In this thematic Collection, explore The Power & Perils of Fame through works that discuss the highs and lows of having a following. Featuring autobiographical accounts from those who have achieved celebrity status as well as fictional works, these titles examine the nature of fame, both historically and in contemporary settings, as they explore topics such as power, pressure, and privacy.
Publication year 1895
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Art, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Play: Drama, Play: Tragedy, Play: Comedy / Satire, Russian Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
While Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is now regarded as one of his most famous plays, it was not until the second time it premiered in Russia that it garnered success. Written in 1895 and first produced the following year, The Seagull is set against the backdrop of a summer country home, and tackles The Consequences of Disillusionment, The Purpose of Art, and the price of Living in the Shadow of a Renowned Parent. Chekhov relies... Read The Seagull Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, LGBTQ
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017) is a work of historical fiction by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The novel follows Monique, a journalist struggling to make a name for herself until she receives an offer to interview the mysterious and reclusive 1960s Hollywood starlet, Evelyn Hugo, about fame, scandal, and love. The novel is a study of human nature that explores The Cost of Fame, The Oversexualization and Commodification of Women’s Bodies, and the difficulty... Read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Fame, Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery
Tags Music, History: World, Biography, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, Sports, Contemporary Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Music
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Gothic Literature, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a novel by Anne Rice, which was published as a sequel to her 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire. The novel follows the experiences of Lestat de Lioncourt, an 18th-century French nobleman who becomes a vampire. Throughout the work, Rice explores such themes as The Performance of Vampirism and Humanity, The Tensions Between Good and Evil, and The Importance of the Arts. After The Vampire Lestat was published, Rice’s titular... Read The Vampire Lestat Summary
Publication year 2002
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fame, Identity: Language
Tags Business / Economics, Self Help, Arts / Culture, Psychology, Philosophy, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology, Philosophy
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Music, Arts / Culture, Biography, Mental Illness
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage
Tags Biography, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Irish Literature, British Literature
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict
Tags Historical Fiction, Italian Literature, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014) is the third book in pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante’s world-acclaimed adult fiction series The Neapolitan Novels. The four-novel series chronicles the friendship between first-person narrator Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo from childhood to old age in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples, Italy. Translated by Ann Goldstein, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay documents the beginning of middle age, wherein the two women grapple with... Read Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay Summary
Publication year 2006
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Crime / Legal, History: European, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science / Nature, History: World, Biography
Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck is a 2006 work of narrative nonfiction that braids two seemingly unrelated historical events that captured public attention in the pre-World War I years. The first involves the emerging and transformative technology of wireless communication designed by Marconi, the second a gruesome murder in London perpetrated by a seemingly docile and genial doctor named Crippen. Thunderstruck follows the success of Larson’s 2003 Devil in the White City, which coupled America’s first major... Read Thunderstruck Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Economics
Tags History: U.S., Business / Economics, Finance / Money / Wealth, Leadership/Organization/Management, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1896
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Grief / Death
Publication year 2020
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Politics / Government, Psychology, History: U.S., History: World, Psychology, Biography
Publication year 1993
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Fame
Trainspotting is Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh’s 1993 work of fiction. Set in the late 1980s, the novel follows the “Skag Boys,” who are involved in Edinburgh, Scotland’s heroin scene, particularly in the neighborhood of Leith. Most of the novel portrays a Scottish English dialect, though some portions are in British English. Separated into seven parts, the 43 chapters are from different character’s perspectives, and some are in third person, making for a disjointed narrative that... Read Trainspotting Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Food, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management, Food, Self Help, Psychology, Psychology
Publication year 1966
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Equality, Identity: Femininity
Tags Addiction / Substance Abuse, Drama / Tragedy, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction
The novel Valley of the Dolls, originally published in 1966, is a fictional exposé of the lives of three young career women who meet in New York City in 1945, just after the end of World War II. Anne, a recent Radcliffe College graduate, works for a law firm that represents well-known entertainers. Jennifer is an astonishingly beautiful showgirl who marries a famous singer. Neely, only 17, is a budding singer and dancer who eventually... Read Valley of the Dolls Summary