You can only carry 3 fiction books with you, which ones would you choose? Why?

1. Pride and Prejudice

I hated this book at school! So much so that I never got beyond the first chapter. I don't know how I got through a whole term without having read it! Later, when I was around 17, and still studying English, we read Persuasion. A different teacher and a much better experience. I read all of Jane Austen's work and P&P became my all time favourite. I re-read it often. I even converted my husband to being a Jane Austen fan and we often watch the film/TV versions, and also Sense and Sensibility.

2. Don't Tell Alfred

I first read Nancy Mitford's books in my teens and was mad keen on them. I loved Uncle Matthew and his approach to time keeping (mine too), and the kind of life they all led. Don't Tell Alfred was my favourite because it was set in Paris and showed me an earlier epoch to the one I enjoyed when I lived there.

3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I loved the TV series starring Jeremy Brett. (There used to be an amazing portrait of him in the V&A hotel in Manchester, which I adored, back in the days when it was the hotel linked to the TV studio. I once tried to find out where it had gone but never succeeded). I read all the Sherlock Holmes books over and over, and they remain big favourites. And timeless.