Subject
Parent and adult child -- Fiction Books
Best books
Samuel Butler
The Way of All Flesh
"The Way of All Flesh" by Samuel Butler is a semi-autobiographical novel written between 1873 and 1884, though published posthumously in 1903. This scathing attack on Victorian hypocrisy follows four generations of the Pontifex family, centering on Ernest Pontifex's turbulent journey from oppressive childhood to troubled adulthood. Dominated by hypocritical parents and navigating theological crises, prison, a disastrous marriage, and eventual liberation, Ernest's story captured the anti-Victorian sentiment of its time, earning recognition as a landmark English novel.
Anthony Trollope
The Duke's Children
"The Duke's Children" by Anthony Trollope is a novel first published between 1879 and 1880. The Duke of Omnium faces devastating loss when his wife dies unexpectedly and his government falls. Left to manage his grown children alone, he confronts unexpected challenges: his daughter's love for a modest gentleman, his eldest son's political defection and romance with an American heiress, and his younger son's academic troubles. As family tensions mount over forbidden romances and diverging paths, the Duke must navigate unfamiliar emotional terrain and reconsider his expectations.
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