Books like 'Much Ado About Nothing'
Readers who enjoyed Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare & Gail Kern Paster also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance comedy drama classics humor literary-fiction high-school early-modern enemies-to-lovers
-
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 100 ratingsSince its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr...Categorized as:
classics drama enemies-to-lovers family high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction -
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 98 ratingsWhat happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride...Categorized as:
classics drama high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century -
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsis as original and vibrant as its protagonist... -
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThe Importance of Being Earnest A Trivial Comedy for Serious People Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...Categorized as:
classics drama family high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic -
-
Pygmalion / My Fair Lady by George Bernard Shaw, Alan Jay Lerner
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe ancient Greeks tell the legend of the sculptor Pygmalion, who created a statue of a woman of such surpassing beauty that he fell in love with his own creation. Then, Aphrodite, taking pity on this man whose love could not reach beyond the barrier of stone, brought the statue to life and gave her to Pygmalion as his bride...Categorized as:
classics drama historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies -
A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice by Alex Goodwin, Jane Austen
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.Jane Austen's classic story of love, manners and muslin, retold in an entirely new way... -
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis, Enylton de Sá Rego
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFans of Latin American literature will be thrilled by Oxford University Press's new translations of works by 19th-century Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. His novels are both heartbreaking and comic; his limning of a colonial Brazil in flux is both perceptive and remarkably modern...Categorized as:
classics drama historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire action-adventure adult -
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on business, he leaves his only daughter Sophia with his sister, Elizabeth Rivenhall, in Berkeley Square. Newly arrived from her tour of the Continent, Sophy invites herself into the circle of her relatives...Categorized as:
classics drama enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century -
My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe ancient Greeks tell the legend of the sculptor Pygmalion, who created a statue of a woman of such surpassing beauty that he fell in love with his own creation. Then, Aphrodite, taking pity on this man whose love could not reach beyond the barrier of stone, brought the statue to life and gave her to Pygmalion as his bride... -
Man of La Mancha: A Musical Play by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, 1966To me the most interesting aspect of the success of Man of La Mancha is the fact that it plows squarely upstream against the prevailing current of philosophy in the theater... -
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsOne dollar and eighty-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved a Christmas present. She has nothing to sell except her only treasure--her long, beautiful brown hair. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the sacrifices each must make to buy the other a gift...Categorized as:
classics drama family high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic -
Sang Pemimpi by Andrea Hirata
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSang Pemimpi adalah sebuah lantunan kisah kehidupan yang memesona dan akan membuat Anda percaya akan tenaga cinta, percaya pada kekuatan mimpi dan pengorbanan, lebih dari itu, akan membuat Anda percaya kepada Tuhan... -
When He Was Wicked: The 2nd Epilogue by Julia Quinn
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDo the best things really come to those who wait? Three years have passed since Francesca's and Michael's marriage, and they are still childless. And Francesca wonders, can a woman be truly and completely happy when a little piece of her heart remains empty? But just when she makes peace with her fate, something unexpected occurs...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic audiobook book british-isles -
The Re-education of Mr. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Alexa Douglas
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”– Mark TwainElizabeth Bennet is the daughter of one of New York’s first families. When her grandparents take her and her sisters on a journey abroad, she is not surprised to encounter anti-American prejudice among the members of the English upper class...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction book comedy female-mc -
-
Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels by Nancy Mitford
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsContains: The Pursuit of Love (1945)Love in a Cold Climate (1949)The Blessing (1951)Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels casts a finely gauged net to capture perfectly the foibles and fancies of the English upper class, and includes an introduction by Philip Hensher in Penguin Modern Classics... -
Full Moon by P.G. Wodehouse
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the moon is full at Blandings, strange things happen: among them the commissioning of a portrait of The Empress, twice in succession winner in the Fat Pigs Class at the Shropshire Agricultural Show. What better choice of artist, in Lord Emsworth's opinion, than Landseer...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century adult audiobook book -
The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMitford's most famous novels, "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate," satirize British aristocracy in the '20s and '30s through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modeled on Mitford's own... -
Maggie's Mistake by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMaggie vowed to never marry a man who can't laugh or dance, but when she and the dull new doctor in town, Everett Dulanis, wind up spending the night together in an abandoned dugout house, all that changes. Her father is the best man and his shotgun is the bridesmaid at the wedding where a union has been made, but there's certainly no unity...Categorized as:
drama enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction adult audiobook -
The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMiles from anywhere, Darracott Place is presided over by elderly Lord Darracott. Irascible Lord Darracott rules his barony with a firm hand. The tragic accident that killed his eldest son by drowning has done nothing to improve his temper. For now, he must send for the next heir apparent--the unknown offspring of the uncle whom the family is never permitted to mention... -
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe storyline of Miss Buncle's Book (1934) is a simple one: Barbara Buncle, who is unmarried and perhaps in her late 30s, lives in a small village and writes a novel about it in order to try and supplement her meagre income. D.E. Stevenson had an enormously successful writing career: between 1923 and 1970, four million copies of her books were sold in Britain and three million in the States... -
Arabella by Georgette Heyer
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTo Arabella Tallant, the eldest daughter of a penniless country clergyman, the invitation to stay with her London godmother was like the key to heaven, for in addition to living in the glamorous city, Arabella might even find a suitable husband there...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century age-gap -
Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer, Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWith her high-spirited intelligence and good looks, Abigail Wendover was a most sought-after young woman. But of all her high-placed suitors, there was none Abigail could love. Abigail was kept busy when her pretty and naive niece Fanny falls head over heels in love with Stacy Calverleigh, a good-looking town-beau of shocking reputation and an acknowledged seductor... -
Sylvester by Georgette Heyer, Joan Wolf
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen the news went out that Sylvester Rayne, the elegant, impeccable Duke of Salford, was seeking a wife, all England was aflutter! Lord Sylvester is a polished bachelor who has stringent requirements for his future wife -- she must be well-born, intelligent, elegant and attractive. And of course she must be able to present herself well in high society...Categorized as:
classics drama enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century -
The Alienist by Machado de Assis
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA classic work of literature by “the greatest author ever produced in Latin America.” (Susan Sontag) Brilliant physician Simão Bacamarte sacrifices a prestigious career to return home and dedicate himself to the budding field of psychology. Bacamarte opens the first asylum in Brazil hoping to crown himself and his hometown with “imperishable laurels... -
-
Emma by Jane Austen
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 86 ratingsEmma Woodhouse is one of Austen's most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect...Categorized as:
classics drama family high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic -
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWidely considered the most popular modern French play, Cyrano de Bergerac has dazzled audiences with its wit and eloquence since it premiered in 1897.Cyrano, a quarrelsome, hot-tempered swordsman, as famous for his dueling skills and pugnacity as for his inordinately long nose, is hopelessly enamored of the beautiful Roxane...Categorized as:
classics drama early-modern high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire -
Les Liaisons Dangereuses a Play by Christopher Hampton
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Les Liaisons Dangereuses", A Play by Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos. Produced on the Broadway Stage by James M. Nederlander, The Schubert Organization, Inc., Jerome Minskoff, Elizabeth I. McCann and Stephen Graham in association with Jonathan Farkas...Categorized as:
classics drama historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
सुम्निमा [Sumnima] by Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSumnima a famous Nepali novel by B P Koirala, a former Prime Minister of Nepal is about the painful complications that arise in a man-woman relationship. The story is about the powerful attraction that exists between a Brahmin boy and an ordinary girl... -
Piccadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe fall brings four more antic novels from comic genius, P. G. Wodehouse. In Picadilly Jim (soon to be a major motion picture), Jimmy Crocker has a scandalous reputation on both sides of the Atlantic and must do an about-face to win back the woman of his dreams...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century audiobook book -
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTo Kitty Charing, the conditions of her guardian's will were intolerable. She had to marry one of his nephews before she could inherit a farthing of the old man's fortune. And the only nephew she wanted was handsome Jack Westruther. Jack, however, made it quite clear he was not ready for marriage...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic 20th-century -
Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOne thing that constantly disrupts the peace of life at Blandings is the constant incursion of impostors. Blandings has impostors like other houses have mice. Now there are two of them – both intent on a dangerous enterprise...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century action-adventure adult -
An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAlthough Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) created a wide range of poetry, essays, and fairy tales (and one novel) in his brief, tragic life, he is perhaps best known as a dramatist. His witty, clever drama, populated by brilliant talkers skilled in the art of riposte and paradox, are still staples of the theatrical repertoire...Categorized as:
classics drama high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction satire university -
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAnnabel Winslow is in a pickle. Having newly arrived in London for her first season and being in possession of a voluptuous figure, is being openly courted the the Earl of Newbury, who is at least 75 and a nasty brute to boot... -
The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer, Karen Hawkins
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsGervase Frant finally returns to his father's estate to claim his title as the new Seventh Earl of St. Erth at Stanyon. Unscathed from glory at Waterloo, Gervase expected a hero's welcome - instead he's given a frigid cold shoulder... -
-
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRoger Mifflin is part pixie, part sage, part noble savage, and all God's creature. With his traveling book wagon named Parnassus, he moves through the New England countryside of 1915 on an itinerant mission of enlightenment. Mifflin's delight in books and authors is infectious--with his singular philosophy and bright eyes, he comes to represent the heart and soul of the book world...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business by L.A. Meyer, Katherine Kellgren
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJacky Faber makes waves, even when docked in her adopted city of Boston to attend to the business of Faber Shipping Worldwide. With big dreams and perhaps too much exuberance for the Puritan populace, she quickly finds herself at odds with the Women's Temperance Union and a town roiling over the arrival of hundreds of Irish laborers, brought in on Jacky's Lorelei Lee...Categorized as:
drama high-school historical-fiction humor realistic action-adventure alpha-mc audiobook -
Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLife has a certain reassuring if not terribly exciting rhythm for the residents of North Oxford. Miss Morrow is content in her position as spinster companion to Miss Doggett, even if her employer and the woman’s social circle regard her as a piece of furniture... -
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim, Larry Gelbart
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe book and lyrics of the first musical for which Sondheim composed the score as well. Forum opened in 1962 and is Sondheim's longest running play. Other plays for which he has written both the music and lyrics are A Little Night Music, Into the Woods and Assassins... -
Mrs. Tim Christie by D.E. Stevenson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTenth May, 1934. At this moment I look up and see the Man Who Lives Next Door standing on his doorstep watching my antics, and disapproving (I feel sure) of my flowered silk dressing gown. Probably his own wife wears one of red flannel, and most certainly has never been seen leaning out of the window in it - The Awful Carrying On of Those Army People - he is thinking... -
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Taming of the ShrewRobust and bawdy, The Taming of the Shrew captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio, in a comedy of unmatched theatrical brilliance, filled with visual gags and witty repartee...Categorized as:
classics drama historical-fiction humor literary-fiction action-adventure adult book -
To Seduce a Rogue by Tracy Sumner
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn this battle of wills, passion becomes front-page news.He challenged her legacy.She challenged him to love.In 1850s South Carolina, ladies with ambition and a penchant for wearing trousers are rare indeed. But that’s Charlotte Whitney all over. Not only does Charlie yearn to resurrect her late father’s newspaper, she wants to be its editor...Categorized as:
early-modern family historical-fiction humor action-adventure adult ancient-civilization book -
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsThrough six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family. By the time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply, hopelessly, in love...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic 20th-century -
An Advantageous Marriage: A thrilling Regency romance by Alice Chetwynd Ley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA fun and flirty Regency romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen. The scheming Turville family have met their match… 1816, England The aristocratic Turvilles had always deplored an unfortunate connection with Trade through the marriage twenty years previously of the Baron’s brother with the daughter of a Yorkshire manufacturer...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family humor literary-fiction regency historical industrial-era fiction -
The Marquess Next Door by Virginia Heath
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dashing new neighbor…Temptation on her doorstep!To avoid an unwanted suitor at a ball, Hope Brookes asks another gentleman to rescue her. He obliges—with a surprisingly passionate kiss! He's revealed as her sinfully handsome new neighbor, Lucius, Marquess of Thundersley, and they forge a friendship over their balconies... -
-
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsNamed for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, Twelfth Night plays with love and power. The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek...Categorized as:
classics drama early-modern high-school historical-fiction humor literary-fiction realistic -
Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIDEAL The heir to the Earl of Hargate, Benedict Carsington, Viscount Rathbourne, is the perfect aristocrat. Tall, dark, and handsome, he is known for his impeccable manners and good breeding. Benedict knows all the rules and has no trouble following them—until she enters his life...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor medieval action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Viscount Who Loved Me: The Epilogue II by Julia Quinn
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWatch your toes, it's the Pall Mall Rematch!Fifteen years have passed, but the Bridgertons are as devious and diabolical as ever when it comes to life on the croquet field. Join Anthony, Kate, Simon, Daphne, Colin, Edwina, and (of course) the mallet of death, as Julia Quinn shows that happily ever after can still be a little bit wicked... and a whole lot of fun...Categorized as:
drama enemies-to-lovers family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century alpha-mc -
Ridiculous! by D.L. Carter
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsIdentity theft regency style. After the death of her miserly cousin Antony North, Millicent Boarder is determined her family should never be poor or vulnerable again. To protect them she conceals her cousin's death and assumes his identity. Now she must face the Ton and the world as Mr. North and accept the price she must pay for her family's safety -- she will never be loved... -
The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer, Daniel Hill
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCaptain John Staple’s exploits in the Peninsula had earned him the sobriquet Crazy Jack among his fellow Dragoons. Now home from Waterloo, life is rather dull. But when he finds himself lost and benighted at an unmanned toll-house in the Pennines, his soldiering exploits pale away besides an adventure — and romance — of a lifetime...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
The Promise by Ann Weisgarber
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of The Personal History of Rachel Dupree , shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers and longlisted for the Orange Prize. 1900. Young pianist Catherine Wainwright flees the fashionable town of Dayton, Ohio in the wake of a terrible scandal...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.