Modern Classics

Modern classics book summaries help you explore the most influential novels of the 20th and 21st centuries without feeling overwhelmed. On Thornbook you’ll find clear overviews of plot, themes, and characters, ideal for students, book clubs, and everyday readers.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee book cover

Go Set a Watchman

Summary Go Set a Watchman follows Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as a young adult returning from New York to her

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald book cover

The Beautiful and Damned

Summary The Beautiful and Damned follows Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert, a glamorous young couple who believe beauty, charm, and

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald book cover

This Side of Paradise

Summary This Side of Paradise traces the coming-of-age of Amory Blaine, a talented, restless young man growing up with ambition,

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald book cover

Tender Is the Night

Summary Tender Is the Night follows Dick Diver, a brilliant American psychiatrist living among wealthy expatriates on the French Riviera.

Island by Aldous Huxley book cover

Island

Island — Summary Island follows Will Farnaby, a cynical journalist who shipwrecks on Pala—an isolated island nation that has built

Brave New World book cover

Brave New World

Summary Brave New World is set in a futuristic society where stability and happiness are maintained through strict control, scientific

Beloved book cover

Beloved

Summary Beloved follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman living in Ohio after the Civil War. She tries to build a

Animal Farm Book Cover

Animal Farm

Summary George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegorical novella about a group of farm animals who rise up against their

1984 Cover

1984

Summary George Orwell’s 1984 is one of those books that doesn’t feel very far from real life, even though it’s

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