After
The Second Duchess
Elizabeth Loupas2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Magnolia Palace
Fiona Davis2022
In 1919, a model hides in the Frick mansion; in 1966, an intern finds hidden messages there. Both women navigate the secrets of the wealthy family.
Same tense register, still historical mystery
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Second Empress
Michelle Moran2012
Three women navigate Napoleon’s court after he divorces Josephine for a new bride. The story follows the former wife, the new empress, and his sister.
Same tense register, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Kingmaker's Daughter
Philippa Gregory2012
The daughters of the Earl of Warwick navigate the court of Edward IV as their father uses their marriages to manipulate the English throne.
Same tense register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
A Burnable Book
Bruce Holsinger2014
In 1385 London, a poet searches for a manuscript rumored to predict the death of King Richard II. He navigates a city of spies and plague.
Same tense register, still historical mystery
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Unexploded
Alison Macleod2013
In 1940s Brighton, a family deals with the tension of a looming German invasion and the arrival of a prisoner of war.
Same tense register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James2014
A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.
tense → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon1973
During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.
tense → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
tense → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
The Mirror and the Light
Hilary Mantel2020
Thomas Cromwell navigates the final four years of his life in Henry VIII's court. He attempts to maintain power as his allies and influence erode.
tense → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Fifty Shades Freed
E.L. James2011
The final entry in a trilogy following a newly married couple as they navigate their erotic life and a threat from the past.
tense → earnest
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Electric Idol
Katee Robert2022
In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Lauren's Barbarian
Ruby Dixon2017
A woman is abducted by aliens and abandoned on an ice planet, where she is found by a blue-skinned hunter who believes she is his mate.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Taming the Highland Bride
Lynsay Sands2010
A Scottish woman hopes to escape her rowdy brothers through an arranged marriage, only to find her new husband is equally boisterous.
tense → playful, still arranged marriage
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
tense → playful
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Bootlegger
Clive Cussler2014
In 1920, investigator Isaac Bell pursues rum-runners and discovers a plot involving Bolshevik assassins and government sabotage.
tense → propulsive, still historical mystery
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose0bleak+1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
Same tense register
pace+2·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+2prose0bleak0
Candide
Voltaire
A naive young man travels the world while his tutor insists that everything is for the best. He encounters a series of global catastrophes.
tense → sardonic
pace+2·prose0·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
tense → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
tense → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje1992
Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
tense → clinical
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
Heavier
tense → bleak, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak+2
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry1995
Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Confessions of Nat Turner
William Styron1967
A fictionalized confession of the leader of an 1831 slave revolt while he awaits execution in a Virginia jail cell.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Known World
Edward P. Jones2003
A black man who was once a slave becomes a slave owner in antebellum Virginia. The story follows the fallout on the plantation after his death.
tense → meditative, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
A Long Long Way
Sebastian Barry2005
A young Irishman joins the British Army to fight in the trenches of World War I while his home country moves toward rebellion.
tense → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Brotherless Night
V. V. Ganeshananthan2023
A young woman in Sri Lanka tries to study medicine while her brothers join militant groups during the civil war. It covers a decade of conflict.
tense → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
