Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale may be almost 35 years old, but in this post-#MeToo era its exploration of the oppression of women, sexual abuse and power dynamics are more relevant than ever.

#MeToo was originally coined by anti-sexual violence campaigner Tarana Burke in 1997, and came to prominence in autumn 2017 when the New York Times published a story alleging decades of abuse by Harvey Weintein by actresses including Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd.

The high-profile allegations led to a reckoning in industries from hospitality to politics, a reckoning that is still ongoing. In the meantime, Weinstein is due to go on trial accused of forcing one woman to give him oral sex, and of raping a second woman.

While #MeToo, and the #TimesUp movement against sexual harassment that was launched in its wake, continue to make headlines, fiction is also contributing to the discussion.

The best books to read in the post-#MeToo era