Themes
The passages are found by comparing meaning (the same method as the cross references), not chosen by hand, so some will fit better than others. Each theme’s one-line description was written with AI. Study guides, quizzes and lesson plans built on these are coming.
Themes of stories, poems and plays: the books that carry each one most, with a passage from each, and where the scriptures echo it.
Growing up
- Coming of ageA young person grows up: first lessons of the world, leaving childhood behind, learning who they are.24 books
- School daysLife at school: teachers and lessons, classmates, rivalries and friendships, mischief and examinations.24 books
- Orphans and foundlingsAn orphan or abandoned child alone in the world, taken in by strangers, searching for where they belong.24 books
Love and family
- First loveFalling in love for the first time: a stolen glance, a beating heart, shy words, the beloved's face.24 books
- Courtship and marriage plotsA proposal of marriage, suitors and fortunes, families arranging matches, love against money and rank.24 books
- Forbidden loveLovers kept apart by family, rank or law; secret meetings, elopement, love that cannot be.24 books
- BetrayalA friend or lover betrays a trust: deceit, infidelity, a secret revealed, the pain of being betrayed.24 books
- Brothers and sistersBrothers and sisters: their quarrels and loyalty, rivalry over an inheritance, a sister's devotion.24 books
- HomecomingReturning home after many years away: the changed house, old faces, being recognised or not.24 books
Adventure
- Adventure and questsSetting out on a daring adventure, a quest for treasure or a lost city, danger at every turn.24 books
- Voyages at seaA ship at sea: sailors and captains, storms, whales, mutiny, shipwreck and desert islands.24 books
- Castaways and survivalShipwrecked or lost in the wild, surviving alone: building shelter, finding food, waiting for rescue.24 books
- Exploration and lost worldsExplorers reach unknown lands: jungles, poles, hidden valleys, lost races and strange creatures.24 books
- Battle and soldiersSoldiers in battle: the charge, the wounded and the dead, courage and fear under fire.24 books
- Outlaws and piratesPirates, highwaymen and outlaws: robbery, hidden treasure, the gallows, life outside the law.24 books
Crime and justice
- RevengeA wrong that must be avenged: plotting revenge for years, the avenger's patience, justice or cruelty.24 books
- Murder and detectionA murder is discovered; a detective examines clues, questions suspects and reveals the culprit.24 books
- Crime and guiltA crime committed and its guilt: a troubled conscience, fear of discovery, confession and punishment.24 books
- Prison and captivityLocked in a cell or dungeon: prisoners, chains, the long years, escape and release.24 books
- Trials and courtroomsA trial in court: the judge and jury, witnesses, lawyers' speeches, the verdict.24 books
Society
- Ambition and successAmbition to rise in the world: climbing from poverty to wealth and fame, and what it costs.24 books
- Rich and poor, class and rankThe gulf between rich and poor, aristocrats and servants, snobbery, the struggle of the working poor.24 books
- City lifeThe great city: crowded streets, fog and gaslight, shops and slums, the noise and loneliness of London or Paris.24 books
- Country lifeLife in the countryside and villages: farms and harvest, the squire and the parson, quiet rural days.24 books
- Money and inheritanceA will and an inheritance, a fortune lost or won, debts, misers and the power of money.24 books
- A woman's independenceA woman wants her own life and work, refuses to marry for money, and claims her independence.24 books
- Slavery and the fight for freedomEnslaved people, the cruelty of slavery, escape to freedom, the struggle for emancipation.24 books
- War and those at homeWar seen from home: waiting for news, soldiers who do not return, families and towns changed by war.24 books
Ideas and imagination
- Utopias and ideal societiesAn ideal society or a perfect commonwealth, how it is governed, and what it says about our own world.21 books
- Tyranny and dystopiaA future state that controls every life: surveillance, and rebellion against a tyrannical order.17 books
- Science and inventionA scientist's invention or experiment: machines, discoveries, time travel and the dangers of knowledge.24 books
- Other worldsVoyages to the moon or other planets, beings from other worlds, the vastness of space.24 books
- Magic and fairy talesFairies, witches, enchanted forests, spells and wishes, a magic kingdom where animals talk.24 books
Dark and strange
- Monsters and the uncannyA monster or creature of horror: vampires, ghouls, a creature made by a man, terror in the night.24 books
- Ghosts and haunted housesA haunted house, ghosts that walk at midnight, strange noises, the dead who return.24 books
- Madness and the doubleMadness, a mind breaking down, a double or second self, obsession and delusion.24 books
- ObsessionA single fixed idea that consumes a person and drives them to ruin.24 books
The inner life
- Loneliness and the outsiderAn outsider who does not belong, loneliness, being misunderstood and shut out by others.24 books
- Memory and the pastRemembering the past: childhood memories, regret, how the past shapes the present.24 books
- Solitude in natureLiving simply alone in nature: woods, lakes and seasons, reflection away from society.24 books
- Art and the artistA painter, poet or musician and their art: inspiration, beauty, the artist's struggle and genius.24 books
- Satire and comedySatire mocking society's follies: comic absurd situations, foolish characters, wit and irony.24 books
- Faith and doubt in a lifeA character's religious faith tested: losing or finding belief, the clergy, conscience and God.24 books
- Animals as companionsA loyal dog or horse, animals told from their own point of view, kindness and cruelty to animals.24 books