1. Coningsby by Benjamin Disraeli (1844) – Henry Coningsby, an Eton-educated aristocrat, is disinherited by his wealthy grandfather Lord Monmouth after marrying into a family representing the "new money" of industrialism. He becomes a barrister and an MP. Disraeli based Coningsby on his Conservative colleague George Smythe, Monmouth on the Marquis of Hertford and Monmouth's conniving friend Rigby on John Wilson Croker, the Irish statesman. He used the book to make arguments about the politics of the day, including his opposition to Robert Peel, then prime minister.
2. Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) – Animals resembling the leading Communist politicians in the Soviet Union overthrow their owners and jostle for position after the death of Old Major, a pig seen as an allegorical combination of Marx and Lenin. Snowball, or Stalin, takes power and exiles Napoleon, or Trotsky. The book is regarded as one of the finest works of English fiction and was made into a memorable cartoon version.
3. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946) – Willie Stark is an idealistic-lawyer-turned-corrupt-governor in the American South during the 1930s. He builds a formidable political machine, rules as a cynical populist and becomes known as The Boss. His character was a thinly-veiled portrayal of Huey Long, a governor of Louisiana in the 1930s. The book won Warren the Pulitzer Prize and was twice turned into a successful film.
4. The Ghost by Robert Harris (2007) – Adam Lang, a recently departed British prime minister reminiscent of Tony Blair, attempts to write his memoir with a ghost writer while under pressure over allegations of war crimes. The book was made into a film starring Piers Brosnan and directed by Roman Polanski. In an interview before its release, Harris said of Mr Blair's likely reaction: "The day this appears a writ might come through the door. But I would doubt it, knowing him".
5. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008) – Alice Lindgren, a young bookworm from Wisconsin, grows up to be a demure librarian who falls in love with Charles Blackwell, the scion of a famously powerful political family. She is responsible for a car crash, in which a male friend is killed, and eventually finds herself married to an incompetent and unpopular US president. The book is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, the wife of George W. Bush.