Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (1828)
1741.
Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Henry IV, Part 2 is the only Shakespeare play that is a “sequel,” in the modern sense, to an earlier play of his. Like most sequels, it repeats many elements from the previous work, Henry IV, Part 1. This play again puts on stage Henry IV’s son, Prince Hal, who continues to conceal his potential greatness by consorting with tavern dwellers, including the witty Sir John Falstaff. As in Part 1, Prince Hal and Falstaff seek to best each other in conversation, while Falstaff tries to ingratiate himself with Hal and Hal disdains him. Part 2 adds some fresh characters, the rural justices Shallow and... continue
1742.
The Birth of Venus : A Novel by Sarah Dunant EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Turning fifteen in Renaissance Florence, Alessandra Cecchi becomes intoxicated with the works of a young painter whom her father has brought to the city to decorate the family's Florentine palazzo.
1743.
The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
The Winter’s Tale, one of Shakespeare’s very late plays, is filled with improbabilities. Before the conclusion, one character comments that what we are about to see, “Were it but told you, should be hooted at / Like an old tale.” It includes murderous passions, man-eating bears, princes and princesses in disguise, death by drowning and by grief, oracles, betrayal, and unexpected joy. Yet the play, which draws much of its power from Greek myth, is grounded in the everyday. A “winter’s tale” is one told or read on a long winter’s night. Paradoxically, this winter’s tale is ideally seen rather th... continue
1744.
Sisters : A Novel by Daisy Johnson EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR “[A] skillfully crafted gothic mystery . . . Johnson pulls off a great feat in this book.” —Financial Times “It reminded me, in its general refusal to play nice, of early Ian McEwan.” —The New York Times Book Review “Johnson crafts an aching thriller about the dangers of loving too intensely.” —Time From a Booker Prize finalist and international literary star: a blazing portrait of one darkly riveting sibling relationship, from the inside out. “One of her generation’s most intriguing authors” (Entertainment Weekly), Daisy Johnson is the youngest writer... continue
1745.
The Tempest by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
The authoritative edition of The Tempest from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for both students and general readers. Putting romance onstage, The Tempest gives us a magician, Prospero, a former duke of Milan who was displaced by his treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero is exiled on an island, where his only companions are his daughter, Miranda, the spirit Ariel, and the monster Caliban. When his enemies are among those caught in a storm near the island, Prospero turns his power upon them through Ariel and other spirits. The characters exceed the... continue
1746.
As You Like It by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Readers and audiences have long greeted As You Like It with delight. Its characters are brilliant conversationalists, including the princesses Rosalind and Celia and their Fool, Touchstone. Soon after Rosalind and Orlando meet and fall in love, the princesses and Touchstone go into exile in the Forest of Arden, where they find new conversational partners. Duke Frederick, younger brother to Duke Senior, has overthrown his brother and forced him to live homeless in the forest with his courtiers, including the cynical Jaques. Orlando, whose older brother Oliver plotted his death, has fled there, ... continue
1747.
Dacă nimeni nu vorbeşte despre lucruri deosebite by Jon MacGrego, Ecaterina Popa, Ioan Aurel Popa RO
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Pe o stradă dintr-un oraş din nordul Angliei, oameni absolut obişnuiţi fac lucruri perfect normale: copiii joacă crichet, ramele ferestrelor sunt vopsite, un cuplu se ceartă, studenţii îşi strâng catrafusele, oameni necunoscuţi trec unii pe lângă altii, ca în fiecare zi, dar fără a comunica. Numai că un eveniment teribil spulberă liniştea unei seri de vară, dupa care, de atunci încolo, nici un martor al accidentului nu va mai fi acelaşi.
1748.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Named for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, Twelfth Night plays with love and power. The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and enters Orsino’s service. Orsino sends her as his envoy to Olivia—only to have Olivia fall in love with the messenger. The play complicates, then won... continue
1749.
Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Family relationships are at the center of Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry IV and Prince Hal form one major father-son pair, with Henry in despair because Hal lives a dissolute life. The father-son pair of Hotspur (Lord Henry Percy) and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, is in seeming contrast; the king envies Northumberland “his Harry,” wishing he could claim the gallant Hotspur as his own. Meanwhile, Hal has entered into a quasi-father-son relationship with a disreputable but amusing knight, Sir John Falstaff. Another strand of action centers on still more family relationships. Hotspur’s st... continue
1750.
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Shakespeare's popular comedy of love and mistaken identity is accompanied by a section on reading Shakespeare's language, information on Shakespeare's life and theater, explanatory notes, annotated reading lists, and an essay