Challenging Authority

In this Collection, we've gathered together a selection of fictional and real-life narratives that share the theme of Challenging Authority. These selections feature protagonists and real-world figures who stand up to both powerful individuals and oppressive systems in an array of cultural and historical settings.

The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Family, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Religion & Spirituality

The Historian (2005), Elizabeth Kostova’s best-selling novel, blends fact and fiction to reinvent the myth of the iconic vampire Dracula, or Vlad Ţepeş. In this retelling, the unnamed narrator accompanies her ambassador father, Paul, across Europe in the early 1970s as he tells her the story of his near encounter with the vampire. He tells her the Prince of Wallachia lives, 500 years after his death. Paul’s mentor, Dr. Rossi, was conducting research on Dracula... Read The Historian Summary

The Hobbit

by J. R. R. Tolkien

Publication year 1937

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Power & Greed, Good & Evil, Teamwork, Friendship, Perseverance

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Military & War, Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a classic high fantasy adventure novel first published in 1937. Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English writer, philologist, and professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, as well as a close friend of fellow writer C. S. Lewis. The Hobbit is the first published work recounting tales from Middle Earth, Tolkien’s fantasy world with fictional races of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and more. After fighting in World War I, Tolkien worked... Read The Hobbit Summary

The Homecoming

by Harold Pinter

Publication year 1964

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Masculinity, Aging, Social Class, Community, Gender Identity

Tags Drama, Psychological Fiction, Education, Education, British Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read The Homecoming Summary

The Horse And His Boy

by C. S. Lewis

Publication year 1954

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Christian, Children`s Literature, Religion & Spirituality

The Horse and His Boy, published in 1954, is the fifth of the seven books that comprise C. S. Lewis’s young readers series The Chronicles of Narnia. The first of the books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950. Lewis published an additional book in the series each year through 1956. The Horse and His Boy was published in 1954. Lewis later requested the reading order of the books be changed... Read The Horse And His Boy Summary

The Housemaid

by Freida McFadden

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Guilt, Fear, Revenge, Mothers, Family, Marriage, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Housemaid Summary

The House of Eve

by Sadeqa Johnson

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Education, Mothers, Marriage, Social Class, Sexual Identity, Race, Femininity, Shame & Pride, Regret, Love

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Race & Racism, World History

... Read The House of Eve Summary

The House of Mirth

by Edith Wharton

Publication year 1905

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Community, Friendship, Economics, Shame & Pride, Nature Versus Nurture, Power & Greed, Beauty, Marriage, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Love, Femininity, Art, Perseverance, Hope

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satirical Literature, Social Class, Gilded Age, Naturalism, American Literature, World History

Set in New York’s high society at the turn of the 20th century, The House of Mirth (1905), was the second novel by renowned American writer Edith Wharton. Wharton drew upon her own privileged upbringing in a wealthy, long-established New York family for her astute observations of this social milieu during the Gilded Age, a period marked by economic disparities and ostentatious materialism. Prior to the novel’s publication in October 1905, The House of Mirth... Read The House of Mirth Summary

The House of the Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Publication year 1851

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Family, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature, Trauma & Abuse

The House of the Seven Gables (1851) is a novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. With the eponymous New England mansion serving as the novel’s centerpiece, the story charts the fortunes and misfortunes of the Pyncheon family as they navigate the haunting legacy of their family’s violent past. The novel explores the themes The Influence of the Past on the Present, The Complications of Home, and The Legacy of Violence. Like Hawthorne’s earlier novel, The... Read The House of the Seven Gables Summary

The Human Web

by John Robert Mcneill, William H. Mcneill

Publication year 2003

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Climate, Environment, Food, Place, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government, World History, Sociology

... Read The Human Web Summary

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

by Victor Hugo

Publication year 1831

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Gratitude, Hate & Anger, Love, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Disability, Language, Sexual Identity, Death, Family, Friendship, Social Class, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Art, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Gothic Literature, French Literature, World History

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is an 1831 gothic novel by French author Victor Hugo, originally published under the title Notre-Dame de Paris. Set in 15th-century France, the novel concerns the intertwined stories of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Archdeacon Claude Frollo. The story has been adapted many times for theater, television, and film, including an animated film by Disney released in 1996.This guide refers to the 2009 Oxford Classics edition of the novel, translated from French to... Read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Summary

The Hunting Wives

by May Cobb

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Sexual Identity, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Marriage, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

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

... Read The Hunting Wives Summary

The Institute

by Stephen King

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Family, Future, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Perseverance

Tags Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

Critically acclaimed, The Institute (2019) is the 60th entry in Stephen King’s body of more than 100 works. While best known as a horror writer (and one of the most popular writers since the 1970s in general), King dabbles in many genres, including fantasy, mystery, and science fiction—often blurring the boundaries between them. The Institute is more sci-fi thriller than horror, sharing story beats and themes with King’s earlier novels Firestarter and It: It follows... Read The Institute Summary

The Intuitionist

by Colson Whitehead

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Power & Greed, Literature

Tags Science Fiction, African American Literature, Race & Racism, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy

The Intuitionist (1999) is a postmodern novel by American author Colson Whitehead. It is set in an unnamed city that resembles New York in the 1940s, but with one major difference: in this city, elevators (or “vertical transport”) have enormous political and economic clout. The City’s Department of Elevator Inspectors is collapsing into a corrupt power-struggle between “Empiricist” inspectors, who perform mechanical testing to establish the safety of an elevator, and the new breed of... Read The Intuitionist Summary