"The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream—and he knew what he was talking about. A text from this study guide collection might be just the thing to remind you of the bliss and pain of love.
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community
Tags LGBTQ, Romance, Race / Racism, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor
Mrs. Fletcher is a 2017 comic novel by American author Tom Perrotta. It follows the sexual reawakening of middle-aged divorcée Eve Fletcher after her son, Brendan Fletcher, departs for college. Meanwhile, Brendan finds the campus environment inhospitable to his unthinking “lacrosse bro” misogyny. Mrs. Fletcher is the seventh novel by Perrotta, best known for 1998’s Election (adapted into a movie of the same name, starring Reese Witherspoon) and 2011’s The Leftovers, which was adapted into... Read Mrs. Fletcher Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance, Humor, Great Depression, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Humor
Publication year 1598
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Comedy / Satire, Modern Classic Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Class, Gender / Feminism, Renaissance, Education, Education, Romance, Humor
Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy dating from the mid-career period of William Shakespeare was probably written just prior to 1600. The play has the trappings of a theatrical farce with its use of assumptions and misunderstandings. Main characters Benedick and Beatrice are duped into announcing their love for each other while Claudio is fooled into spurning Hero at the altar when he mistakenly believes that she has not been faithful to him. The theme of lovers being tricked... Read Much Ado About Nothing Summary
Publication year 1901
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: Femininity
Tags Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Romance, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Natural World: Place
Tags New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Love / Sexuality
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags History: U.S., History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance, American Revolution, Politics / Government
Publication year 1956
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Identity: Femininity, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride
Tags Humor, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Music, Romance, Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire
My Fair Lady, a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music), opened on Broadway to tremendous critical and popular success in 1956, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews as Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s popular play Pygmalion (1914) and inspired by the Greek myth of “Pygmalion and Galatea,” the musical takes place in early-20th-century London, satirizing issues of class hierarchies, gender disparity, and how language... Read My Fair Lady Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, French Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Romance, History: World, Historical Fiction, Humor
Publication year 1951
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger
Tags Romance, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Latin American Literature, Surrealism
“My Life with the Wave” is a surrealist prose poem written by Mexican poet and author Octavio Paz, first published in 1951 as part of Paz’s collection ¿Águila o sol?. The English translation (Eagle or Sun?) by Eliot Weinberger was published in 1976. Paz’s poetry, essays, and prose frequently underscore Mexican identity, culture, and politics, especially during his time as a Mexican diplomat and ambassador. His travels exposed him to surrealism and existentialism, which had... Read My Life With the Wave Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags Romance, Fantasy
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags British Literature, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction
Book Details & Major ThemesNever Let Me Go is a 2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro set in a dystopian version of Great Britain in the 1990s in which cloning technology allows for the mass proliferation of organ donation. Medical problems like cancer are cured because organs are harvested from clones through a state-sanctioned program. The cloned “donors” have their organs taken one at a time until they die. The novel is narrated by Kathy H... Read Never Let Me Go Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Romance, New Adult, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Love / Sexuality
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
New Moon, a young-adult fantasy romance by Stephenie Meyer, continues the adventure begun in the bestselling novel Twilight about a teenage girl, Bella Swan, who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen. When Edward leaves her, she struggles with grief and begins spending time with a boy, Jacob Black, who is a vampire-hating werewolf. Published in 2006, New Moon became a number-one New York Times bestseller and received plaudits for its character development and exploration... Read New Moon Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Disability, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams
Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance
Next Year in Havana is a novel by Chanel Cleeton, a Cuban-American writer of contemporary romance and historical fiction. The book was the July 2018 selection for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club and a New York Times bestseller. The novel alternates between 2017, when Cuban-American writer Marisol Ferrera goes to Cuba to scatter the ashes of her grandmother Elisa (Perez) Ferrera, and 1958-1959, when Elisa falls in love with a revolutionary. This guide is based on... Read Next Year In Havana Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Drama / Tragedy