Classics

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Layli and Majnun

Layli and Majnun

Qays falls passionately in love with Layli, but when their families forbid their union, his devotion drives him beyond the boundaries of reason. Known as Majnun, or “the madman,” he wanders the wilderness, pouring his longing into poetry while Layli is forced into a marriage with another man. Though separated by society, tradition, and circumstance, their love becomes an all-consuming force that transcends earthly possession. Written in the twelfth century, this celebrated Persian romance transforms a tragic love story into a meditation on desire, spiritual devotion, and the painful distance between the heart and the world that seeks to control it.

Azerbaijan 1188

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote follows Alonso Quixano, an ageing country gentleman who becomes so absorbed in tales of chivalry that he decides to become a knight-errant. Taking the name Don Quixote, he sets out across Spain to defend the helpless, challenge injustice, and perform heroic deeds. Accompanied by his practical squire, Sancho Panza, he repeatedly mistakes ordinary situations for extraordinary adventures, famously imagining windmills to be giants. Their contrasting perspectives create both comic misunderstandings and moments of unexpected wisdom. Cervantes uses their journey to explore the relationship between imagination and reality, questioning the values of honour, heroism, and social convention. Beneath its humour, the novel considers the dignity of idealism and the difficulties faced by people who refuse to accept the world as it is.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, whose lives change dramatically after their father’s death leaves them financially vulnerable. Forced to leave their family home, they must navigate a society in which women’s security often depends on advantageous marriages and the goodwill of relatives. Elinor approaches disappointment with restraint and practicality, while Marianne expresses her emotions openly and pursues romantic ideals with intensity. Their contrasting temperaments shape their experiences of love, heartbreak, and social obligation. As each sister confronts unexpected betrayals and difficult choices, they gradually learn from one another’s strengths. Austen explores the relationship between reason and emotion, revealing the dangers of excessive self-control as well as uncontrolled passion. The novel also critiques the economic pressures that limit women’s independence and influence their relationships.

United Kingdom 1811

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice follows Elizabeth Bennet, an intelligent and independent young woman navigating love and social expectations in Regency England. When the wealthy and reserved Mr Darcy enters her social circle, Elizabeth forms a negative impression of him, while Darcy initially struggles to look beyond her family’s lower social standing. Their relationship develops through misunderstandings, wounded pride, and gradual self-discovery. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s sisters face the financial and social pressures associated with marriage in a society where women have limited opportunities for economic independence. Through wit and sharp observation, Austen critiques class prejudice, superficial judgments, and the belief that wealth guarantees moral worth. The novel explores the importance of self-awareness and mutual respect, suggesting that lasting relationships require people to question their assumptions and recognise their own shortcomings.

United Kingdom 1813

Emma

Emma centres on Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy young woman who believes herself exceptionally skilled at understanding other people’s romantic feelings. Having decided that she will never marry, Emma occupies herself by arranging relationships among her friends and neighbours. However, her confidence repeatedly leads her to misinterpret people’s intentions, creating misunderstandings and emotional complications. As her attempts at matchmaking affect those around her, Emma gradually recognises her own prejudices and the limitations of her judgment. Her relationship with the perceptive Mr Knightley becomes central to this process of self-discovery. Austen combines humour with social observation to examine class distinctions, female independence, and the difficulties of understanding others. The novel explores how maturity requires humility, empathy, and the willingness to reconsider one’s assumptions about love and human behaviour.

United Kingdom 1815

Notre-Dame of Paris

Notre-Dame of Paris

Often known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame this is the famous story of Quasimodo and the beautiful Gypsy girl he loves and eventually rescues after she has been wrongly sentenced to hang for murder. Alas it all ends badly. A timeless tale of love, devotion, jealousy and deception.

Oliver Twist: Or the Parish Boy's Progress

Oliver Twist: Or the Parish Boy's Progress

Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist follows an orphaned boy who grows up in the brutal conditions of a Victorian workhouse. After asking for more food, Oliver is punished and eventually sent away to work, but he escapes to London in search of a better life. There he falls into the company of a group of young thieves controlled by the criminal Fagin. Although Oliver is repeatedly exposed to exploitation and violence, he retains his kindness and honesty. His circumstances eventually bring him into contact with people who recognise his innocence and attempt to protect him. Dickens exposes the cruelty of institutions that punish poverty rather than alleviate it, highlighting the vulnerability of children in a society marked by inequality. The novel explores justice, compassion, and the possibility of moral goodness surviving even in deeply corrupt environments.

United Kingdom 1838

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre follows an orphaned girl who grows up facing cruelty and neglect before becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. Intelligent and determined, Jane values her independence and refuses to accept a life defined entirely by her social position or gender. At Thornfield, she falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester, but discovers that his household conceals a disturbing secret that threatens their future together. When Jane is forced to choose between love and her moral principles, she leaves rather than compromise her dignity. Her journey eventually brings her new opportunities, unexpected family connections, and a chance to reconsider her relationship with Rochester. Brontë explores female autonomy, class inequality, religious morality, and the search for emotional belonging. The novel celebrates a woman’s right to pursue love without surrendering her conscience or independence.

United Kingdom 1847

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights tells the turbulent story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, whose intense attachment becomes entangled with pride, social ambition, and revenge. Growing up together on the Yorkshire moors, they develop a bond that Catherine ultimately sacrifices by marrying Edgar Linton, a man of higher social standing. Heathcliff, devastated by her decision, returns years later wealthy and determined to punish those he believes have wronged him. His revenge extends beyond Catherine and Edgar, affecting their children and the next generation. Through its layered narration and haunting landscape, Brontë explores destructive passion, class divisions, and the lasting consequences of emotional cruelty. The novel challenges idealised notions of romantic love, portraying attachment as a force that can inspire profound devotion while also consuming lives and perpetuating suffering.

United Kingdom 1847

The Black Tulip

The Black Tulip

Alexandre Dumas

Set in the Netherlands in 1672, The Black Tulip follows Cornelius van Baerle, a passionate and wealthy tulip grower whose greatest ambition is to cultivate the first completely black tulip. His peaceful life is shattered when political intrigue leads to his imprisonment, after he is falsely accused of conspiring against the powerful brothers Cornelis and Johan de Witt. Behind bars, Cornelius continues his botanical pursuit with the help of Rosa, the jailer’s daughter, who becomes his devoted ally and eventually his beloved. As jealousy, betrayal, and greed threaten his dream, Cornelius must fight to protect both his flower and his freedom. Blending historical adventure, romance, and political drama, Dumas explores the destructive power of envy alongside the redemptive strength of loyalty and compassion. The black tulip becomes a symbol of perseverance and the pursuit of an extraordinary goal in a world shaped by ambition and injustice.

Moby-Dick, or, The whale

Moby-Dick, or, The whale

Herman Melville

Narrated by the sailor Ishmael, Moby-Dick recounts a whaling voyage aboard the Pequod, commanded by the obsessive Captain Ahab. Ahab is determined to hunt down Moby Dick, a massive white whale that previously injured him. As the ship travels across the oceans, the voyage becomes increasingly dominated by the captain’s consuming desire for revenge. Blending maritime adventure with philosophical reflection, Melville explores humanity’s relationship with nature, the limits of knowledge, and the dangers of allowing obsession to govern one’s life. The novel’s detailed descriptions of whaling are interwoven with questions about fate, faith, and the meaning of existence, transforming a pursuit of a whale into a profound meditation on the human condition.

United States 1851

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary follows Emma Bovary, a young woman who marries Charles, a provincial doctor, hoping for a life filled with romance, luxury, and excitement. Influenced by romantic novels and idealised visions of love, she soon becomes disappointed by the routine of married life and the limitations of her social environment. Seeking escape, Emma pursues passionate relationships and extravagant purchases, gradually accumulating debts that threaten to destroy her carefully constructed image of happiness. Her attempts to transform her life into something extraordinary instead lead her into increasingly desperate circumstances. Through Emma’s story, Flaubert critiques the social conventions and material ambitions of nineteenth-century provincial France. The novel explores desire, disillusionment, and the gap between fantasy and reality, portraying a woman whose longing for a more fulfilling existence collides with the restrictive expectations of her time.