This curated selection of titles examines the concept of power and its role in shaping society. The texts in the Power Collection draw upon a wide range of literary traditions and genres to explore concepts related to power and its pursuit, such as equality and injustice, colonialism, authority, and conflict.
Publication year 1964
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: Aging, Society: Class, Society: Community, Identity: Gender
Tags Play: Drama, Psychological Fiction, Education, Education, British Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1954
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Christian literature, Children's Literature, Religion / Spirituality
The Horse and His Boy, published in 1954, is the fifth of the seven books that comprise C. S. Lewis’s young readers series The Chronicles of Narnia. The first of the books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950. Lewis published an additional book in the series each year through 1956. The Horse and His Boy was published in 1954. Lewis later requested the reading order of the books be changed... Read The Horse And His Boy Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class
Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Education, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Race / Racism, History: World
Publication year 1905
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Economics, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Identity: Gender, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satire, Class, Gilded Age, Naturalism, American Literature, History: World
Set in New York’s high society at the turn of the 20th century, The House of Mirth (1905), was the second novel by renowned American writer Edith Wharton. Wharton drew upon her own privileged upbringing in a wealthy, long-established New York family for her astute observations of this social milieu during the Gilded Age, a period marked by economic disparities and ostentatious materialism. Prior to the novel’s publication in October 1905, The House of Mirth... Read The House of Mirth Summary
Publication year 1851
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
The House of the Seven Gables (1851) is a novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. With the eponymous New England mansion serving as the novel’s centerpiece, the story charts the fortunes and misfortunes of the Pyncheon family as they navigate the haunting legacy of their family’s violent past. The novel explores the themes The Influence of the Past on the Present, The Complications of Home, and The Legacy of Violence. Like Hawthorne’s earlier novel, The... Read The House of the Seven Gables Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Globalization, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science / Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government, History: World, Sociology
Publication year 1831
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Disability, Identity: Language, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Gothic Literature, French Literature, History: World
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is an 1831 gothic novel by French author Victor Hugo, originally published under the title Notre-Dame de Paris. Set in 15th-century France, the novel concerns the intertwined stories of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Archdeacon Claude Frollo. The story has been adapted many times for theater, television, and film, including an animated film by Disney released in 1996.This guide refers to the 2009 Oxford Classics edition of the novel, translated from French to... Read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: The Future, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
Critically acclaimed, The Institute (2019) is the 60th entry in Stephen King’s body of more than 100 works. While best known as a horror writer (and one of the most popular writers since the 1970s in general), King dabbles in many genres, including fantasy, mystery, and science fiction—often blurring the boundaries between them. The Institute is more sci-fi thriller than horror, sharing story beats and themes with King’s earlier novels Firestarter and It: It follows... Read The Institute Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy
The Intuitionist (1999) is a postmodern novel by American author Colson Whitehead. It is set in an unnamed city that resembles New York in the 1940s, but with one major difference: in this city, elevators (or “vertical transport”) have enormous political and economic clout. The City’s Department of Elevator Inspectors is collapsing into a corrupt power-struggle between “Empiricist” inspectors, who perform mechanical testing to establish the safety of an elevator, and the new breed of... Read The Intuitionist Summary
Publication year 1897
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, British Literature, Religion / Spirituality, Science / Nature, Victorian Period, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
H. G. Wells is one of the earliest science fiction authors, sometimes referred to as the father of the genre. His 1897 novel, The Invisible Man, follows an albino scientist who discovers the secret to turning himself invisible. The novel’s blend of fantastical science and realistic, mundane detail is a signature of Wells. This novel has influenced generations of writers and artists, both through its powerful prose and fascinating plot, as well as for its... Read The Invisible Man Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance
Publication year 1968
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags History: U.S., Natural Disaster, Industrial Revolution, American Literature, History: World
American author and historian David McCullough’s debut book, The Johnstown Flood (1968), is a work of social history that chronicles the Johnstown Flood of 1889, a deluge of water and debris that tore through a steel community in Central Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,000 people and causing millions of dollars in damage. The flood resulted from a dam bursting in the mountains above Johnstown. The dam had been somewhat hurriedly built to create a lake... Read The Johnstown Flood Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., History: World, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1943
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
The Lady in the Lake, by Raymond Chandler, is a detective novel originally published in 1943. Chandler was born in Chicago but later moved to California, and he drew on his experiences living there when writing his Philip Marlowe novels. Marlowe, a down-on-his-luck Los Angeles detective, first appears in Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep, which was adapted into a film noir in 1946 with Marlowe played by Humphrey Bogart. In the 1946 adaptation of The... Read The Lady in the Lake Summary
Publication year 1968
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Free verse, Lyric Poem, Gender / Feminism, Depression / Suicide