The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz is a bestselling 2020 work of narrative nonfiction by Erik Larson recounting Winston Churchill’s first year as prime minister of Great Britain—a year marked by the Blitz, or Nazi bombing of England. Britain’s top naval official, Churchill is chosen prime minister on May 10, 1940 amid widespread discontent with the current leader, Neville Chamberlain. Parliament revolts against Chamberlain because of... Read The Splendid and the Vile Summary

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a novella published in the 1880s that deals with the duality of human nature. The story is told from the point of view of Mr. Gabriel John Utterson. Utterson is a lawyer and friend of Dr. Jekyll’s. The book opens with Utterson walking and conversing with Mr. Enfield, who is a businessman and distant cousin. Mr. Enfield recounts to Mr. Utterson... Read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Summary

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009) by Alan Bradley is a murder mystery novel. It is the author’s first book, published when he was 70 years old. The novel won the Dagger, Agatha, Barry, Dilys, Arthur Ellis, Macavity, and Spotted Owl Awards for Best First or Best Debut Novel. It is the first book of The Flavia de Luce Novels.Plot SummaryThe protagonist and narrator of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the... Read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie Summary

The Tempest is a comic play by William Shakespeare. It is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works, along with Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others. The Tempest recounts the story of Prospero, the overthrown duke of Milan, who maroons his betrayers on a magical island. There, he creates spells and enchantments that toy with the evildoers until they promise to restore his throne. The production, first staged in London in... Read The Tempest Summary

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel written by Anne Brontë (1820-1849), the youngest of the three celebrated Brontë sisters. The novel was published in 1848 under Anne’s pseudonym, Acton Bell. Unlike Anne’s first novel, Agnes Grey (1847), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was an immediate sensation and stirred strong reactions to its subject matter, which touched on adultery, marital separation, alcohol use disorder, and domestic abuse. After her death, Anne’s... Read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Summary

English writer Graham Greene penned his novella The Third Man to work out the finer details of the plot and setting for the screenplay of Carol Reed’s 1949 film of the same name. (In writing screenplays, Greene preferred to work from source material in story format.) Although publication of the novella wasn’t originally planned, the film was such a huge commercial and critical success that the novella was published in 1950.The film The Third Man... Read The Third Man Summary

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British author Alan Bennett’s 2007 satirical novella The Uncommon Reader, set in modern-day Britain, focuses on the “uncommon reader”—Queen Elizabeth II—who narrates the story as she becomes passionate about reading after a random encounter with a mobile library. As she becomes more interested in reading than with the duties of the monarchy, her fascination with books has major consequences for her, her council of advisors, her family, and her position as monarch. She begins questioning... Read The Uncommon Reader Summary

The international bestseller The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2012) is the first novel by author Rachel Joyce and the first in a trilogy, followed by The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (2014) and Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North (2022). The novel was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Young also wrote the screenplay for the novel’s film adaptation, which stars Jim Broadbent as Harold... Read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Summary

Maggie O’Farrell’s novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, published in 2006, is the author’s fourth novel and tackles the grim history of forced incarcerations of women and the devastating effects of family secrets. O’Farrell’s work often focuses on women trapped physically, emotionally, and psychologically by forces over which they have no control, and this novel is no exception. Through a twisted entanglement of three different perspectives, O’Farrell tells the story of not only Esme... Read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Summary

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The Waves by Virginia Woolf was published in 1931. Widely considered to be Woolf’s most experimental work, The Waves is a proponent of themes and techniques of modernism, including stream-of-consciousness narration and the use of leitmotifs. Set in England in the first part of the 20th century, the novel explores the lives of six characters from childhood into adulthood, exploring their unique experiences and the relationships between them. Employing a rotational structure of the six... Read The Waves Summary

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The Way of the World is a play by William Congreve, first performed in 1700 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The Way of the World is a Restoration comedy, meaning it is a comedy written and performed in the boom of theater following the restoration of the Stuart Dynasty after the Interregnum period in England. As with many Restoration comedies, Congreve focuses his satire on the upper classes, but The Way of the World is notable... Read The Way of the World Summary

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First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows by Scottish writer Kenneth Grahame is a story for young readers that recounts the adventures of three animals: Mole, Rat, and Badger. In the woodlands where they live, the trio must deal with various problems—which include frequently rescuing their friend Mr. Toad, who loves thrills and often causes trouble.Widely considered one of the greatest literary works for children, The Wind in the Willows has been reprinted... Read The Wind in the Willows Summary