Recommendations based on Troilus and Cressidaby William Shakespeare

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  1. Antony and Cleopatra

    by William Shakespeare
    The tragic love story of Roman general Mark Antony and Egyptian queen Cleopatra, set against the backdrop of political power struggles.

    A romantic tragedy about the relationship between Mark Antony and the Queen of Egypt, including notes and critical commentary. ... (Goodreads)

  2. Measure for Measure

    by William Shakespeare
    A dark comedy about justice, morality, and the search for truth.

    Measure for Measure is among the most passionately discussed of Shakespeare’s plays. In it, a duke temporarily removes himself from governing his city-state, deputizing a member of his ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

    by Sophocles
    Ancient tragedy of a family's fall from grace due to a fateful prophecy.

    English versions of Sophocles’ three great tragedies based on the myth of Oedipus, translated for a modern audience by two gifted poets. Index. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. Beowulf

    by Unknown
    Epic poem recounting the heroic deeds of a legendary Scandinavian warrior.

    Beowulf is a major epic of Anglo-Saxon literature, probably composed between the first half of the seventh century and the end of the first millennium. The poem was inspired by Germanic and ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides

    by Aeschylus
    Tragedy of a cursed family and their struggle to find the truth and justice.

    Alternate cover edition can be found, here,, here,, here,, here, In the Oresteia—the only trilogy in Greek drama which survives from antiquity—Aeschylus took as his subject the bloody chain of murder ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Purloined Letter

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A detective searches for a stolen letter that contains compromising information. The solution is hidden in plain sight.

    The unnamed narrator is with the famous Parisian amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin when they are joined by G-, prefect of the Paris police. The prefect has a case he would like to discuss with ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Pygmalion

    by George Bernard Shaw
    The transformation of a poor flower girl into an elegant society lady.

    George Orwell claimed that "The central plot of Shaw's play, Pygmalion , is lifted out of Peregrine Pickle [by Tobias Smollett ], and I believe that no one has ever pointed this out in print, which ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Uncle Vanya

    by Anton Chekhov
    A study of the ennui and monotony of rural life, with characters struggling with their place in the world.

    A garden in Professor Serebryakov's country estate. Astrov and Marina discuss how old Astrov has grown, and his boredom with his life as a country doctor. Vanya enters, and complains of the ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Aeneid

    by Virgil
    Epic tale of Aeneas and the founding of Rome, a fateful journey through the gods.

    The Aeneid – thrilling, terrifying and poignant in equal measure – has inspired centuries of artists, writers and musicians. Virgil’s epic tale tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero, who flees his ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Pearl

    by John Steinbeck
    A poor diver's dream of wealth is dashed when his newfound riches ultimately bring unhappiness and tragedy.

    Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their ... (Goodreads)

  11. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

    by Tom Stoppard
    A humorous exploration of fate and free will, seen through the eyes of two minor characters in Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

    Hamlet told from the worm's-eye view of two minor characters, bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Echoes of Waiting for Godot resound, reality and illusion mix, and where fate leads heroes to a ... (Goodreads)

  12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    by Unknown
    A classic Arthurian fantasy tale of loyalty, honor, and courage.

    Written by an anonymous 14th-century poet, this epic poem is recognized as an equal of Chaucer's masterworks and of the great Old English poems, including "Beowulf." This edition includes a Preface ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    An epic poem exploring the power of supernatural forces and the consequences of human action.

    The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere") is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the ... (Goodreads)

  14. Dr. Faustus

    by Christopher Marlowe
    A man's tragic descent to damnation, as he sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge.

    The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, based on German stories about the title ... (Goodreads)

  15. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

    by Mark Twain
    A modern man is transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he uses his knowledge to attempt to change the course of history.

    The novel is a comedy set in 6th-century England and its medieval culture through Hank Morgan's view; he is a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut , who, after a blow to the head, awakens ... (Wikipedia)

  16. A Hunger Artist

    by Franz Kafka
    A unique artist's exploration of suffering, as he strives to make his art ever more extreme.

    "A Hunger Artist" is told retrospectively through third-person narration. The narrator looks back several decades from "today", to a time when the public marveled at the professional hunger artist. ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Eugene Onegin

    by Alexander Pushkin
    A poetic novel of unrequited love and tragic consequences, set in early 19th century Russia.

    In the 1820s, Eugene Onegin is a bored St. Petersburg dandy , whose life consists of balls, concerts, parties, and nothing more. Upon the death of a wealthy uncle, he inherits a substantial fortune ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Life, the Universe and Everything

    by Douglas Adams
    An intergalactic quest to find the answer to the ultimate question of life.

    After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, , Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect , who drags him into a space-time eddy , ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Steppenwolf

    by Hermann Hesse
    The inner struggles of a tortured soul as he searches for redemption.

    The book is presented as a manuscript written by its protagonist , a middle-aged man named Harry Haller, who leaves it to a chance acquaintance, the nephew of his landlady. The acquaintance adds a ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Little Dorrit

    by Charles Dickens
    A tale of injustice, exploring the social and economic inequalities of Victorian England.

    The novel begins in Marseilles "thirty years ago" (c. 1826), with the notorious murderer Rigaud telling his prison cellmate John Baptist Cavalletto how he killed his wife, just prior to being ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Bird Box

    by Josh Malerman
    A mother and her two children navigate a post-apocalyptic world where seeing mysterious creatures can drive people to madness and death.

    Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062259653 Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Complete Stories and Poems

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A collection of dark and mysterious stories and poems, exploring the depths of the human condition.

    This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. Choke

    by Chuck Palahniuk
    A darkly humorous story of a man's journey to self-awareness through disruption and chaos.

    Choke follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child. , Victor had grown up moving from one foster home ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Far From the Madding Crowd

    by Thomas Hardy
    A pastoral romance of love and redemption, set against the backdrop of 19th century rural England.

    An ACE can be found here . Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three ... (Goodreads)

  25. Jude the Obscure

    by Thomas Hardy
    A tale of struggle and sorrow for a poor, uneducated man amid the rigid conventions of Victorian England.

    The novel tells the story of Jude Fawley, who lives in a village in southern England (part of Hardy's fictional county of Wessex ), who yearns to be a scholar at "Christminster", a city modelled on ... (Wikipedia)

  26. 1984

    by Michael Dean

    [ Penguin Readers Level 4 ] Winston Smith lives in a society where the government controls people every second of the day. He fights this world with love. But it's dangerous: love for another person ... (Goodreads)

  27. Bartleby the Scrivener

    by Herman Melville
    A story of a mysterious scrivener whose refusal to comply with workplace demands leads to tragedy.

    The narrator is an unnamed Manhattan lawyer, aged around his late 50s, with a business in legal documents. He already employs two scriveners , Nippers and Turkey, to copy legal documents by hand, but ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

    by Victor Hugo
    A story of love, loyalty and redemption set amidst the stunning architecture of 15th century Paris.

    The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI . The Romani Esmeralda (born as Agnes) captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire , but ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Ghost World

    by Daniel Clowes
    Two teenage girls navigate the awkward transition to adulthood, grappling with identity, relationships, and the mundanity of suburban life.

    Ghost World has become a cultural and generational touchstone, and continues to enthrall and inspire readers over a decade after its original release as a graphic novel. Originally serialized in the ... (Goodreads)