José Rizal
Rizal's Own Story of His Life: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
George OrwellHomage to CataloniaIn December 1936, Orwell arrives in Barcelona intending to write newspaper articles, but almost at once he joins a P.O.U.M. militia and leaves for the Aragon front. He describes the cold, the lice, the boredom of the trenches and the strange equality of a revolutionary army.…Same genreSame era
Stefan ZweigThe World of Yesterday (Volume 2)The second volume opens in the first hours of August 1914, with cheering crowds and the loneliness of those who refuse. Zweig describes his work in the war archives, his stay in Switzerland near Romain Rolland, then the collapse of Austria and the inflation that emptied…Same genreSame era
Stefan ZweigThe World of Yesterday (Volume 1)Stefan Zweig begins with the Vienna of his youth, what he calls the world of security: a city that believed in progress and cared more for the theatre than for politics. He recalls an Austrian schooling, the discovery of literature, then travels to Paris, Berlin, London and…Same genreSame era
Lyndon OrrFamous AffinitiesSeveral historical and literary figures are brought together through their notable relationships, marked by attraction, conflict, and mutual influence. Each pair reveals a unique dynamic combining passion, ambition, and rivalry. The narrative explores these connections from a…Same genreSame era
Florence Fenwick MillerHarriet Martineau BiographyA biography published in 1884 in a series on famous women. Florence Fenwick Miller tells the life of the Englishwoman Harriet Martineau, born in 1802 in Norwich into a family descended from French Protestant refugees. Deaf from her teenage years and without a sense of smell,…Same genre
Harriet JacobsIncidents in the Life of a Slave GirlHarriet, born into slavery, recounts a childhood marked by fear, violence, and the absence of freedom. Determined to escape her condition, she plans a risky flight to protect her dignity and that of her children. Her path is filled with ordeals, but also acts of courage and…Same genre
Frederick DouglassNarrative of Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass, born into slavery, recounts his journey toward freedom through a constant struggle against oppression. Deprived of education and rights, he gradually discovers the power of knowledge and of the spoken word. His testimony exposes the brutal reality of slavery…Same genre
Lu XunA Call to Arms · The True Story of Ah QThis collection brings together Lu Xun’s first stories, published in the years just after the fall of the empire. A man reads in the history books that his neighbours eat people, a down-at-heel scholar clings to his dignity in a tavern, a father buys his son a remedy soaked in…Same genreSame era
Diogenes LaërtiusLives of Eminent PhilosophersDiogenes Laërtius traces the lives and ideas of the great philosophers of antiquity, from Thales to Epicurus. Through anecdotes, sayings and sometimes surprising stories, he reveals the personalities and doctrines of these major figures. Each portrait offers an accessible…Same genre
Karl MarxThe Communist ManifestoWritten on the eve of the 1848 revolutions, this short text presents history as a succession of struggles between classes. Marx and Engels describe the rise of the bourgeoisie, the way industry transformed labour, and the formation of a working class they hold bound to…Same genre
Guy de MaupassantBoule de SuifDuring the war of 1870, ten travellers leave Rouen, occupied by the Prussians, in the same stagecoach: local notables, two nuns, a democrat and a prostitute nicknamed Boule de Suif. Held at an inn by a Prussian officer who sets his conditions, they discover what their…Same genre
ChateaubriandMemoirs from Beyond the Grave, Volume 4 (1815–1828)This fourth volume of the Memoirs from Beyond the Grave covers the years 1815 to 1828. Chateaubriand, writer and statesman, tells of the Hundred Days, which he spends in Ghent with King Louis XVIII, of the Battle of Waterloo heard from afar, and then of Napoleon’s exile and…Same genre