The novel explores the final hours of the Roman poet Virgil, who, while on his deathbed, contemplates the value and impact of his life's work, particularly his unfinished epic, the Aeneid. The narrative is a complex, stream-of-consciousness meditation on art, life, and death, with Virgil wrestling with his desire to burn his epic and the emperor's command to preserve it. The book delves into themes of the meaning of human existence, the role of art in society, and the clash between the individual's inner world and the external world.

This novel centers around a young woman, Milly Theale, who is terminally ill and wealthy. She becomes the object of a conspiracy by two other characters, Kate Croy and Merton Densher, who are in love but too poor to marry. Kate manipulates the situation so that Densher becomes close to Milly, intending for him to marry her and inherit her wealth when she dies. However, Densher eventually falls in love with Milly, leading to a complex triangle of love, deceit, and moral ambiguity.

This novel explores the dynamics of an upper-middle-class Italian family facing financial ruin. The story focuses on the emotional indifference and moral decay among family members, as they engage in affairs and manipulative behavior to secure their social status. As the family's fortunes dwindle, their lack of empathy and moral integrity becomes increasingly evident, offering a critique of bourgeois values and the corrosive effects of apathy and materialism.

This novel explores the clash of cultures between conservative English society and passionate Italy through the experiences of a young English widow, Lilia Herriton, who impulsively marries a younger Italian man, Gino Carella, while vacationing in Tuscany. The Herriton family, particularly Lilia's brother-in-law Philip, travels to Italy in an attempt to prevent the marriage and later to regain custody of Lilia's child after her death. The narrative critically examines the restrictive morals and prejudices of Edwardian England while highlighting the destructive effects of blind adherence to societal conventions.

"Hopeful Monsters" is a novel that explores the lives of two intellectuals, a German physicist and a British anthropologist, against the backdrop of the political and scientific upheavals of the 20th century. Their personal journeys and love story are intertwined with their pursuit of understanding in the realms of physics, biology, and anthropology, as they grapple with issues such as quantum mechanics, genetics, and the nature of consciousness. The narrative also delves into the moral and ethical challenges posed by the rise of fascism and the advent of the atomic bomb.