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

[JMSA]

Looking for book recommendations for a book group I've just joined. I'm a little nervous about putting forward my first title, as I really don't know these people very well. I'm thinking it makes sense to 'play it safe' with my first choice of book. It has to be fiction and not onerously long. Max 400 pages.
We've just finished Hidden Windows by Jason Rekulak.
Group is mostly made up of secondary school English teachers, so something a wee bit different would be good, as the Classics will have been covered!

Thank you very much

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 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)

Goodness, thank you all so very much!
I am making my way through all of these wonderful recommendations.

'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…

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

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.

Forever Amber is unfortunately much too lengthy ...

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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?

The Night Circus. Loved it and her second one.

Kris Radish is v good - I always recommend “The Elegant Gathering of White Snows” about a group of female friends who go for a walk and learn about each other.

My book club loved The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue. I can't remember how many pages it is, but it was a fairly quick read and gave us lots to talk about.

I’m afraid I loathe everything I’ve ever read by John Boyne. He’s about as subtle as a head butt, and his prose makes me itch.

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters- I only recently read for the first time and thought it would be good book club material

Off the top of my head, the books that were universally enjoyed at my book clubs over the past few years were:

The Braid by Laetitia Colombani
The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Joanna Cannon books always go down well too

I love lots of these suggestions but I would go with A Passage to India - Forster.

These were my exact words!
Also "The Poisonwood Bible"

Signed: another English teacher

My favourite book last year (retired school librarian) was A terrible kindness by Jo Browning Wroe.

Another book I really enjoyed was Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, an Omani author. Panchenko was good. Reread the Far Pavillions after many many years. Absolute pile of enjoyable tosh. A sweeping epic they might say.

The Joy luck club by Amy Tan. It's written from an interesting point of view based int he game of mahjong.

Frost in May by Antonia White
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Unexplained Laughter by Alice Thomas-Ellis
The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate
No Talking after Lights by Angela Lambert
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale
Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West