European History

In this Collection, explore thousands of years of European History through the lens of literature. Featuring selections ranging from ancient classics such as The History of the Peloponnesian War to contemporary fiction titles, this Collection traces the cultures, conflicts, and figures that shaped the European continent from the ancient empires to the modern day.

Bring Up The Bodies

by Hilary Mantel

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, The Past, Marriage, Truth & Lies

Tags World History, European History, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Elizabethan Era

Bring Up the Bodies (2012) is a Tudor-era historical novel by British writer Hilary Mantel. It is the second novel in a trilogy depicting the life and career of Thomas Cromwell, a 16th-century English politician and advisor to King Henry VIII. Bring Up the Bodies followed Wolf Hall (2009) and preceded The Mirror and The Light (2020). It received significant critical acclaim and was awarded the 2012 Man Booker Prize. BBC produced a television adaptation... Read Bring Up The Bodies Summary

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

by Ross King

Publication year 1999

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Art, Wins & Losses, Perseverance, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags European History, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture is a 2000 nonfiction book by Ross King. The book describes how Filippo Brunelleschi radically altered the course of architectural history, defying expectations by designing and building the dome for Florence’s cathedral during the early Renaissance. Receiving widespread praise from critics, King has been commended for making a complex subject accessible to lay readers. King is a bestselling nonfiction writer who lectures across Europe and North America... Read Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Summary

Catherine, Called Birdy

by Karen Cushman

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Coming of Age, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Religion & Spirituality, Social Class, Gender & Feminism, European History, British Literature, Medieval, Children`s Literature, World History, Humor

American author Karen Cushman’s middle grade novel, Catherine, Called Birdy, explores the life of a young woman in 13th-century England. Published in 1994, the book won the Newbery Honor the following year. It is currently being adapted for the screen by actor, writer, and director Lena Dunham. This detailed work of historical fiction immerses the reader in the very different world of medieval England, with its emphasis on religion as the organizing force behind daily... Read Catherine, Called Birdy Summary

Chronicles

by Jean Froissart

Publication year 1400

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Religion & Spirituality, Power & Greed, Social Class

Tags European History, Medieval, Military & War, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality, World History, French Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read Chronicles Summary

Circe

by Madeline Miller

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity

Tags Mythology, Gender & Feminism, European History, Historical Fiction, World History, Fantasy, Romance

Published in 2018, Circe retells the story of the eponymous Greek mythological figure. The novel is also popular among the online BookTok community. Although traditionally viewed as a heartless, savagely beautiful witch who lures sailors to their deaths, the Circe of Madeline Miller’s imagining is quite different. This Circe is a multidimensional, flawed, and empathetic character struggling to find meaning and worth in her immortal life. Through Miller’s detailed and honest first-person narrative, which takes... Read Circe Summary

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

by Avi

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Appearance & Reality, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Medieval, Coming of Age, Social Class, Depression & Suicide, European History, Politics & Government, Poverty

Crispin: The Cross of Lead is a 2002 children’s historical fiction novel by Avi. Set in medieval England, the novel follows the adventures of a boy who goes on the run after he is falsely accused of theft and murder and explores themes related to poverty, education, choice, and freedom. Crispin won the Newbery Medal in 2003. A sequel, Crispin at the Edge of the World, was released in 2006, while a third novel, Crispin:... Read Crispin: The Cross of Lead Summary

Culture and Imperialism

by Edward Said

Publication year 1993

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Colonialism, Power & Greed, Literature

Tags Colonialism & Postcolonialism, World History, Philosophy, Politics & Government, European History, Middle Eastern History, Asian History, Literary Criticism, Sociology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

Culture and Imperialism is a nonfiction book published in 1993 by the Palestinian American author and academic Edward Said. Originating from a series of lectures that Said delivered in 1985 and 1986, Culture and Imperialism is an expansion of the ideas set out in his groundbreaking earlier work, Orientalism (1978). Considered one of the founders of the field of post-colonial studies, Said looks at how the formerly colonized margins influence the metropolitan centers, and vice... Read Culture and Imperialism Summary

Dead Mountain

by Donnie Eichar

Publication year 2013

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Memory, Language, Death, The Past, Climate, Environment, Place, Teamwork, Nation, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Russian Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, European History, Crime & Law, Action & Adventure, Travel Literature

... Read Dead Mountain Summary

Dead Souls

by Nikolai Gogol

Publication year 1842

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Economics, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Social Class, European History, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Russian Literature, Victorian Period, World History, Historical Fiction, Humor

Nikolai Gogol called his 1842 work Dead Souls an “epic poem in prose,” though most critics and scholars now refer to it as a novel. Structured in part as an analog to Dante’s Inferno, Dead Souls is an absurdist social satire of imperial Russia before the emancipation of the serfs, especially the foibles and customs of the Russian nobility. Though Gogol is not interested in strict realism, his portraits of nobles who speak French more... Read Dead Souls Summary

Dead Wake

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2015

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, World History, World War I, European History, US History, Military & War, Biography

In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, writer Erik Larson traces the Lusitania’s final journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Lusitania is a British passenger liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Company. First sailing in 1907, the Lusitania quickly sets records for the fastest journey across the Atlantic Ocean, stealing the coveted Blue Riband away from Germany.Dead Wake follows the Lusitania’s final journey, which took place during the first week of May 1915... Read Dead Wake Summary

Dragonfly in Amber

by Diana Gabaldon

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Nostalgia, Memory, Hope, Masculinity, Gender Identity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Death, The Past, Future, Place, Marriage, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Justice, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, European History, Health, World History

... Read Dragonfly in Amber Summary

Emma

by Jane Austen

Publication year 1815

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Marriage, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, Romanticism, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance, Humor, Social Class, Gender & Feminism, European History, Relationships, World History

Emma is a fiction novel published in 1815 by the English author Jane Austen. The book centers on the character development of its eponymous protagonist, a genteel young woman on a country estate who meddles in the love lives of friends and neighbors. Jane Austen was conscious that Emma’s snobbery, vanity, and meddling might make her a “heroine whom no one but myself will much like” (Austen-Leigh, James Edward. A Memoir of Jane Austen. London:... Read Emma Summary

Endgame

by Omid Scobie

Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Conflict, Nostalgia, Future, The Past, Family, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags European History, Politics & Government, Sociology, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Biography

... Read Endgame Summary

Family of Spies

by Christine Kuehn

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, The Past, Family, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags US History, European History, World War II, Memoir & Autobiography, Politics & Government, Espionage

... Read Family of Spies Summary

Forty Autumns

by Nina Willner

Publication year 2016

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, War

Tags European History, Cold War

Published in 2016, Forty Autumns is a work of narrative nonfiction by Nina Willner. A New York Times bestseller, this family memoir chronicles the true story of Willner’s family, which was divided for four decades by the Berlin Wall. It centers on the experience of Hanna, Willner’s mother, who made a daring escape from Soviet-occupied East Germany in 1948 to build a new life in America. Hanna’s parents and eight siblings remained behind the Iron... Read Forty Autumns Summary