Class

The titles in the Social Class Collection explore the historical and contemporary implications of social class and class division in cultures around the world. Representing a diverse range of perspectives, cultures, and societies, the selections in this Collection span a broad range of genres and forms, including essays, biographies, and fiction.

All Her Fault

by Andrea Mara

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Appearance & Reality, Mothers, Social Class, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Psychological Fiction

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All the Water in the World

by Eiren Caffall

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Climate, Environment, Food, Objects & Materials, Place, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Art, Beauty, Equality, Justice, Literature, Music, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt

Tags Science Fiction

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A Man For All Seasons

by Robert Bolt

Publication year 1960

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Social Class, Politics & Government

Tags Drama, Historical Drama, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

A Man for All Seasons is a 1960 play by English playwright Robert Bolt. Though it was published in its completed form in 1960, it was originally written for radio in 1954. It was then adapted for television in 1957 before finally being rewritten for the stage. The original runs of the show in London and later New York attained critical and commercial success. In 1966, the play was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film... Read A Man For All Seasons Summary

A Man In Full

by Tom Wolfe

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Race, Social Class, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags American Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Philosophy

A Man in Full, published in 1998, is the critically acclaimed second novel of journalist and author Tom Wolfe. Regarded as an example of the Great American Novel, the book captures American life at the end of the 20th century in its tragicomic complexity. Wolfe situates the novel largely in Atlanta and traces the fortunes of failing real-estate tycoon Charlie Croker, still caught in the ways of the Old South. When the daughter of Charlie’s... Read A Man In Full Summary

A Marvellous Light

by Freya Marske

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Appearance & Reality, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Equality, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Edwardian Era

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American History

by Alan Brinkley

Publication year 1971

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Colonialism, Social Class, Economics, Community, Education, Immigration, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Education, Education, World History, US History

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American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Economics, Social Class

Tags Satirical Literature, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

American Psycho is a 1991 novel by American author Bret Easton Ellis. Set in 1980s New York, the novel follows the life of a wealthy young stockbroker, the novel’s narrator, Patrick Bateman. Surrounded by a world of vapid commercialism and empty excess, Bateman begins acting on his psychopathic thoughts and impulses. His disturbance begins in his imagination. However, it quickly bleeds over into reality with Bateman committing more and more horrific murders, fueled by drug... Read American Psycho Summary

American Rust

by Philipp Meyer

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Economics, Education, Guilt, Shame & Pride

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Social Class, Poverty

Following in the literary footsteps of John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy, Philipp Meyer’s American Rust (2010) explores the catastrophic effects of economic devastation on the lives of six characters in Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley, once home to a thriving steel and coal industry (and a solid-middle class) but now populated by broken lives and shuttered businesses. The novel was a winner of the Los Angeles Times/Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, a Washington Post Top Ten... Read American Rust Summary

Amerika

by Franz Kafka, Transl. Willa Muir

Publication year 1927

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Friendship, Coming of Age, Family, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Coming of Age, Action & Adventure, Satirical Literature, Social Class

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A Murder Is Announced

by Agatha Christie

Publication year 1950

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Justice, Social Class, Community

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, British Literature, Classic Fiction

First published in 1950, A Murder Is Announced is a mystery novel by one of the leading writers of the Golden Age of detective fiction: Agatha Christie, “Queen of Crime.” Although best known for her Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot novels such as Murder at the Vicarage and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Christie also published short story collections and wrote the world’s longest-running play—The Mousetrap (1952). Her fiction has inspired numerous film and television adaptations... Read A Murder Is Announced Summary

An American Tragedy

by Theodore Dreiser

Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Justice, Appearance & Reality, Power & Greed, Marriage

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Dramatic Literature, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Published in 1925, Theodore Dreiser’s realist novel An American Tragedy is one of the author’s most critically acclaimed works. Set in the 1920s in Kansas City, Chicago, and small-town New York state, the historical fiction novel is the story of how Clyde Griffiths, the son of poor, itinerant preachers, kills Roberta Alden during a boat trip in the Adirondack Mountains.This guide is based on the Kindle edition published by Rosetta Books.Content Warning: This novel contains... Read An American Tragedy Summary