James Grant
One of the Six Hundred: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
James GrantUnder the Red DragonA British novel of war and love, told by its hero. In 1854, Harry Hardinge, a young officer of the Welsh Fusiliers, waits in Winchester to leave for the war against Russia. Invited by Sir Madoc Lloyd, an old friend of his family, to a great estate in North Wales, he finds there…By the same authorSame genreSame era
G. P. R. JamesForest DaysAn English historical novel. In the mid-1260s, England is torn between King Henry III and the barons led by Simon de Montfort. Between Pontefract and Nottingham, Hugh de Monthermer, a young knight and nephew of an old earl who has sided with the barons, loves Lucy de Ashby,…Same countrySame genre
G. A. HentyThe Dash for KhartoumAn English adventure novel from 1892. In India, two babies are mixed up: the son of a captain and the son of a sergeant. Unable to tell which one is his own, Captain Clinton raises both boys as twins, Rupert and Edgar. At sixteen, Edgar is told by a stranger that she is his…Same countrySame genreSame era
HomerThe OdysseyOdysseus, king of Ithaca, tries to return home after the Trojan War, but his journey turns into a long wandering full of trials. He faces mythical creatures, capricious gods, and temptations that slow his return. Meanwhile, Penelope, his wife, resists the suitors invading their…Same genre
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of CourageHenry Fleming, an inexperienced young soldier, goes to war with idealized notions of courage and glory. Confronted with the violence of combat, he doubts, flees, and struggles against his own fear. Gradually, he seeks to understand what it truly means to be brave. His inner…Same genreSame era
Thomas MaloryKing Arthur and the KnightsThe legends of King Arthur, retold in modern English by Rupert S. Holland (1919) from the work of Thomas Malory. The secret son of King Uther, Arthur is raised by the knight Ector without knowing anything of his birth. At fifteen he draws from a stone the sword that no lord has…Same countrySame genre
John OwensSword and PenAn American biography published during its subject's lifetime. John Algernon Owens tells the life of Willard Glazier, born into a modest family in New York State: a childhood on the farm, years as a schoolteacher, then the Civil War in the Union cavalry, capture, prison and…Same genreSame era
Mark TwainLife on the MississippiMark Twain, a keen observer, recounts his experience as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, blending personal memories with descriptions of the river. He traces the evolution of this vital route for commerce and American life. Through anecdotes and portraits, he brings a…Same genreSame era
John BurtonThe Book HunterA collection of essays published in 1862 by John Hill Burton, a Scottish historian. With humour, the author sketches the book hunters: the collector who buys his first duplicate copy, the browser of second-hand bookstalls, the regular at auction sales, the wandering reader who…Same countrySame genreSame era
HomerThe Iliad (Volume 2)The Trojans have reached the ships and fire threatens the fleet when Patroclus takes Achilles' armour to drive them back. His death at Hector's hands brings Achilles into the battle, with armour forged by Hephaestus and a fury nothing can check. The plain, the river, then the…Same genre
HomerThe Iliad (Volume 1)In the tenth year of the siege of Troy, Agamemnon takes from Achilles the captive awarded to him, and the best of the Achaeans withdraws to his tent. Without him the Greek army fights on the plain: the duel of Paris and Menelaus, the feats of Diomedes, Hector's farewell to…Same genre
Charles DickensA Tale of Two CitiesCharles Darnay, a French aristocrat, renounces his origins to live a fairer life in England, while Sydney Carton, a disillusioned lawyer, struggles with his own inner emptiness. Their destinies intersect against the backdrop of the French Revolution, where social tensions erupt…Same countrySame genreSame era