Find out more about the books featured on Between the Covers

Find out more about the books featured on Between the Covers

BBC Two’s book show returns on the 11th of May featuring Big Jubilee Read books, which include books and authors who are part of the Booker family.

Hosted by Sara Cox, the star-studded series is designed to bring the nation together by sharing the enjoyment of reading. Between the Covers will include The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Secret River by Kate Grenville, all of which are included in The Big Jubilee Read.

The English Patient

Winner of The Booker Prize 1992

By: Michael Ondaatje
Published by: Bloomsbury

Set in 1945, Michael Ondaatje’s brilliant and moving historical fiction has been translated into 40 languages and turned into an Oscar-winning film

In each episode of the seven-part series, the panel of four famous guests will bring along their own book of choice and will discuss a newly-published book and a pick from The Big Jubilee Read list. The Big Jubilee Read is a reading for pleasure campaign spearheaded by BBC Arts and The Reading Agency that celebrates great reads from across the Commonwealth, to coincide with Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

It features 70 titles that consist of ten books from each decade of Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 year reign, chosen by an expert panel of librarians, booksellers and literature specialists. From that list, Amanda Ross and her production team chose one from each decade; offering a brilliant selection of beautiful and thrilling writing produced by authors from a range of Commonwealth countries.

Sara Cox, host of BBC Two’s Between The Covers.

The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood
Published by: Jonathan Cape

In Margaret Atwood’s feminist dystopian classic, nothing happens ‘that hasn’t already happened at some time or another’

Watch on iPlayer

Watch this series of Between The Covers on iPlayer.

The BBC's website, UK Only

The Secret River

By: Kate Grenville
Published by: Canongate

Kate Grenville’s fictional account of the conflict that accompanied the settlement of New South Wales by exiled British convicts in the 19th century

Features on books in previous series

Behind the scenes on Between the Covers

Sara Cox, Between the Covers

Neil Morrissey, Between The Covers

Between The Covers with Sara Cox and guests

Dan Smith, with Richard Powers’ novel The Overstory, for Between the covers

Between the Covers series 4 books.

Find out more about The Big Jubilee Read

Princess Elizabeth reading a book in Buckingham Palace on July 19, 1946

The Big Jubilee Read: 21 Booker books to celebrate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II

The Reading Agency and BBC Arts have teamed up for the Big Jubilee Read, and we’re celebrating the books and authors on the list who are part of the Booker family.