Romance

"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