Books like A house and its head by I. Compton-Burnett

In post‑war New York, Newland Archer faces a dilemma when his fiancée’s cousin, the rebellious Ellen Olenska, challenges his elite society’s expectations and his own loyalty.

In "The Postman Always Rings Twice," a drifter falls for a married woman, creating a deadly love triangle that spirals into murder, betrayal, and the inevitable tragedy of a postman's cruel warning.

In Edith Wharton’s classic, Lily Bart, a beautiful and intelligent young woman devoted to luxury, struggles to navigate New York’s strict social hierarchy and moral expectations, ultimately confronting the limits of her independence.

Émile Zola’s 1868 novel *Thérèse Raquin* follows a young woman’s unhappy marriage and her fatal affair with a friend, exploring themes of adultery and murder within 19th‑century French society.

After factory closures and the loss of his wife, Lev journeys from Eastern Europe to London to support his mother and daughter, finding work, new friendships, and unexpected longing in a foreign land.

A novel that explores the disruptive effects of strained relationships within a middle‑class English family.

A charismatic teacher at Edinburgh’s Marcia Blaine School in the years before World War II shapes the lives of six chosen girls, leaving an indelible mix of inspiration and manipulation that echoes into their adulthood.

Evelina is a comic novel of manners that follows a young London debutante as she navigates the social world of 18th‑century England, learning wit, confidence, and the subtleties of love.

A police officer's revenge turns deadly in this gripping thriller from James Patterson.

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the Midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary, and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. Wharton was re-creating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine's education for social success is chronicled in meticulous detail. The novel superbly captures the world of post-Civil War Ameria, as ruthless in its social ambitions as in its business and politics. - Back cover.

A story about a man who meets another woman after losing his wife, only to find he was actually used by her, leading to a thrilling investigation of the truth.

A sharp‑witted Irish drama student in 1990s London navigates friendship, ambition and romance, hunting to shed her plain‑girl image before an unexpected affair with an older man reshapes her path.

After a series of personal tragedies, widower Terence Cave obsesses over protecting his surviving twin daughter Bryony, enforcing draconian rules that turn into a psychological horror of possessive love and the dark side of parental devotion.

In this contemplative novel, a New England minister struggles to regain his faith, family, and sense of purpose after a personal tragedy, while his small town confronts hidden secrets that test the resilience of community and belief.

An engrossing thriller exploring the complexities of a marriage between a busy mother and a charming developer, set in London.

A 62‑year‑old judge, Guy Stockdale, decides to upend his life when he chooses to leave his wife and marry his 35‑year‑old mistress, Merrion Palmer, setting off a chain of domestic upheaval.