Sir Walter Scott called revenge "the sweetest morsel to the mouth that was ever cooked in hell." We are often counseled to rise above slights, grievances, and injuries, but still, the temptation and promise of revenge remain. This thematic collection gathers texts that investigate what prompts us to hunger for revenge and where this hunger leads us.
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Historical Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam, a satirical novel published in 1998, won the prestigious Booker Prize. McEwan is a highly regarded British author, known for acclaimed works such as Atonement, The Children Act, and Saturday. Set in London during the late 1990s, Amsterdam captures the cynical atmosphere of post-Thatcherite Britain, particularly the codependent relationship between politics and the press. The novel follows two successful middle-aged friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, who make a fateful euthanasia... Read Amsterdam Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Disability, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Humor
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Disability, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Mental Health, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Disability
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Class
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction
A Painted House, a novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham, tells the story of seven-year-old Luke Chandler coming of age in Black Oak, Arkansas, in 1952. The novel focuses on a fateful autumn in which one of the workers on Luke’s family’s cotton farm murders a local man. Luke, as one of the only witnesses to the murder, must navigate the tensions that arise as his loyalty to his family is... Read A Painted House Summary
Publication year 1794
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger
Tags Lyric Poem, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 1981
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags WWII / World War II, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, African American Literature
A Soldier’s Play (1981) was written by Charles Fuller. It premiered off-Broadway with the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981, and was arguably the company’s most successful work to date. It ran for nearly 500 performances and earned the Critics Circle Best Play Award and the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play is loosely based on Herman Melville’s Billy Budd (1924), an unfinished novella about a well-liked, handsome sailor who is falsely accused of a... Read A Soldier's Play Summary
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Disability, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Fantasy, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Education, Relationships, Technology, Crime / Legal, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1887
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet (1887) is a detective novel about a mysterious murder in a vacant house, one man’s lifelong hunt for justice, and the powers of deduction and reason. It marks the introduction of the famed detective character Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick John Watson, along with several other characters and locations that would become important to the 56 short stories and three other novels about Holmes that followed. The... Read A Study in Scarlet Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Gender, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Fantasy
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Gender, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Play: Drama, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
A Thousand Acres is a historical fiction novel by the American author Jane Smiley. Taking place on an Iowa farm in the 1970s, the novel is a contemporary retelling of William Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear. Shakespeare’s play focuses on King Lear as he determines which of his three daughters will inherit his kingdom depending on how much they flatter him. Smiley’s novel reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy on an Iowa farm in the 1970s as Larry Cook... Read A Thousand Acres Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Class
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Mythology, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Asian Literature, Japanese Literature
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Psychological Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Sports, New Adult
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
The 2016 suspense novel Behind Closed Doors, by B.A. Paris, is a story about a perfect-looking marriage that is anything but what it appears to be on the surface. The novel is narrated in both the present and past tenses by the protagonist, Grace Angel. These tenses are reflected in alternating “Present” and “Past” chapters. In this way, Paris builds backstory and current action into storylines that build in parallel and meet at the end... Read Behind Closed Doors Summary