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After

The masquerade

Brenda Joyce2005

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same earnest register, still historical romance

1 more ↓

  • Silk and Steel-(Litchfield, #2)

    Kat Martin2000

    To avoid being institutionalized by her uncle, a noblewoman stows away in a Marquess's carriage and manipulates him into a marriage of protection.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Corinthian

    Georgette Heyer1940

    A wealthy dandy helps an heiress disguised as a boy escape an unwanted marriage. They travel across the English countryside together.

    earnest → playful, still historical romance

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    earnest → tense

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Proposition

    Judith Ivory1999

    A linguist bets she can transform a rough rat-catcher into a gentleman in six weeks, but finds herself attracted to him during the process.

    earnest → wry, still historical romance

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

earnest → playful, still historical romance

3 more ↓

  • An Offer From a Gentleman

    Julia Quinn2001

    The illegitimate daughter of an earl works as a servant for her stepmother. She sneaks into a masquerade ball and meets Benedict Bridgerton.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Secrets of a Summer Night

    Lisa Kleypas2004

    An impoverished aristocrat tries to secure a husband to save her family. A wealthy commoner pursues her, offering an affair instead of marriage.

    earnest → warm, still historical romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Corinthian

    Georgette Heyer1940

    A wealthy dandy helps an heiress disguised as a boy escape an unwanted marriage. They travel across the English countryside together.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

earnest → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Professional: Part 2 (The Game Maker, #1b)

    Kresley Cole

    A Russian enforcer continues his pursuit of a graduate student across Europe. The focus is on their sexual power dynamic and his mafia duties.

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Victory at Prescott High

    C.M. Stunich

    A high school girl seeks revenge against the boys who bullied her while navigating a complex relationship with all of them at once.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • A Farewell to Arms

    Ernest Hemingway1929

    An American ambulance driver and a British nurse conduct a love affair during the Italian campaign of World War I.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Brokeback Mountain

    Annie Proulx1997

    Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2