Literary fiction · Similar reads
Books like The Mayor of Casterbridge
The best books like The Mayor of Casterbridge are Homage to Catalonia, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Alchemist. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy is about hubris and downfall, class and ambition, fate and character. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Homage to Catalonia
01
George Orwell · Memoir
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's firsthand account of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, which he joined in late 1936 as a volunteer with the POUM militia — a Trotskyist revolutionary organization that was later suppressed by the Soviet-backed Stalinist wing of the Republican forces.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - All Quiet on the Western Front
02
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque · History
All Quiet on the Western Front follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enlists with his classmates during the First World War after being swept up in patriotic speeches.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Alchemist
03
Paulo Coelho · Religion & Spirituality
The Alchemist is a Brazilian novel first published in 1988 and translated into 80 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Angela's Ashes
04
Frank McCourt · Memoir
Angela's Ashes is Frank McCourt's memoir of a catastrophically impoverished Irish Catholic childhood, first in Brooklyn and then in Limerick, during the 1930s and 1940s.
A kindred literary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Great Expectations
05
Charles Dickens · Classics
Great Expectations follows Pip, an orphan boy on the Kent marshes who is yanked from modest obscurity into the orbit of wealth and social aspiration when an anonymous benefactor funds his move to London.
Shares class and ambition and guilt and redemption with The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Read the summary → - Crossroads
06
Jonathan Franzen · Literary fiction
It is Christmas Eve 1971 in the Chicago suburb of New Prospect, Illinois, and the Hildebrandt family is in various states of crisis.
Both dig into guilt and redemption.
Read the summary → - Rules of Civility
07
Amor Towles · Literary fiction
Rules of Civility opens in 1966, when Katey Kontent — now in her early forties — encounters a series of photographs at a gallery show.
Both dig into class and ambition.
Read the summary → - The Kite Runner
08
Khaled Hosseini · Literary fiction
The Kite Runner opens in Kabul in the early 1970s and follows Amir, the son of a wealthy Pashtun merchant, and Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant.
Both dig into guilt and redemption.
Read the summary → - Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
09
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
Elena Ferrante · Literary fiction
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is the third novel in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet, picking up where The Story of a New Name left off.
Both dig into class and ambition.
Read the summary → - Me Before You
10
Jojo Moyes · Romance
Louisa Clark is twenty-six, cheerfully aimless, and loses her job at the local café on the same day.
Both dig into class and ambition.
Read the summary → - The Mill on the Floss
11
George Eliot · Classics
The Mill on the Floss opens with one of the most fully realized childhoods in Victorian fiction.
Both dig into class and ambition.
Read the summary → - The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It
12
The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It
Yascha Mounk · Politics
Yascha Mounk argues that liberal democracy — the marriage of individual rights with popular self-government — is coming apart.
Both dig into civic identity.
Read the summary →
Books like The Mayor of Casterbridge: quick answers
What are the best books like The Mayor of Casterbridge?
The best books like The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy are Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Mayor of Casterbridge, such as hubris and downfall, class and ambition, fate and character.
What should I read after The Mayor of Casterbridge?
A natural next read after The Mayor of Casterbridge is Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. A kindred literary fiction read. Other strong choices are All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.
What books are similar to The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy?
The Mayor of Casterbridge centers on hubris and downfall, class and ambition, fate and character. Books with a similar feel include Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
