The Seagull is a play that takes place on a Russian farm in the late 1800s. The farm belongs to Sorin, a man whose sister Arkadina, a famous actress, has just arrived at the farm for a visit, bringing along her lover Trigorin, a writer. Over the course of four acts, tensions between family members and neighbors play out on the stage. Arkadina's son Konstantin also plays a major role in this play which explores existentialism, the role of the artist, and the need for self-evaluation.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel that follows the story of an expedition, whose members include Pierre Arronax and Ned Land, tracking what they believe to be a sea monster. The "monster" turns out to be an advanced submarine created by Captain Nemo, a man with a hatred for society. Once they have uncovered his secret, Captain Nemo refuses to let the expedition members leave his mysterious submarine, and together they explore many parts of the sea until Nemo's folly allows them to escape.
Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel that reframes Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre in a colonial context. Antoinette Cosway, a white Creole woman, is forced into an unhappy marriage with an unnamed English gentleman implied to be Mr. Rochester, Byronic love interest of Bronte's novel. Cosway is declared mad by her husband and kept as a virtual slave in his attic after the disintegration of their relationship. In the end her mental health is ruined by her husband's abuse and she takes her own life.