If – like many of our staff – you’re feeling bereft to see The Good Wife come to an end, here are six recommendations for novels to help fill the void…

For an all-too-brief romantic affair…

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

If thinking of Will and Alicia still makes you sad, you’re not alone – it still makes us sad too. (We’re sure there’s a German word for it.) In Graham Greene’s classic novel, a flourishing love affair between the writer Maurice Bendrix and the married Sarah Miles is brought to an end when she suddenly and without explanation breaks it off. Greene examines what follows as Maurice struggles with jealousy and obsession.

For a gripping narrative about a politician’s wife…

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

A bookish child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up living in the White House and married to the president of the United States. Based loosely on the life on former First Lady Laura Bush, American Wife is a fascinating depiction of a marriage and, just like The Good Wife, will have you pondering over the difficult relationship between the private and the political.

For a nuanced look at motherhood and self…

The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

Once Alicia returns to work, she finds herself caught in a battlefield of what is expected of her as a woman, wife and mother. In Elena Ferrante’s phenomenal series, two women grow from childhood into old age and along the way, each struggles with the clash between other’s expectations of them, and their own desires. These books are incredible, and have won over many readers here at Readings.

For backstabbing politics…

Election by Tom Perrotta

Tracy Flick is one of those ambitious girls who finds time to do it all – edit the yearbook, star in the school musical, sleep with her English teacher – and she wants to be the school president. Her idealist teacher Jim McAllister thinks the students deserve better and so he persuades good-hearted jock Paul Warren to run. This puts Paul’s sister Tammy in a snit. So she runs too – on an apathy platform. Cue blackly funny cut-throat scheming that would impress everybody’s favourite campaign manager, Eli Gold.

For a marriage with secrets…

The Widow by Fiona Barton

Jean Taylor’s life was blissfully ordinary and her husband Glen was all she’d ever wanted – her Prince Charming – until he was accused of a horrific crime. Like Alicia, Jean stood by her husband in the media, always publicly demonstrating her support. But unlike Alicia, Jean is now a widow and for the first time, she’s going to tell the truth. Or, maybe not… The Widow is a dark, twisted debut that will keep you hooked until the last page.

For a legal drama about corruption…

The Firm by John Grisham

When Mitchell McDeere qualified third in his class at Harvard, offers poured in from every law firm in America. And when a small, respected firm Bendini, Lambert and Locke offer an amazing package, McDeere can’t believe his luck. But the young lawyer’s dream job is about to become his worst nightmare. The Firm is classic Grisham, and will have you reflecting on the ethics of the legal system at work.