The Past

In George Orwell's 1984 a character says, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." The past may be behind us, but its events—and how we remember them—have a profound effect on the present. In this collection explore texts that examine the complications and complexities of the past.

Flowers For Algernon

by Daniel Keyes

Publication year 1966

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes The Past, Memory, Disability

Tags Science Fiction, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology

Daniel Keyes’s science fiction novel Flowers for Algernon (1966) is the story of a man’s journey from having an intellectual disability to gaining extraordinary intelligence—and his regression when an experimental procedure to “correct” his disability goes wrong. Keyes first published a short story titled “Flowers for Algernon” in 1959, which won the Hugo Award for best science fiction short story, before publishing it as a full-length novel, which won the Nebula award for science fiction... Read Flowers For Algernon Summary

Foucault's Pendulum

by Umberto Eco

Publication year 1988

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Education, The Past, Perseverance

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Italian Literature, Historical Fiction, Philosophy

Originally published in Italian in 1988, Foucault’s Pendulum is a postmodern conspiracy thriller by Italian author Umberto Eco. Eco, a scholar of semiotics, culture, and medieval philosophy, was best known for writing stories that investigated the overlap between these topics, such as his 1980 historical mystery novel, The Name of the Rose.Foucault’s Pendulum concerns Casaubon, Belbo, and Diotallevi, three editors at an Italian publishing house who devise a grand narrative of world history based on... Read Foucault's Pendulum Summary

Four Perfect Pebbles

by Lila Perl, Marion Blumenthal Lazan

Publication year 1996

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Love, Race, Death, The Past, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags World War II, Holocaust

Four Perfect Pebbles is a Holocaust memoir written by Marion Blumenthal Lazan and co-authored by Lila Perl. It was originally published in 1996, 51 years after Marion and her family were liberated from the death train by Russian troops in Nazi Germany. Marion was five years old when she and her family moved to a refugee camp in Holland, which was later converted into a transit camp for Auschwitz. The Blumenthals also lived at the... Read Four Perfect Pebbles Summary

Frankissstein

by Jeanette Winterson

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Art, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary

From Sand and Ash

by Amy Harmon

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Religion & Spirituality, Perseverance, Disability, Race, Coming of Age, The Past, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, World War II

... Read From Sand and Ash Summary

Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Ghost Story Summary

Girl In Hyacinth Blue

by Susan Vreeland

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Love, The Past

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Arts & Culture, Poverty, World History

Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, (Penguin Books, 2000) was an internationally known author of art-related historical fiction who, after a long and notable literary career, died in 2017. A New York Times bestseller, the novel was originally published in 1999 by McMurray and Beck, but subsequent editions were published by Penguin Books. The novel’s popularity gave rise to a 2003 Hallmark Hall of Fame production based on the novel. The painting in... Read Girl In Hyacinth Blue Summary

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Publication year 1993

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, The Past, Femininity, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Death, Memory, Science & Technology

Tags Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Biography

Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary

Glitch

by Laura Martin

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes The Past, Friendship, Teamwork, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction

... Read Glitch Summary

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

by James Hilton

Publication year 1934

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Education, Memory, Death, The Past, Marriage

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Education, British Literature

Goodbye, Mr. Chips, James Hilton’s novella about a mild-mannered teacher at a fictional British boys’ school, originally appeared in 1933 as a supplement to the British Weekly, an evangelical newspaper. Its popularity, however, led to its reprinting in the April 1934 issue of the American magazine Atlantic Monthly and later, its publication as a book by Little, Brown and Company in the US and by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom. An instant bestseller... Read Goodbye, Mr. Chips Summary

Great and Precious Things

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Disability, Mental Health, Aging, The Past, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Military & War, Contemporary Literature, Dramatic Literature

... Read Great and Precious Things Summary

Great Big Beautiful Life

by Emily Henry

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Death, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Fame, Fate, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

... Read Great Big Beautiful Life Summary

Growing Up

by Russell Baker

Publication year 1982

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes The Past

Tags US History, Great Depression, Journalism, World History, Humor, Classic Fiction, Biography

Russell Baker (b. August 14, 1925) is an American newspaper columnist, humorist, political satirist, and author. He earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins in 1947 and began his career at the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter. He was a columnist at the New York Times from 1962 to 1998 and host of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre from 1992 to 2004.His Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Growing Up (1982), recounts his childhood and adolescence during the Great Depression... Read Growing Up Summary