Reading lists

Jane Fallon’s 5 favourite heroines

Faking Friends author Jane Fallon tells us why she writes heroines she'd like to hang out with and selects five of her favourite leading ladies

Eleanor Oliphant from Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Stiff, curmudgeonly, awkward Eleanor. So particular, so at odds with the world. At first I couldn’t warm to her at all, but somehow, slowly, she got under my skin. And she stayed there. And that’s what’s so wonderful about this book. Gail Honeyman peels away Eleanor’s layers with beautiful delicate precision until you really begin to understand her. And then you fall in love with her, or at least I did.

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more