Romance

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AbhijnanaSakuntala or The Recognition of Sakuntala is a Sanskrit play written by the playwright Kalidasa in the fifth century CE. The play follows the love story between forest-dwelling Sakuntala and the valorous king Dusyanta. When Dusyanta stumbles into a grove while on a hunt for deer, he meets the beautiful Sakuntala. Sakuntala and Dusyanta fall in love, marry in secret, and conceive a child. Called away for court business, Dusyanta promises to send for Sakuntala... Read The Recognition of Sakuntala Summary

The Rest of Us Just Live Here, a novel by critically acclaimed young adult (YA) author Patrick Ness, tells the story of Mikey, a high school senior living in a fictional town in the state of Washington. The novel follows Mikey as graduation approaches and he navigates the anxieties and uncertainties of love, friendship, and the fear of leaving behind everything he’s grown up with. Ness, the author of the widely lauded Chaos Walking trilogy... Read The Rest of Us Just Live Here Summary

Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native was published serially in Belgravia magazine in 1878. Its setting, the formidable and unforgiving Egdon Heath, is based on the Wessex region of England where Hardy was born. Hardy provides a map that gives the locations that his love- and grief-driven characters visit as the story unfolds. The novel explores the themes of class, chance, fate, superstition, and social upheaval. This guide references the 2008 Oxford World’s... Read The Return of the Native Summary

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The Romance of the Rose, or Roman de la Rose in the original French, is an allegorical poem written between the years 1225 and 1278 by two authors, Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. De Lorris wrote the first three chapters of the work from 1225-1230, and de Meun added nine additional chapters from approximately 1269-1278. Not much is known about either author, but the poem became a foundational piece of medieval literature, particularly... Read The Romance of the Rose Summary

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The Room on Rue Amélie (2018) is a historical fiction novel by American author Kristin Harmel. The novel follows the experiences of Ruby Henderson, an American immigrant in Paris, during World War II. Ruby eventually becomes involved in the French Resistance and forms a close friendship with Charlotte, whose Jewish identity leaves her vulnerable to persecution. Both women navigate the risks of resistance and the nature of love in a time of war. The novel... Read The Room on Rue Amélie Summary

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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion explores the romantic and comedic errors of a man with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, Don Tillson, as he looks for a wife. As a professor of genetics, Don lives an orderly, predictable life in a protected academic setting. Trouble ensues when he decides that he is ready to find his life’s partner. Set in Melbourne, Australia and New York City, the novel is told in the first person from Don’s... Read The Rosie Project Summary

Aphra Behn’s play The Rover, or The Banished Cavaliers, debuted in London in 1677 with King Charles II in attendance; The Rover was reportedly one of his favorite plays. In Restoration England, theatre was a political act, particularly when a play was written by a woman and openly defied Puritan conservatism. Beginning in 1642, the Puritan-run Parliament had banned theatre, partially because they viewed it as sinful and financially excessive, and partially because the theatre... Read The Rover Summary

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Published in 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emma Orczy, is a historical romance adventure novel about a wealthy English baronet with a secret life as a hero who rescues the innocent from the French Reign of Terror. Told mainly from the viewpoint of his wife, the book—based on the successful London play of the same name—birthed a series of Scarlet Pimpernel novels, movies, and TV productions. It ushered in the secret-identity genre of adventure... Read The Scarlet Pimpernel Summary

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