Hart of Empire Saul David (Hodder and Stoughton, £12.99)

Renowned historian David traverses familiar Victorian war territory in the second of his novels featuring soldier-spy George Hart. After his escape from Zululand, he finds himself in Afghanistan amid the bizarre intrigues of that nation. The British are worried about their jewel of India and David, with the skill of an artist, masterfully paints an imperial landscape in which his swarthy hero Hart must thwart invasion.

The Newgate Jig Ann Featherstone (John Murray, £17.99)

The theatrical world of Victoriana is the pride and joy — our joy — of Featherstone’s remarkable series of novels. Inventive and ingenious in her murder mysteries, she is an author with a fairground passion that brings out the spectator in every one of us. The story is essentially the quest of a young man to clear the name of his father after he has watched him being hanged, but it is the mosaic of freakish characters she conjures that make this a show in which to delight.

A Fall of Giants Ken Follett (Macmillan, £20)

Follett’s imagination falls on the First World War and the Russian Revolution in this kaleidoscope of a book, the first of a trilogy. As always, it is the characters who keep you turning the page. From coal mine to palace, the streets of St Petersburg to the power corridors of Washington, Follett travels a passionate path, marked by danger, romance and treachery. Like all great novels, the story leaves unforgettable memories.

Killer of Men Christian Cameron (Orion, £12.99)

The Greco-Persian Wars always provide an inspiring battleground and Cameron is well versed in this epoch. Following his Tyrant series, this book revels in ancient tradition. His “killer” is Arimnestos, a warrior betrayed into slavery, fighting his way to freedom and revenge. It’s an old story but Cameron gives it tremendous narrative power.