Is there a (fiction) novel that is universally acclaimed and loved?

The Night Circus. Loved it and her second one.

Oh, Curtis Sittenfeld is a good shout as an author, but how about Rodham, her alternative story of what would have happened if Hilary had pursued her career over marriage to Bill? That's my favourite one of hers.
I wouldn't recommend Cold Comfort Farm to a book club, wouldn't most people have read it as it's such a classic?

How about Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld? She is a well regarded/awarded US writer and this is a modern take on Pride & Prejudice. All of your audience will be familiar with it and therefore much to discuss. It’s a light read, but a good one and she is deffo not an “airport/holiday” novelist. (The Presidents Wife - allegedly about Laura Bush - is excellent)

TBH I would say that I am new to the group and want to wait a few more turns before I suggest a book. Then see how it goes.

Fifthing Piranesi. Not as good as Strange and Norrell which is possibly my favourite book of all time but a hell of a lot shorter.

A suggestion no one else has made is my second-favourite book of all time: The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin's masterpiece. Wonderful, (but warning, it does risk the discussion taking a turn towards "The Trans Issue".)

If On A Winter Night A Traveller by Italy Calvino is gorgeous.

Diary of a Provincial Lady will not impress them with your high brow literary antecedents but they'll be secretly delighted to read something so much fun.

Penelope Lively also has a “classic” feel but often gets overlooked as a “children’s author.”

I've just read 'Disorientation' by Elaine Hsieh Chou.

It's a smart, funny satire around the experiences of Asian immigrants to the USA, and on race politics especially within Universities.

I know absolutely zilch about any of these subjects and loved it. Definitely thought provoking with brilliant characterisation.

Another vote for Cold Comfort Farm.
My book group loved Grey Bees - in translation by a famous (in Ukraine) Ukrainian writer. Written before the current invasion and very funny in parts.
Two more - A Gentleman In Moscow,
and The Star of the Sea which is based on real-life letters, songs etc. from Ireland in the 1850s.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. A beautiful, joyful book with a gorgeous setting and great characters. It's one of my favourite books when I feel down.

Another recommendation for Daphne du Maurier here - especially The Scapegoat, a fantastic book to read and great to discuss in a group

'Peripheral Vision' by Patricia Ferguson is a book I loved and have recommended to others who have loved it too. The author seems surprisingly little known.

It’s a perfect novel by any standards! But I suspect I would get very cross if other people didn’t share my adoration of it…

I couldn't get into The Bee Sting

I'm enjoying Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

It's a book that's recommended more by word of mouth than what prize it's won ( prize winners can be quite dull for the reader)

I LOVED Forever Amber!

And yes to Persephone Books. I just finished To Bed With Grand Music and it was excellent, if a little sad.

I've never met anyone who didn't love The Heart's Invisible Furies...

"Forever Amber" by Kathleen Winsor. I've read it over and over and over. Vibrant and colourful and pretty racy for the time it was published, 1944. Unfortunately, when it was made into a film, the Hollywood censors - instigated after the Fatty Arbuckle party scandal - imposed so many cuts and restrictions that the end result was puritanical and sterile.
This book deserved much better.

How about suggesting The Bee Sting by Paul Murray and Prophet Song by Paul Lynch? Very different books and both were favourites to win Booker prize- Prophet Song won but personally I much preferred The Bee Sting!

Of course not, and a good thing too!

I've even met someone who actively loathed A Month in the Country, and several more who found it dull. (Yes, we no longer speak.)
Most English teachers I expect would have read it in any case, but maybe not Carr's The Harpole Report, set in a primary school in the 1970s (? I think, though some aspects feel much earlier), which would provide lots to discuss and is utterly hilarious to boot.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is one that has really stuck with me.

Now this is the type of thread that MN should be used for. What about some A.S. Byatt which could be topical given her recent death ? I actually DID enjoy the Minaturist and thought it rather quirky. If you want something classic in style but not well known Persephone Books specialises in this. Have a look at their publications list.

You have some great suggestions above. Another vote here for Piranesi and a new suggestion: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Went down well with my book group so I recommended it to another, who also liked it.

Daphne du Maurier always goes down well in my book group. Everybody is happy to re-read her, or probably most people will only have read one or two so pick an obscure one

House of Spirits -Allende
Kite Runner - Hosseini
Colour Purple - Walker
To Kill A Mockingbird - Lee