His life story is one of long dramatic novels of power and suspense.

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Sitting reading is a sedentary occupation, and yet no-one is suggesting you should avoid "War and Peace" or the later, over-long Harry Potter novels.

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Johnson's Western crime novels have long been a favorite of critics and fans.

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Peter Ackroyd's obsession with the mythology of London has long been apparent from his novels and biographies.

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Mr Black's novels include Paying For It and Long Time Dead and feature private detective Gus Dury.

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By the mid-1940s he had published three historical novels set in ancient Egypt, and planned a long further series.

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Libraries have long hosted book groups, but few publishers currently provide advanced copies of novels to book groups through libraries.

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Dickens also satirised the law in his novels, such as Bleak House, the tale of a decades-long court case that destroys most of its participants.

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