Hello Baby Boomers – do you remember the books from 1969? Is there a hazy recollection of reading The Godfather, the first Flashman novel, or perhaps you were shocked or entertained by Portnoy’s Complaint, or dipped into Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five? I’m sure you’ve pushed those memories of wearing loonpants out of your head but I’m sure the books have never been forgotten.

Frankly, 1969 was a vintage year for literature (as well as lunar exploration) – I haven’t even got started on Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings or Graham Greene’s Travels with My Aunt. There was also one heck of literary hoax, the first Man Booker Prize, and a children’s book that has sold 30 million copies since being published 40 years ago. Can you guess what it was? Where the Wild Things Are? No, try again. Enjoy our feature.