Finding out the books that have made a big impression on authors is a fascinating insight into what shapes their writing. And with the paperback publication of her latest novel, The Midnight Feast, I asked Lucy Foley to share the books that changed her life.
Lucy has plumped for some great classics – two coming-of-age books, each narrated in the first person by impressionable teenage girls. Both are intense family dramas that explore relationships and dilemmas.
The settings take us from a dilapidated castle in glorious Suffolk to a glamorous villa in the south of France, and in the case of The Talented Mr Ripley, we travel from New York to Italy and Greece, peeking into the world of the super-rich.
Flawed characters feature throughout Lucy’s selection, with a dysfunctional marriage and truly twisted characters in her brilliant crime choices. Small wonder she enjoys writing such psychologically gripping thrillers.
"This is a masterclass in writing about unlikeable protagonists, and marshalling our interests and even our sympathies for them. I remember the first time I read it, feeling in awe of how Highsmith has us hoping that Tom Ripley will get away with it, even as we’re aware that he’s a dangerous sociopath."
"I love The Great Gatsby. However, this is by far my favourite of Fitzgerald’s books. The portrait of a dysfunctional marriage, the theme of trouble in paradise, the depiction of decadent parties at which things go wrong – these are all elements that I have found really inspiring in my own writing."
"This is another heady coming-of-age book, only this time imbued with French insouciance. I think I must have read it about six times – that’s not difficult because it’s so slight and so absorbing! And I used it as a reference in The Midnight Feast for the dangers of bored teenagers over a long, hot summer by the sea. It’s the definition of a ‘mood’ – the whole atmosphere imbued with a sultry warmth, until the chilling effect of the genuinely tragic twist."
"This book totally refutes the idea that Agatha Christie was a ‘cosy crime’ writer – it’s so chilling and gripping, and probably the ‘gateway’ book that made me fall in love with her work. It’s a masterclass in plotting too. Any time I feel I’m getting woolly with my description, I bring myself back on track with thoughts of this book!"
"This coming-of-age tale really swept me off my feet as a teenage reader – the romance of the family living in a tumbledown castle, the feckless author father, the sting of first love. Whenever I think of books that made me fall in love with reading, this one is right up there at the top of the list."
Lucy Foley's latest book - The Midnight Feast
Guests gather for The Manor hotel’s opening on the Dorset coast. But under the midsummer sun, old secrets and local folklore resurface. And when a body is discovered, a web of suspense unravels.
This article first appeared in the July 2025 issue of woman&home magazine. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.
