The UK publication of DH Lawrence's novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover, gripped the nation in 1960. In History looks at the trial that led to its release – and the rush to buy the book.

While its literary value has been questioned, Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness still acts as a beacon for sexual self-discovery, writes Hephzibah Anderson.

Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate created a portrait of the Soviets in WW2 that revealed "the grand sweep of history alongside the granular detail within", writes Nicholas Barrett.