British Literature

There's a lot of ground to cover when it comes to British literature, and we've tried to make things easier by gathering study guides on iconic and frequently taught texts such as A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, and plays by William Shakespeare. We couldn't ignore contemporary novels, like White Teeth by Zadie Smith and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, so we didn't leave those out!

Publication year 1930

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Religion / Spirituality, British Literature, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1790

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, British Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Gothic Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags LGBTQ, Love / Sexuality, Depression / Suicide, British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1704

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings

Tags Satire, Irish Literature, British Literature, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Humor, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal) wrote A Tale of a Tub (published in 1704) not only to expound upon the hypocrisy of religion in early 18th century England, but to explore ideas about critics, oration, ancient and modern philosophies, digressions, and the nature of writing itself. These themes are all underscored with a satirical tone that takes religion, authors, and critics to task. The title refers to the tub that sailors used to... Read A Tale Of A Tub Summary


Publication year 1859

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags British Literature, Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, History: World

A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859, is a historical drama written by Charles Dickens. The backdrop of the novel takes place in London and Paris prior to the French Revolution. The novel, told in three parts, is a literary classic and has been adapted into numerous productions for film, theater, radio, and television.In 1775, a banker named Jarvis Lorry travels to Dover, where he meets a young, half-French woman named Lucie Manette. Together... Read A Tale of Two Cities Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, WWII / World War II, British Literature, Military / War, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction

Atonement (2001) is an award-winning novel by British author Ian McEwan that spans the last two-thirds of the 20th century. The novel was a New York Times Bestseller for seven straight weeks and shortlisted for the Booker Prize for fiction in 2001. The 2007 film adaptation won an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA Award. McEwan is critically acclaimed with over a dozen novels and other works of fiction to his name, as... Read Atonement Summary


Publication year 1939

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Fate, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Irish Literature, Humor, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Satire, Arts / Culture, Class, British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1863

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Class, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Animals, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags British Literature, Romanticism / Romantic Period, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1856

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, Social Justice, Gender / Feminism, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period

Written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and first published in 1856 at the height of the Romantic Movement, Aurora Leigh is a narrative novel in blank verse that divided critics by challenging the standard positions within contemporary debates regarding class and gender. Standing at nine books and 11,000 lines, it is the first feature-length poem in English that places a female artist at the center of the plot, and as such, it catapulted its equally atypical... Read Aurora Leigh Summary


Publication year 1963

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger

Tags Gender / Feminism, Post-War Era, British Literature, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

Originally published in 1963 in the short story collection A Man and Two Women, “A Woman on a Roof” by Doris Lessing emerged during a time of social and political upheaval in the Western world. Like many of Lessing’s other works, the story explores the effects of class inequality and the misunderstandings between men and women that arise in a patriarchal culture. Lessing was born in former Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and moved to London... Read A Woman on a Roof Summary


Publication year 1841

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period


Publication year 1890

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Classic Fiction, Realism, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Education, Education, British Literature, Fantasy

Emily Dickinson holds a special place in the firmament of American writers. Although she lived in the 19th century and seldom left her home region in Massachusetts, her poetry speaks to readers of all ages and backgrounds. Dickinson possessed a singular poetic style, characterized by inventive punctuation, powerful efficiency, and deep inquiry of the human experience. Her poem “Because I could not stop for Death” has become a touchstone for readers encountering Dickinson for the... Read Because I Could Not Stop for Death Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Life/Time: Midlife

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Auto/Biographical Fiction, British Literature, Christian literature, History: World, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 1801

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

Written by Irish novelist Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) and published in 1801, Belinda remains one of the landmark works of the late Restoration novel and a precursor of the realistic novel of the mid-19th century. Its purpose is made clear by Edgeworth herself in a brief preface that begins the novel: “The following work is offered to the public as a Moral Tale” (1). Edgeworth was distressed by the glut of frivolous novels that sought only... Read Belinda Summary


Publication year 1000

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages

Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English by an anonymous author around the year 1000 CE. While most of the poem was discovered intact, some of it had been destroyed, likely burned in a fire. The surviving piece was generally regarded as of more interest to historians and anthropologists than to literary scholars until writer and academic J. R. R. Tolkien argued otherwise in a 1936 paper entitled "Beowulf: The Monsters and the... Read Beowulf Summary


Publication year 1941

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Self Discovery

Tags British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

Between the Acts (1941) is Virginia Woolf’s final novel. It was published posthumously, four months after the writer’s death. It is a modernist novel that takes place on one June day in 1939, on the eve of World War II. Set in the English countryside, the novel focuses on the residents of a village who are preparing for their annual pageant at a time of looming international tension and domestic unease. Since much of the... Read Between The Acts Summary


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Black Swan Green (2006) is a semiautobiographical novel by David Mitchell. Set in Worcestershire, England, beginning in January 1982, the book follows 12-year-old protagonist Jason Taylor. The book functions as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, that covers a crucial period of Jason’s adolescence; each of the 13 chapters represents one month in a year of his life. The novel takes its name from Jason’s small village, but the name is ironic, since the nearby... Read Black Swan Green Summary


Publication year 1853

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, Satire, British Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Victorian Literature / Period

Bleak House is a novel by English Victorian author Charles Dickens, published between 1852-1853. The expansive narrative covers many plots, including the first-person account of the life of Esther Summerson and an ongoing court case concerning a large inheritance thrown into chaos by the existence of contradictory wills. Bleak House has been adapted for the theater, radio, film, and television (most recently in 2005) and is considered among Dickens’ greatest novels. This guide uses an... Read Bleak House Summary


Publication year 1941

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, Gender / Feminism, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy, Humor, Classic Fiction

Blithe Spirit is a 1941 farce written by the English playwright, composer, and actor Noël Coward. Known for his wit and style, Coward’s theatrical career lasted for nearly six decades. Blithe Spirit, one of his most popular and enduring works, was first performed in the West End, running for 1,997 performances, before transferring to Broadway for 657 performances. It was adapted into the musical High Spirits in 1964. To this day, the play continues to... Read Blithe Spirit Summary


Publication year 1941

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags History: European, Politics / Government, British Literature, WWII / World War II, History: World, Biography, Classic Fiction