Mary Beard's six best books

Mary Beard is professor in classics at Cambridge and classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Her books include The Roman Triumph and The Fires of Vesuvius.

One of Beard's six best books, as shared at the Daily Express:

WHITE TEETH by Zadie Smith

It’s amazing to think that this elegant, intricate, accomplished and witty novel was Smith’s first book. It’s one of the best ever explorations of race and migrant identities in Britain – and teeth are a surprising linking theme.

Read about the other entries on the list.

White Teeth is on John Mullan's list of the ten most notable New Years in literature, Melissa Albert's list of five notable--and ambitious--debut novels and Nigel Williams's list of ten of the best books about suburbia.

--Marshal Zeringue