Class

This thematic collection covers texts that investigate the particularly fraught dynamics and divisions of class, including Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Ernesto Galarza's Barrio Boy.

Pride

by Ibi Zoboi

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Social Class, Community, Siblings, Family, Conflict, Race, Equality

Tags Romance, Social Class, Urban Development, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Private Lives

by Noël Coward

Publication year 1930

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Love, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Humor, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

IntroductionPrivate Lives is a comedy of manners by English playwright, composer, and actor Noël Coward. The play, which opened in London in 1930 and was adapted into a film in 1931, is a social satire on the frailties of marriage and pretensions of high society.Five years after their divorce, Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne have married new spouses; the two couples accidentally book the same hotel in France for their respective second honeymoons. Realizing that... Read Private Lives Summary

Promise Boys

by Nick Brooks

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Race, Childhood & Youth, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Education, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism

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Psycho Shifters

by Jasmine Mas

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Self Discovery, Social Class

Tags Fantasy, Romance

Published in 2022, Jasmine Mas’s Psycho Shifters is a dark fantasy romance novel that blends elements of the Omegaverse and reverse harem subgenres. It is the first installment in Mas’s popular Cruel Shifterverse series, which gained significant traction on BookTok and became a bestseller on Amazon. The novel follows Sadie, a 20-year-old servant whose world is upended when a mandatory test reveals her to be the first-ever female alpha, a dominant class previously thought to... Read Psycho Shifters Summary

Pygmalion

by George Bernard Shaw

Publication year 1913

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Femininity, Language

Tags British Literature, Drama, Comedy & Satire, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Romance, Humor

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw was first published in 1914, with an updated version published in 1941. The play was Shaw’s most popular and most critically acclaimed work. It inspired the heavily romanticized musical and movie adaptation My Fair Lady, which won both a Tony for Best Musical and an Oscar for Best Picture.Shaw began his career as a novelist, but his novels were largely unsuccessful. After he moved from Dublin to London, he shifted... Read Pygmalion Summary

Radio Golf

by August Wilson

Publication year 2005

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Memory, Race, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Dramatic Literature, Race & Racism, Classic Fiction

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Ragged Dick

by Horatio Alger

Publication year 1868

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Childhood & Youth, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fate, Wins & Losses

Tags Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Social Class, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History

Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks was Horatio Alger, Jr.’s first bestselling book. Ragged Dick was serialized in 1867 in the monthly American children’s magazine, Student and Schoolmate, prior to its successful publication as a novel in 1868. The first volume in a six-volume series, Ragged Dick established Alger’s primary theme of a boy’s rise from humble beginnings to prosperity and respectability. Alger’s “rags to riches” narrative built on... Read Ragged Dick Summary

Ragtime

by E. L. Doctorow

Publication year 1975

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, Social Class, Race & Racism, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

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Rain, Rain, Go Away

by Isaac Asimov

Publication year 1959

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Fear, Social Class, Community, Economics, Education, Immigration, Nation, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Education, Education

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Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier

Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Social Class, Coming of Age, Loyalty & Betrayal, The Past, Hate & Anger, Marriage, Fear, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Beauty, Appearance & Reality, Power & Greed, Grief, Conflict, Memory, Truth & Lies, Loneliness

Tags British Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Gothic Literature, Modernism, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction

Rebecca, a bestselling novel by famed English writer Daphne du Maurier, was published in 1938, and has never gone out of print. The winner of the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1938, Rebecca has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film version, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a 1997 television miniseries. It was most recently adapted for a Netflix film in 2020 by the same name. Rebecca... Read Rebecca Summary

Reckless Girls

by Rachel Hawkins

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Trust & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Grief, Gender Identity, Friendship, Social Class, Equality, Justice, Revenge

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

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Red City

by Marie Lu

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Regret, Race, Coming of Age, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy

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Renegades

by Marissa Meyer

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Death, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

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"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman

by Harlan Ellison

Publication year 1965

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Social Class, Fear

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Classic Fiction

“‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” one of Harlan Ellison’s most famous short stories, was published in Galaxy in 1965 and went on to win both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards. Ellison (1934-2018) was an American speculative fiction and screenwriter whose works were influential in the development of New Wave science fiction. “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” uses nonlinear storytelling to depict a short-lived one-man rebellion against a dystopian future society. The story explores themes... Read "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman Summary