Books like A Tale of Two Cities
12 books with a reading profile close to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Deep and contemplative; a moderate read.
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1
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
history, narrative
The narrative follows the parallel trajectories of Uncle Tom, a devout Christian man sold away from his family in Kentucky, and Eliza, an enslaved mother who escapes across the Ohio River to save her son from the same f…
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2
Small Island
by Andrea Levy
history, narrative
In 1948, Hortense Roberts arrives in London from Jamaica to join her husband, Gilbert Joseph, who fought for Britain in the war.
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3
The Captain's Daughter
history, narrative
The Captain's Daughter, set during Pugachev's Rebellion in 18th-century Russia, follows the young nobleman Pyotr Grinyov as he falls in love with Masha Mironova, the daughter of a fortress commander.
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4
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
by Lew Wallace
history, narrative
Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in first-century Jerusalem, is betrayed by his childhood friend, the Roman officer Messala.
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5
The Grapes of Wrath
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
In 1930s America, a severe drought and aggressive agricultural mechanization force the Joad family off their Oklahoma farm.
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6
Every Man Dies Alone
by Hans Fallada
history, narrative
Otto and Anna Quangel are ordinary Berliners who, after their son's death in the war, start leaving postcards that criticize Hitler in stairwells and offices.
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7
Germinal
by Émile Zola
Also deep · history, narrative
Set in a coal-mining settlement in northern France during the 1860s, the narrative follows Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker who secures a job at the Voreux pit.
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8
Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Jean Valjean exits a French prison after nineteen years of hard labor, a sentence triggered by stealing bread for his family.
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9
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Also deep · history, narrative
Robert Jordan, an American language instructor, joins an International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War to fight against Francisco Franco’s fascist forces.
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10
Suite française
Also deep · history, narrative
Set in 1940 during the German invasion of France, the narrative follows a chaotic exodus from Paris as civilians flee an oncoming army.
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11
The Leopard
by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Set in nineteenth-century Sicily during the Risorgimento, the narrative follows Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, as he witnesses the collapse of the Bourbon monarchy and the rise of a unified Italian state.
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12
Kim
Also deep · narrative, literary
Set against the backdrop of late nineteenth-century British India, the story follows Kimball O’Hara, an orphaned white boy living as a street-wise urchin in Lahore.
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