A tragic novel about love, the American dream, acceleration and unrelenting optimism. When narrator Nick moves to a prestigious community on Long Island (New York), he is soon introduced to his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby. Little is known about Mr Gatsby except that he is fabulously rich and regularly holds huge parties in his luxurious […]
This magic novel about the invigorating and healing power of nature, friendship, childhood, isolation and rebirth follows 10-year-old Mary, a sour child of wealthy British parents living in India. When Mary’s parents suddenly die of cholera, she is sent to England to live with her uncle in the Yorkshire Moors. It is not long after […]
A Shakespearian tragedy of forceful love, hate, violence, identity and society. In Verona two powerful families, the Montegues and the Capulets, are in a feud. One night, at a ball, Romeo, son of the house Montegue meets Juliet, a Capulet, and the two fall in love. They get married secretly, but Juliet’s father does not […]
A Shakespearian comedy on love, jealousy, foolishness, the power of dreaming and the supernatural. In ancient Athens, Egeus wants to force his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius, even though she is in love with Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius but he doesn’t love her back. Hermia and Lysander decide to run away, and Demetrius and Helena […]
A Shakespearian tragedy on hypocrisy, murder, guilt and remorse. Macbeth, the brave Scottish general of King Duncan revives a prophecy by three witches that one day he will become the new king of Scotland. Imbued with ambition he takes the throne and becomes a tyrannic ruler who plunges the land of his people in misfortune […]
This 19th century best-selling novel about human trafficking, violence and slavery follows Tom, a middle-aged, enslaved African-American slave. As Tom is sold again and again, his life fully depends on the mercy and goodwill of his current owner… The novel is praised for having laid the groundwork for the abolition of slavery, but also harshly […]
A Gothic novel about advances in science and moral responsibilities they bring about. Victor Frankenstein is a gifted young scientist living and studying in Switzerland. Through the recently discovered ‘wonder of electricity’ he is able to give life to his own creation – a monstrous creature. However, Victor does not take responsibility for the monster […]
A collection of Wilde’s tales of true beauty, the celebration of loyalty, selfless love, wit and aestheticism published in The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891). In “The Selfish Giant”, a giant chases children playing in his garden off and builds a high wall to keep them out. From […]
A comedy of manners on the constraints of morality, the importance of lineage, Victorian values and hypocrisies. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff are two wealthy gentlemen who invent fictional characters as an excuse to leave their respective home – a strategy known as ‘Bunburying’. Jack intends to marry Algernon’s cousin Gwendolen Fairfax. To see her […]
A dystopian novel on social hierarchies, the progress of science and technology and psychological manipulation. In the year 2540, society has grown into a caste system that seeks to attain absolute perfection: People are no longer born, but genetically modified and conditioned to behave as perfectly functioning members of society. For most, happiness is controlled […]
A social problem novel on changes and challenges in industrialised England – following ‘the progress of a parish boy’ from London’s impoverished underworld to a fortunate life. Growing up in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver asked for more food and is sold to an undertaker to become his apprentice. Oliver runs away and travels to […]
A prototypical poem of British Romanticism drawing upon the city-country-dichotomy. An ode to the industrialised city of London in the morning hours, the quiet time before the streets start to fill with busy people. Seemingly atypical for romanticist escapism, the speaker describes the city of London as “a sight so touching in its majesty”.
A prototypical poem of British Romanticism drawing upon the city-country-dichotomy. In Wordsworth’s famous poem, the speaker describes encountering a field of daffodils beside a lake. The overwhelming image of the dancing flowers will remain and spend “bliss and solitude” whenever the speaker feels “vacant” or in “pensive mood”.
A coming-of-age story about friendship, abilities and weaknesses, childhood and imagination. Winnie-the-Pooh is a honey-loving teddy bear who lives in the forest. There he experiences all kinds of adventures together with his friends: A piglet, an owl, a rabbit, a donkey, a kangaroo and a human boy named Christopher Robin.
A tragedy on the American Dream – exploring themes of human interaction, dependence and isolation. The narrator follows George and Lennie, two very opposite friends, who dream of owning their own piece of land during the Great Depression. Before their dream comes true, Lennie accidentally commits a murder and their vision becomes even more impossible… […]
The speaker of the poem states that while a summer’s day fades away, the beauty of the addressee will not, as it is preserved in the lines of the sonnet.
This Victorian Christmas tale follows Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly, bitter gentleman who despises the festive season and everything other people love about it. One Christmas Eve three ghosts visit him. With the intention to change his perspective, they show Mr Scrooge the Christmas Eves of the past, the present and the future – and thereby […]
A prototypical modernist short story with complex metaphors and imagery highlighting isolation and gender. The short story “Cat in the Rain” follows an American couple on vacation in postwar Italy. It features topics such as femininity, loneliness, longing and disappointment.