In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a scientist creates a potion that turns him into a monster who is completely free of morals. At first, Dr. Jekyll is able to control his transformations into Mr. Hyde, but soon loses that control. The novel explores the dual nature found in every person and the conflict between good and evil in humans. In the end Jekyll completely loses to Hyde, who is found dead by two of Jekyll's friends.
Good-Bye to All That is the autobiography of Robert Graves, a British officer in the First World War. The story charts Graves' disillusionment with British culture and with popular support for the war. His traumatic experience in the war, including his wounding and his horror at the constant and dehumanizing violence, are the book's principal subject. Graves also devotes time to feminism, atheism, and the emergence of Modernism in the wake of the war.
I Am the Cheese is the story of Adam Farmer, a young man who has left his parents behind in their hometown in Massachusetts. The novel follows Adam as he encounters various people on the road, dwells on his previous life and on his feelings for the mischievous Amy Hertz, and on his knowledge of a crime he witnessed being committed. The rest of the story deals with his involvement in the investigation.
I, Claudius is presented as the journal of the titular Roman emperor. A stutterer with a limp, Claudius is dismissed by his family but becomes their diligent chronicler. He uses his deformities to evade suspicion, concealing his keen intellect until eventually becoming emperor himself in his middle age. The story covers Augustus's rule and progresses through Claudius's, ending at his deathbed. It is a frank depiction of corruption, intrigue, and insanity in the Roman imperial family.