Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Herman MelvilleMoby-DickIshmael, a sailor with no ties on land, signs on at Nantucket aboard the Pequod, a whaler under Captain Ahab. Maimed years earlier by a white sperm whale, Ahab has turned the hunt into an obsession to which he bends his whole crew. The ship works its way down the oceans,…Same genre
Joseph ConradThe Secret AgentAdolf Verloc, a double agent living in London, leads an outwardly ordinary life while engaging in clandestine activities. Assigned a dubious mission, he becomes caught in a chain of events that quickly escapes his control. Around him, his wife Winnie and others suffer the…By the same authorSame genreSame era
Jonathan SwiftGulliver's TravelsGulliver, a doctor and traveler, journeys through extraordinary lands inhabited by beings of radically different sizes and customs. With each voyage, he discovers societies that mirror and criticize the vices of the real world. Among giants, miniature peoples, and strange…Same genre
Yevgeny ZamyatinWeIn the One State, ringed by a wall of glass, people carry numbers and live by a fixed timetable in transparent flats. D-503, engineer of the spaceship Integral, keeps a journal meant for the peoples he will help conquer, until he meets I-330, who pulls him outside the rules.…Same genreSame era
Arthur MachenThe Great God PanDr Raymond operates on the brain of a young girl, Mary, so that she may see the hidden world behind our own. Years later, a little girl named Helen seems to carry within her a strange and disturbing presence. As time goes by, troubling events and unexplained tragedies occur…Same countrySame genreSame era
Robert CromieThe Crack of DoomA speculative novel narrated by Arthur Marcel, a well-off Englishman returning from three years of travel. On the liner bringing him back from New York, he meets Herbert Brande, a brilliant scientist who believes the universe is a mistake, and his sister Natalie, who fascinates…Same countrySame genreSame era
VoltaireCandide, or OptimismRaised in a Westphalian castle, Candide learns from his tutor Pangloss that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Driven out for kissing Cunégonde, he passes through war, the Inquisition, the Lisbon earthquake and the colonies of the Americas. Each disaster…Same genre
Franz KafkaThe TrialOne morning Josef K., a senior clerk at a bank, is arrested in his lodgings by two warders who tell him nothing of the charge and leave him free to go to work. The case proceeds without being explained to him, in the attic of a suburban tenement where a court sits among piles…Same genreSame era
L. Frank BaumThe Wizard of OzDorothy, a young girl carried away by a tornado, finds herself in a fantastical world where she seeks to return home. On her way to the mysterious Wizard of Oz, she meets a scarecrow without a brain, a tin man without a heart, and a lion without courage. Together, they face…Same genreSame era
John Stuart MillOn LibertyThe author examines the foundations of individual freedom in relation to the power of society and the state. He defends the idea that each person must be able to think, speak, and act freely as long as it does not harm others. Through clear and structured reasoning, he warns…Same countrySame genre
John BuchanThe Thirty-Nine StepsRichard Hannay, an ordinary man, becomes unwittingly involved in an international espionage case after a dangerous revelation. Forced to flee, he crosses England while escaping his pursuers. Alone against all, he must thwart a plot that threatens the country’s security. The…Same countrySame genreSame era
Niccolò MachiavelliThe PrinceAn ambitious ruler seeks to seize and maintain power in an unstable and dangerous world. Through concrete examples and direct strategies, he learns to manipulate alliances, anticipate threats, and impose his authority. The author lays bare the mechanisms of power, where…Same genre