British Literature

There's a lot of ground to cover when it comes to British literature, and we've tried to make things easier by gathering study guides on iconic and frequently taught texts such as A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, and plays by William Shakespeare. We couldn't ignore contemporary novels, like White Teeth by Zadie Smith and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, so we didn't leave those out!

The Dream of the Rood

by Anonymous

Publication year 1996

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Wins & Losses, Self Discovery, Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Death

Tags Christian, Religion & Spirituality, Medieval, British Literature, Education, Education, European History, Classic Fiction

... Read The Dream of the Rood Summary

The Drowned World

by J. G. Ballard

Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Climate, Death, Future, The Past, Environment, Place, Social Class, Politics & Government, Art, Beauty, Order & Chaos

Tags Science Fiction, Climate Change, British Literature

The Drowned World is a 1962 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by British author J.G. Ballard. Set in a future London that has been completely submerged in the ocean due to climate change-induced flooding, it follows a group of scientists who embark on a mission to study its unique, rapidly evolving flora and fauna. The novel is an extension of a shorter story published in Science Fiction Adventures. The novel is one of the first works... Read The Drowned World Summary

The Duchess and the Jeweller

by Virginia Woolf

Publication year 1938

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed

Tags Social Class, British Literature, Classic Fiction

Set in early 20th-century London, “The Duchess and the Jeweller” (1938) is a short story by Virginia Woolf that explores themes such as Materialism and Greed, Authenticity Versus Deceit, and Social Climbing and Class. The story focuses on a fragment of jeweller Oliver Bacon’s day and describes an important meeting between him and the Duchess of Lambourne. Though the plot is simple—a jeweller meets a client at his shop to potentially buy some gems—the focus... Read The Duchess and the Jeweller Summary

The Dunciad

by Alexander Pope

Publication year 1743

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Literature, Fame, Art

Tags Narrative Poem, Satirical Literature, British Literature, Georgian Era, Education, Education, World History, Humor, Classic Fiction

... Read The Dunciad Summary

The Eagle of the Ninth

by Rosemary Sutcliff

Publication year 1954

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Religion & Spirituality, Nation

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction

First published in 1954, The Eagle of the Ninth is the first of three novels constituting English author Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman Britain trilogy, all of which are connected through the emerald ring belonging to the family of Marcus Flavius Aquila. A work of historical fiction, The Eagle of the Ninth draws upon two historical events. One is the disappearance of the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army around the year AD 117 after they departed... Read The Eagle of the Ninth Summary

The Embassy of Cambodia

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Globalization, Immigration, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Education, Education, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Embassy of Cambodia Summary

The Enchanted April

by Elizabeth von Arnim

Publication year 1922

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Friendship, Marriage, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Pastoralism

The Enchanted April (1922) is a novel by English author Elizabeth von Arnim. Set in a fictionalized version of a real 15th-century castle near Portofino, it follows four women as they embark on a month-long holiday on the Italian coast. Mrs. Wilkins, Mrs. Arbuthnot, Mrs. Fisher, and Lady Caroline Dester all travel to Italy to escape the dreariness of their daily lives and find themselves transformed by the beauty of the Italian countryside. Not entirely... Read The Enchanted April Summary

The End Of The Affair

by Graham Greene

Publication year 1951

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love

Tags Romance, British Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The End of the Affair is a romance novel and work of psychological fiction written by British author Graham Greene, originally published in 1951. The narrative takes place in London between 1942 and 1946, during the middle and end of World War II. The work is comprised of five books, or parts, which center around the tryst of three primary characters: Maurice Bendrix, a blossoming writer; Sarah Miles; and Sarah’s ineffective husband, Henry Miles, who... Read The End Of The Affair Summary

The Essex Serpent

by Sarah Perry

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gothic Literature, World History, Romance

The Essex Serpent is a novel by Sarah Perry, released in 2016. Set in 1893, it tells the story of Cora Seaborne, a recently widowed woman with a burning interest in the natural sciences. Escaping London, she visits a small village in the Essex countryside. There, she finds a population in thrall to the local legend of a sea monster lurking in the nearby estuary and a village priest who is desperately trying to dissuade... Read The Essex Serpent Summary

The Exiles

by Christina Baker Kline

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Gender Identity, Femininity, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Loyalty & Betrayal, Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, Gender & Feminism, British Literature, World History

... Read The Exiles Summary

The Faerie Queene

by Edmund Spenser

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Love, Beauty, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Wins & Losses

Tags Narrative Poem, Fantasy, Symbolic Narrative, British Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Edmund Spenser, who went from an impoverished upbringing to a celebrated English poet, is the author of The Faerie Queene. The epic, as the word implies, is long. The first three books came out in 1590, and the next three books arrived in 1596. The work is an allegory; each book symbolizes one of the moral virtues advocated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. At the same time, the poem qualifies as a quest narrative and... Read The Faerie Queene Summary

The Fly

by Katherine Mansfield

Publication year 1922

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Fate, Death

Tags Classic Fiction, Grief & Death, World War I, Modernism, Education, Education, Military & War, British Literature, World History

... Read The Fly Summary

The Forgotten Garden

by Kate Morton

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

The Forgotten Garden is the second novel by Australian author Kate Morton. First published in 2008, the book is classified as a historical mystery and won the Australian Book Industry Award for General Fiction in 2009. It later became a New York Times Best Seller. The Forgotten Garden is heavily influenced by the Gothic novel genre and pays homage to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Events in the story were inspired by the... Read The Forgotten Garden Summary

The Fraud

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Justice, Femininity, Race, Literature, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, Race & Racism, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History

... Read The Fraud Summary