Mortality & Death

"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.

And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

Publication year 1939

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Fate, Safety & Danger, Memory, The Past, Guilt, Conflict, Justice, Fear, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Truth & Lies, Appearance & Reality, Apathy, Colonialism

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modernism, Classic Fiction

Published in 1939, And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, best-selling novelist of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. With over 100 million copies sold, And Then There Were None is the world’s best-selling crime novel as well as one of the best-selling books of all time. It has had more adaptations than any other work by Agatha Christie, including television programs, films, radio broadcasts, and most... Read And Then There Were None Summary

Anima Rising

by Christopher Moore

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Memory, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Death, The Past, Animals, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Art, Beauty, Power & Greed

Tags Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Arts & Culture

... Read Anima Rising Summary

Annabel Lee

by Edgar Allan Poe

Publication year 1849

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Community

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, American Literature, Gothic Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction

The last poem Edgar Allan Poe—infamous poet and fiction author of the macabre—completed during his tumultuous life, “Annabel Lee,” was first published in the New York Tribune in 1849, two days after Poe’s death. Displaying the melodic lyricism, gothic overtones, and memorable imagery which informed so much of Poe’s work, “Annabel Lee” is considered one of the defining entries in his canon, and a classic of 19th century American poetry.The poem concerns the death of... Read Annabel Lee Summary

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

by Ambrose Bierce

Publication year 1890

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Death, War, Appearance & Reality, Fame

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Civil War, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, Military & War, American Literature, World History

Ambrose Bierce, an American writer and Civil War veteran, wrote “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” in 1890. Bierce’s story was first published in The San Francisco Examiner and later became part of his collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians published in 1891. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is considered one of Bierce’s best works for its use of the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique and the hero’s journey as well as its exploration of death... Read An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary

Apeirogon

by Colum McCann

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Politics & Government, Trauma & Abuse, Grief & Death, Middle Eastern History, Social Justice

... Read Apeirogon Summary

Ariel

by Sylvia Plath

Publication year 1965

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Death, Femininity, Perseverance, Love, Order & Chaos

Tags Free Verse, Animals, Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, Confessional, Women`s Studies, American Literature, World History, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

... Read Ariel Summary

As Bright As Heaven

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Family, Grief, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II

... Read As Bright As Heaven Summary

A Severe Mercy

by Sheldon Vanauken

Publication year 1977

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Beauty, Grief, Death, Self Discovery, Love, Trust & Doubt

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Christian, Grief & Death, Biography

Sheldon Vanauken’s celebrated memoir A Severe Mercy is a moving portrait of deep love confronted with suffering and death. Published in 1977, A Severe Mercy was written by Vanauken from the compilation of many years’ worth of journal entries, hand-written letters, and firsthand accounts of the people and events that the narrative relates. As a Yale- and Oxford-trained scholar and professor of English and an accomplished poet and author, Vanauken brings his literary expertise to... Read A Severe Mercy Summary

Ashes Of Roses

by Mary Jane Auch

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Perseverance, Femininity, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Social Class, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Irish Literature, World History

Written in 2002 by Mary Jane Auch, Ashes of Roses is a historical fiction novel that follows a young Irish immigrant named Rose Nolan as she comes to New York City with her family. Seeking a better life in America, Rose finds work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The novel chronicles her experiences as an immigrant and a factory worker and examines the events up to the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. Through... Read Ashes Of Roses Summary

Ash Wednesday

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1930

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Hope, Death, Appearance & Reality

Tags Narrative Poem, Religion & Spirituality, British Literature, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

... Read Ash Wednesday Summary

As I Lay Dying

by William Faulkner

Publication year 1930

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Death, Mothers

Tags Southern Gothic, American Literature, Classic Fiction, Grief & Death, Parenting, Education, Education, Southern Literature, World History

As I Lay Dying is a Southern Gothic novel by William Cuthbert Faulkner, published in 1930. The story follows a poor, rural family’s journey across Mississippi to bury their dead matriarch and is marked by dark humor and stream-of-consciousness style narration.Faulkner (1897-1962) was a writer from Oxford, Mississippi. His novels and works of short fiction, including The Sound and the Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), Absalom, Absalom (1936), and As I Lay Dying (1930)... Read As I Lay Dying Summary

A Simple Heart

by Gustave Flaubert

Publication year 1877

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Death, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Realism, Realistic Fiction, French Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

A Simple Heart is a novella by Gustave Flaubert that appeared in his book Three Tales. The title has also been translated as A Simple Soul. The story follows the kind and loving maidservant Félicité from her youth to her death and details the many loves that she loses along the way, exploring themes of The Power of Social Class, The Value of a Personal Relationship With God, and The Omnipresence of Death. This guide... Read A Simple Heart Summary

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

by William Wordsworth

Publication year 1800

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Aging, Death, Environment, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Romanticism

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) is the author of the lyrical ballad “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” (1800). The poem appears in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads (1800), which featured poems by Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. There are four editions of Lyrical Ballads, and the first edition (1798) helped launch English Romanticism. The movement stressed the tumultuous power of nature and the individual human spirit. “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” reflects the principles... Read A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary

A Summer Tragedy

by Arna Bontemps

Publication year 1931

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Death, Masculinity, Aging

Tags Depression & Suicide, Great Depression, Harlem Renaissance, African American Literature, Poverty, Grief & Death

“A Summer Tragedy” is a short story written by poet and fiction author Arna Bontemps. It was originally published in 1933 in Opportunity and has since been included in multiple anthologies, including Bontemps’s 1973 short story collection The Old South: “A Summer Tragedy” and Other Stories of the Thirties. Bontemps is also known for the 1959 biography Frederick Douglass: Slave, Fighter, Freeman. Focusing on an elderly Black couple who have endured a difficult life of... Read A Summer Tragedy Summary