Moll Flanders
The retrospective account of Moll Flanders, who is born in Newgate prison to a convict mother and for whom life is destined to be a struggle. Moll relies on her wits, her ability to attract wealthy men and, eventually, her criminal skills before she repents the turn her life has taken. Defoe's depiction of Moll is ambiguous; the novel lacks realism and the protagonist is often drawn with irony. Nevertheless Moll's experiences offer a unique insight into the limited opportunities and restricted autonomy of women in the 17th century.

Style/structure: first person narrative, picaresque.

Tess of the D'Ubervilles

When Jack Durbeyville, a poverty-stricken, drunken peasant, learns that he is related to the noble family of the D'Ubervilles, he plots to send his daughter, Tess, to claim kinship and profit from the family connection. However, Tess soon falls under the power and influence of Alex D'Uberville who pursues her and, when she resists, rapes her. Though Tess escapes from Alex's household, his influence continues to stalk her, destroying her chances of happiness with true love, Angel Clare. The tragedy of Tess' life is that of a powerless woman living in an era when the social conventions are unforgiving and unrelenting.

Style/structure: third person narrative

Themes: class, fate, patriarchy, hypocrisy of social conventions, nature

Petrarch

French Lieutenant's Woman

Sarah Woodruff, the French lieutenant's woman of the title, symbolises many of the stock female characters of the Victorian novel; she is both the fallen woman, devoted to the memory of her French lover and the dark lady whose mysteriousness seduces the aristocractic Charles, who is engaged to another woman but takes Sarah as his mistress. The novel is notable for its postmodern style and structure; for instance, in one scene, Fowles depicts himself, the writer, seated on a train alongside his protagonist.

Style/structure: postmodern, non-linear, authorial intrusions, multiple endings

Themes: Victorian morality, existentialism, gender, love triangle

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Much darker than the film adaptation would suggest, the story of Holly Golightly, pseudonym of Lulamae Barnes, is that of a teenager who escapes a childhood of sexual abuse to live as an escort girl in New York. The narrator, an implied homosexual, befriends Holly and becomes fascinated by her nomadic lifestyle and her attitudes - Holly refuses even to name her cat because she believes that no living thing belongs to anyone else. Though he admits to having fallen in love with her, the narrator does not attempt to induce Holly to stay in New York and instead remains a devoted friend long after Holly has vanished to the other side of the world.

Style/structure: novella, unnamed narrator, retrospective narrative

Themes: freedom, platonic love, culture vs nature, art, capitalism

Petrarch