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The Pearl is a 1947 historical fiction novella by John Steinbeck. It is an expansion of his earlier short story, “The Pearl of the World,” published in the Woman’s Home Companion in 1945. Steinbeck also co-wrote the screenplay for a 1947 film adaption of the novella titled La perla, directed by Emilio Fernández. Citations in this guide correspond to the 1994 Penguin Books edition. The story, which is presented as a parable, follows a poor... Read The Pearl Summary

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a novella published in the 1880s that deals with the duality of human nature. The story is told from the point of view of Mr. Gabriel John Utterson. Utterson is a lawyer and friend of Dr. Jekyll’s. The book opens with Utterson walking and conversing with Mr. Enfield, who is a businessman and distant cousin. Mr. Enfield recounts to Mr. Utterson... Read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Summary

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British author Alan Bennett’s 2007 satirical novella The Uncommon Reader, set in modern-day Britain, focuses on the “uncommon reader”—Queen Elizabeth II—who narrates the story as she becomes passionate about reading after a random encounter with a mobile library. As she becomes more interested in reading than with the duties of the monarchy, her fascination with books has major consequences for her, her council of advisors, her family, and her position as monarch. She begins questioning... Read The Uncommon Reader Summary

The Woman in Black (1983) by Susan Hill follows the gothic literary tradition. Hill explores traditional horror tropes, such as abandoned estates and ghost hauntings, set in an unspecified time in England’s countryside. The horror novella focuses on the first-person point-of-view of Arthur Kipps as he reflects on a ghost haunting he experienced as a young man. Hill explores themes of loss and mourning, the impact of holding onto the past, and the clash between... Read The Woman in Black Summary

The Word for World is Forest is a novella by science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It was published as a self-contained story in 1976 but had appeared in a science fiction anthology four years earlier. Le Guin included the story in her series, the Hainish Cycle, which details an alternate version of the future in which Earth is a colonizing force on other planets. The story examines themes of imperialism, racism, friendship, and... Read The Word for World is Forest Summary

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Set mainly in the early 1900s, Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, Train Dreams, presents snapshots in the life of Robert Grainier, a laborer in the Northwest frontier. Working in the logging and railroad industries while living a remote life in the wilderness, Grainier navigates a harsh world while contending with grief. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2012, Train Dreams tackles themes including Industrial Progress and the Erosion of Wilderness, The Symbiosis of... Read Train Dreams Summary

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