Subject
Adultery -- Fiction Books
Best books
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a historical novel published in 1850. Set in Puritan Massachusetts during the 1640s, it follows Hester Prynne, who bears a child out of wedlock and must wear a scarlet "A" as punishment for adultery. While she refuses to name the father, her long-lost husband arrives in town seeking revenge. The story explores themes of sin, guilt, and redemption as secrets threaten to destroy lives in this unforgiving community.
Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina
Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina
Kate Chopin
The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories
"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin is a novel that likely dates from the late 19th century. It revolves around Edna Pontellier, a young married woman who experiences a profound transformation during a summer at Grand Isle, leading her to question the constraints of her society and her roles as a wife and mother. The story explores themes of identity, independence, and the struggle against societal norms. The opening of "The Awakening" introduces us to Edna Pontellier and her husband Léonce during their summer stay at Grand Isle. As Léonce attempts to enjoy his Sunday morning, the sounds of the island—especially the chatter of children and the call of birds—surround him. When Edna arrives with Robert Lebrun, tensions arise as Léonce expresses concern for Edna's sunburn and her adventurous spirit. As their summer unfolds, Edna grapples with feelings of confinement in her roles and begins to reflect on her identity, hinting at the inner turmoil that will shape her journey through the novel. The dynamics between Edna, Léonce, and Robert hint at deeper emotional complexities and foreshadow her quest for self-discovery.
Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary
"Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert is a novel published in 1857. Emma Bovary, a beautiful young woman raised on romantic novels, marries a country doctor but finds provincial life suffocating. Craving luxury, passion, and high society, she seeks escape through increasingly reckless means. This groundbreaking work of literary realism caused scandal upon publication, with prosecutors attacking it as obscene. The resulting trial made it notorious before it became a bestseller and one of literature's most influential works.
Thomas Hardy
Two on a Tower
"Two on a Tower" by Thomas Hardy is a novel published in 1882. Set in Victorian Dorset, it tells the story of Lady Constantine, an unhappily married aristocrat who falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer ten years younger. Their forbidden romance unfolds against the vast backdrop of the stellar universe, exploring themes of class divide, age difference, and scientific fascination. Hardy sets their emotional lives against the immensity of the cosmos in this controversial tale that defied Victorian social norms.
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
Lady Chatterley's lover
"Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D. H. Lawrence is a novel first published privately in 1928. The story follows Constance Chatterley, an upper-class woman trapped in a passionless marriage to her paralyzed husband, who begins an affair with Mellors, the estate's working-class gamekeeper. Their relationship challenges rigid social boundaries and explores the essential connection between physical desire and emotional fulfillment. The novel's explicit content sparked worldwide obscenity trials and bans, becoming one of the most controversial works of the twentieth century.
Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure
"Jude the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy is a novel published in 1895. It follows Jude Fawley, a working-class stonemason who dreams of becoming a scholar at Christminster. His ambitions become entangled with his passionate but troubled relationship with his cousin, Sue Bridehead. Through failed marriages, social ostracism, and personal tragedy, the novel explores the crushing weight of Victorian society's institutions—particularly marriage, religion, and class barriers—on those who dare to defy convention.
Thomas Hardy
The Return of the Native
"The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy is a novel published in 1878. Set entirely on the wild Egdon Heath over the span of a year, it follows the intertwined fates of several characters trapped by passion and circumstance. When Clym Yeobright returns from Paris, the beautiful but restless Eustacia Vye sees him as her escape from the desolate heath. Their marriage sets off a chain of events involving thwarted desires, family estrangement, and fateful misunderstandings that will test everyone's loyalties and dreams.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a historical novel published in 1850. Set in Puritan Massachusetts during the 1640s, it follows Hester Prynne, who bears a child outside marriage and must wear a scarlet "A" as punishment for adultery. While Hester refuses to name the father, her long-lost husband arrives in disguise, vowing revenge. The story explores sin, guilt, and redemption as secrets threaten to destroy lives in this unforgiving community.
Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary
"Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert is a novel published in 1856 and 1857. Emma Bovary, a doctor's wife trapped in provincial France, yearns for the passion and luxury she's read about in romantic novels. Desperate to escape her mundane existence, she pursues affairs and spends recklessly beyond her means. Her quest for beauty and excitement leads her down a dangerous path of deception and debt, ultimately testing how far one woman will go to escape reality.
H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The New Machiavelli
"The New Machiavelli" by H. G. Wells is a novel published in 1911. It follows Richard Remington, a brilliant politician consumed by dreams of reshaping England's social order. Rising from Cambridge scholar to influential parliamentarian, he navigates the competing worlds of Liberal socialism and Conservative politics. But when a passionate affair with a young Oxford graduate threatens everything, Remington must choose between his political ambitions and personal desires. A controversial work that sparked literary scandal, the novel explores politics, sex, and the hypocrisy of Edwardian morality.
Machado de Assis
Dom Casmurro
"Dom Casmurro" by Machado de Assis is a novel published in 1900. Bento Santiago, a wealthy lawyer in his fifties, attempts to reconnect the two ends of his life by recounting his childhood memories, his time in seminary, and his marriage to Capitu. At the heart of his narrative lies his morbid jealousy and suspicions of adultery. But can readers trust this unreliable narrator's version of events? The novel leaves the central question of Capitu's guilt deliberately ambiguous, inviting multiple interpretations.
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