Sometimes it takes an outstanding individual to awaken the conscience of his contemporaries. In To Kill a Mockingbird (Arrow, £5.99 in UK), Atticus Finch gently assumes this role as a white lawyer defending a black man in a very public and controversial case. The dramatic core of the novel allows the author, Harper Lee, to explore the irrationality of attitudes towards race and class in 1930s Alabama through the eyes of a young and impressionable child. The result is a modern classic with a vivid sense of humour and absorbing characters who embody the deeply moving and thought-provoking themes of courage, hardened prejudice and justice.