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 1887

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Satire, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, History: Asian, Politics / Government, Asian Literature, History: World, Romance, Classic Fiction

Noli Me Tángere (1887)—which translates to “Touch Me Not” in Latin—is a novel written by Filipino writer José Rizal. The novel tells the story of Don Crisóstomo Ibarra, a young man of Filipino and Spanish descent who returns to the Philippines after a seven-year trip to Europe. Upon his return, and because he is now old enough to better understand the world, Ibarra sees the oppression wrought on the Indigenous population by Spanish colonialism. As... Read Noli Me Tángere Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Fame, Identity: Gender

Tags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor


Publication year 1854

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Victorian Period, Industrial Revolution, Historical Fiction, Romance, Class, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period, Classic Fiction

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell debuted in Charles Dickens’s magazine Household Words, appearing in 20 weekly installments between September 1854 and January 1855. The novel was later published in two volumes. Dickens heavily edited the novel and changed the title from Margaret Hale to North and South. In the novel, Gaskell draws on her personal experience of being married to a Unitarian minister, a role that brought her into contact with all levels of... Read North and South Summary


Publication year 1817

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Satire, Gothic Literature, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, British Literature, History: World

Northanger Abbey is an early novel by Jane Austen. Though it wasn't published until after her death in 1817, Austen wrote the novel in 1803, intending it as a satire of the gothic novels that were popular during this period. Northanger Abbey follows the life and loves of its unlikely heroine, seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, a naïve young woman away from her family for the first time and trying to navigate the world and the heart—with... Read Northanger Abbey Summary


Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Japanese Literature, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Asian Literature, Magical Realism, Classic Fiction

First published in 1987, Norwegian Wood is a coming-of-age novel by renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. After becoming a bestseller in Japan, the book was translated into English by Jay Rubin in 2000. Set against the backdrop of the late 1960s, Norwegian Wood tells the story of Toru Watanabe, a young college student who falls in love with two very different women as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his best childhood friend. Told from... Read Norwegian Wood Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Natural World: Food, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality, Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Race / Racism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Incarceration, Relationships, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Romance

November Blues is a 2007 young adult novel by American writer Sharon M. Draper. The second book in the Jericho Trilogy, it focuses on African-American students at Frederick Douglass High School. The novel’s events unfold in the aftermath of Josh Prescott’s death from a fall from a second-story window during a pledge stunt. As his friends and family begin to cope with their grief, they look for their own ways to overcome their emotional pain... Read November Blues Summary


Publication year 1915

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Society: Class, Society: Education

Tags Classic Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel written by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. The novel follows the maturation of a young man named Philip Carey as he grows up in England at the very end of the 19th century. The novel incorporates elements of both realism and modernism and has been interpreted as having some autobiographical inspiration drawn from Maugham’s own life. By describing events from Philip’s life, Maugham develops themes related to... Read Of Human Bondage Summary


Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction

Set in the seaport city of Santa María de Antigua, in colonial Spanish Colombia, at the end of the 18th century, Gabriel García Márquez'snovel Of Love and Other Demons tells the tragic story of Sierva María de Todos Los Ángeles. The only daughter of the American-born Marquis de Casalduero, Sierva lives with her father the Marquis, and her mother, Bernarda, in a decaying mansion.Neither parent takes an interest in their daughter, so she's raised by... Read Of Love And Other Demons Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Colonialism, Society: Economics

Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: U.S., Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Fantasy


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Gothic Literature, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags Romance, Play: Drama, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Holidays & Occasions, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

One Day in December is a romance novel by Josie Silver, told through the first-person point of view of two characters: Jack O’Mara and Laurie James. The story focuses on specific months in the characters’ lives, providing a circular narrative that encourages the reader to notice how people develop but do not necessarily change over time. A #1 New York Times bestseller, the novel was published in 2018 by Broadway Books of Crown Publishing Group... Read One Day in December Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Romance, Magical Realism, Travel Literature, Italian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction