Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation is a work of historical non-fiction about the founding fathers of the United States, their relationships and their political compromises. The book examines Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison, telling of their decision not to abolish slavery, their secret negotiations about the establishment of Washington DC, the duel between Hamilton and Burr, and the relationships between Abigail and John Adams and between John Adams and Jefferson.
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play by Bertolt Brecht that takes place in the 1600s during the Thirty Years War. Mother Courage owns a canteen that sells goods to soldiers so she can support her children. Her child Elif enters the war but Mother Courage continues to follow the armies with her children. Her son Swiss Cheese, Elif and her Daughter, Kattrin are killed over the years, leaving Mother Courage alone to peddle her wares.
The Brothers Karamazov is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky about the Karamazov family, dealing with existential questions of morality, religious faith and redemption. The rogue son Dmitri kills his father Fyodor over a woman they both love, Grushenka. The intellectual and atheistic Ivan was somewhat complicit in the murder and challenges the religious beliefs of his brother, Alyosha. Ivan eventually goes mad and Dmitri is found guilty and sent to a labor camp in Siberia. Alyosha emerges the hero of the novel, representing Dostoevsky's ideal Christian.