The Power & Perils of Fame

In this thematic Collection, explore The Power & Perils of Fame through works that discuss the highs and lows of having a following. Featuring autobiographical accounts from those who have achieved celebrity status as well as fictional works, these titles examine the nature of fame, both historically and in contemporary settings, as they explore topics such as power, pressure, and privacy.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

by Elena Ferrante

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Fame, Literature, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Nostalgia, Memory, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Italian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014) is the third book in pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante’s world-acclaimed adult fiction series The Neapolitan Novels. The four-novel series chronicles the friendship between first-person narrator Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo from childhood to old age in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples, Italy. Translated by Ann Goldstein, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay documents the beginning of middle age, wherein the two women grapple with... Read Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay Summary

Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Perseverance, Guilt, Marriage, Social Class, Community, Globalization, Immigration, Fame, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Crime & Law, European History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Biography

Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck is a 2006 work of narrative nonfiction that braids two seemingly unrelated historical events that captured public attention in the pre-World War I years. The first involves the emerging and transformative technology of wireless communication designed by Marconi, the second a gruesome murder in London perpetrated by a seemingly docile and genial doctor named Crippen. Thunderstruck follows the success of Larson’s 2003 Devil in the White City, which coupled America’s first major... Read Thunderstruck Summary

Titan

by Ron Chernow

Publication year 1998

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Fame, Family, Fathers, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Economics

Tags US History, Business & Economics, Finance, Leadership, World History, Biography

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Trainspotting

by Irvine Welsh

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music, Fame

Trainspotting is Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh’s 1993 work of fiction. Set in the late 1980s, the novel follows the “Skag Boys,” who are involved in Edinburgh, Scotland’s heroin scene, particularly in the neighborhood of Leith. Most of the novel portrays a Scottish English dialect, though some portions are in British English. Separated into seven parts, the 43 chapters are from different character’s perspectives, and some are in third person, making for a disjointed narrative that... Read Trainspotting Summary

Valley of the Dolls

by Jacqueline Susann

Publication year 1966

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Equality, Femininity

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Dramatic Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction

The novel Valley of the Dolls, originally published in 1966, is a fictional exposé of the lives of three young career women who meet in New York City in 1945, just after the end of World War II. Anne, a recent Radcliffe College graduate, works for a law firm that represents well-known entertainers. Jennifer is an astonishingly beautiful showgirl who marries a famous singer. Neely, only 17, is a budding singer and dancer who eventually... Read Valley of the Dolls Summary

Waiting on the Moon

by Peter Wolf

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Fame, Aging, Conflict, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Art, Beauty, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Order & Chaos

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Music, Grief & Death

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We Did OK, Kid

by Anthony Hopkins

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, The Past, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Arts & Culture, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships

... Read We Did OK, Kid Summary

We Need To Talk About Kevin

by Lionel Shriver

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Siblings, Forgiveness, Fame, Family, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Incarceration, Relationships, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Psychology, Psychology

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver. It is an epistolary novel, comprising the letters that Eva Khatchadourian writes to her husband Franklin in the aftermath of their son’s crime. The novel explores themes of nihilism, motherhood, the relationship between violence and depravity, and much more. The book won the Orange Prize for Literature in 2005 and was adapted into an acclaimed feature film starring Tilda Swindon and John... Read We Need To Talk About Kevin Summary

Where She Went

by Gayle Forman

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fame

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Romance

Book Details & Major ThemesWhere She Went is a work of young adult fiction by Gayle Forman. The novel was published in 2011 and is the sequel to Froman’s earlier work If I Stay.In If I Stay, Mia Hall is 17 years old and involved in a fatal car crash that kills both her parents and younger brother. The novel unfolds over a 24-hour period where Mia is in a critical condition and has the... Read Where She Went Summary