3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Well, now, I'm a female English teacher so I have to love Austen. I think it's a given. And I do - though not the the extent that people often suspect. Austen really was the Marian Keyes of her generation and these romances with all their intrigue and manners are a gorgeous glimpse into life in the 1800s. I had the phase many of us did, when I was about 16, where I devoured these novels and was gutted to think that there would not, and could not, be any more to come from Austen - quite a depressing thought! This isn't my favourite of them all - that's Persuasion - but it's a wonderful read for a summer's afternoon.