. She was one of the first women to be assigned to Moscow, a very difficult operational environment. Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she accompanied her husband, a CIA officer. She describes their life in a small city in Laos, ending with the tragic death of her husband. Then her own thirty year career begins in Moscow, where she walks the dark streets alone, placing dead-drops and escaping…

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Book cover of Small Things Like These
Book cover of The Frozen River
Book cover of A Shadow in Moscow: A Cold War Novel

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