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 Witch Collector

by Charissa Weaks

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Disability, Language, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy

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The Wives

by Tarryn Fisher

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Femininity, Gender Identity, Power & Greed, Marriage

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

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The Woman in Suite 11

by Ruth Ware

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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

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The Wrong Daughter

by Dandy Smith

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Revenge, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, The Past, Place, Family, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Dramatic Literature

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Think and Grow Rich

by Napoleon Hill

Publication year 1937

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Teamwork, Economics, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Self-Improvement, Finance, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

Originally published in 1937, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is widely acknowledged as a foundational text in the field of self-help literature. The book mainly revolves around the themes of The Mystical Power of Positive Thinking, Setting Goals and Persistence, and Desire and Motivation in Personal and Financial Growth. Through anecdotes and practical strategies that Hill claims came from his intimate knowledge of business luminaries such as Andrew Carnegie, Hill promises to catalyze personal... Read Think and Grow Rich Summary

This Is Why We Lied

by Karin Slaughter

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Love, Regret, Revenge, Death, The Past, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Those Empty Eyes

by Charlie Donlea

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Revenge, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Justice, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Trauma & Abuse

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Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

by Elena Ferrante

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Fame, Literature, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Nostalgia, Memory, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Italian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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

Thunderhead

by Neal Shusterman

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Religion & Spirituality, Power & Greed, Justice, Good & Evil, Environment

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Action & Adventure

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Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Perseverance, Guilt, Marriage, Social Class, Community, Globalization, Immigration, Fame, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Crime & Law, European History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, 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

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

by Friedrich Nietzsche

Publication year 1883

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Fate, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Good & Evil, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope

Tags Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a work of fiction written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Published between 1883 and 1885, the allegorical novel also known as Thus Spake Zarathustra is a collection of speeches by a character named Zarathustra to the villagers of The Motley Cow. Nietzsche uses many literary devices such as personification, allegory, and allusion. The philosophical points referenced in Thus Spoke Zarathustra include the death of... Read Thus Spoke Zarathustra Summary

Thyestes

by Seneca

Publication year 65

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Siblings, Fate, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Order & Chaos

Tags Tragedy, Ancient Rome, Classical Period, Trauma & Abuse

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Timeline

by Michael Crichton

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, World History, Fantasy

Timeline (1999) is a best-selling thriller by Michael Crichton that combines science fiction and historical fiction. The novel tells the story of a group of graduate students in history from Yale University who go back in time to 1357 to rescue their professor. While Timeline received mixed reviews upon its release, it was adapted into a popular video game in 2000 and later made into a very poorly received movie in 2003. Timeline borrows from... Read Timeline Summary

Titan

by Ron Chernow

Publication year 1998

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Fame, Family, Fathers, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Economics

Tags US History, Business & Economics, Finance, Leadership, World History, Biography

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