A round-up of some of the top 'misery lit' books

Peig(1936) The mother of the genre: Peig Sayers's Irish-language autobiography about poverty, emigration, dying kids and lost fishing boats.

A Child Called It(1995) Dave Pelzer's traumatic tale of growing up, being physically abused by a mother who called him "an It". Grim in the extreme, although the subtitle, " One Child's Courage to Survive", implies that he came good in the end.

Angela's Ashes(1996) Frank McCourt's humorous account of life in impoverished Ireland in the 1930s with an alcoholic father and a diet of bread and tea. Gas altogether.

Don't Ever Tell(2005) Kathy O'Beirne's memoir of sexual abuse, rape and hell in a Magdalen laundry was contested by some of her siblings, but she stands by her story.

Ugly(2006) British judge Constance Briscoe alleged abuse and neglect at the hands of her mother - claims denied by other family members.