Zadie Smith's White Teeth is a classic international bestseller and an unforgettable portrait of London, available as a Penguin Essential for the first time. One of the most talked about fictional debuts ever, White Teeth is a funny, generous, big-hearted novel, adored by critics and readers alike. Dealing with friendship, love, war, three cultures, and three families over three generations, one brown mouse, and the tricky way the past has of coming back and biting you on the ankle, it is a life-affirming, riotous must-read.

"Funny, clever... and a rollicking good read." - Independent
"An astonishingly assured debut, funny and serious... I was delighted." - Salman Rushdie
"The almost preposterous talent was clear from the first pages." - Julian Barnes, Guardian
"Quirky, sassy and wise ... a big, splashy, populous production reminiscent of books by Dickens.".