689 articles
Novel of manners
The novel of manners (French: roman de mœurs) is a type of novel that renders the ways of life of a society through social observation, chiefly in nineteenth-century French realism.
Novela de la tierra
Novela de la tierra ("novel of the land"), also called the telluric novel, is a regionalist current of early twentieth-century Spanish American fiction centered on land and rural life.
Nueva novela histórica
Nueva novela histórica is a label for Latin American historical fiction since 1979 marked by distortion of the historical record and metafiction, systematized by critic Seymour Menton in 1993.
Number the Stars
Number the Stars is Lois Lowry's 1989 young adult historical fiction novel, published by Houghton Mifflin, about ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen in 1943 helping the Danish Resistance rescue her Jewish friend Ellen by boat to Sweden; winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal and National Jewish Book Award.
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Oh, the Places You'll Go! is Dr. Seuss's 1990 Random House picture book, his last, following an unnamed "you" through life's highs and lows; it became America's standard graduation gift and a 2028 animated film.
Old Shatterhand
Old Shatterhand is Karl May's fictional German first-person narrator and Westman hero, blood brother of Winnetou, named for his fist blows; May claimed the identity himself from 1894.
Omegaverse
Omegaverse, also called A/B/O or Alpha/Beta/Omega, is a speculative erotic fiction subgenre from Supernatural fandom (2010) built on alpha/beta/omega hierarchies, heats, knotting, and pheromones, now spanning manga, publishing, and live action.
On Target (Greaney novel)
On Target (2010) by Mark Greaney is the second Gray Man thriller, following ex-CIA assassin Court Gentry, hired by Russian arms merchant Sidorenko to kill Sudan's President Abboud while the CIA offers amnesty for a kidnapping.
One Dark Window
One Dark Window (2022) is Rachel Gillig's gothic romantasy debut and first Shepherd King duology novel, set in mist-locked Blunder where fever survivor Elspeth Spindle, host to the Nightmare spirit, quests to reunite twelve Providence Cards before Solstice; over 3 million duology copies sold.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)
Ken Kesey's 1962 first novel, published by Viking Press, set in an Oregon psychiatric ward; narrated by Chief Bromden, it pits Randle McMurphy against Nurse Ratched and inspired the 1975 Oscar-winning film.
Onyx Storm
Onyx Storm is a 2025 fantasy novel by Rebecca Yarros, the third in her Empyrean series about dragon riders at a war college, and the year's top-selling US title.
Orbis Pictus
Orbis Pictus, fully Orbis Sensualium Pictus, is an illustrated Latin textbook for children by Czech educator Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), first published in Nuremberg in 1658.
P.S. I Still Love You
P.S. I Still Love You is Jenny Han's 2015 YA novel, second in the To All the Boys trilogy, and its 2020 Netflix film directed by Michael Fimognari, starring Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, and Jordan Fisher.
Parody
Parody imitates a creative work in exaggerated, comedic fashion as criticism or commentary. From Greek parōidia; distinguished from pastiche and satire; protected under US fair use and Canadian fair dealing.
Patriot Games
Patriot Games is a 1987 Tom Clancy techno-thriller novel and a 1992 film adaptation, both following ex-CIA analyst Jack Ryan as he becomes the target of an Irish terrorist splinter group's revenge.
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is Andrea Lawlor's 2017 debut novel (Rescue Press; reissued by Vintage 2019) about Paul Polydoris, a 1990s shapeshifter who changes body and gender at will across queer America.
Pequod (Moby-Dick)
Pequod: the fictional Nantucket whaleship in Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), commanded by Captain Ahab, sunk by the White Whale, sourced from the 1821 Essex shipwreck.
Personal (novel)
Personal (2014) is the 19th Jack Reacher thriller by Lee Child, published by Delacorte on September 2, 2014. Reacher hunts sniper John Kott, who tried to kill the French president, with analyst Casey Nice; a #1 NYT bestseller.
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary is Stephen King's 1983 Doubleday horror novel about Louis Creed, a Micmac burial ground in Ludlow, Maine that returns the dead changed, and grief that overrides judgment. Adapted in 1989 by Mary Lambert and remade in 2019.
Pete the Cat
Pete the Cat is a children's book character, a groovy blue cat created by artist James Dean, first published in 2008 with musician Eric Litwin in I Love My White Shoes, later written by Kimberly Dean, over 70 books plus an Amazon Prime animated series.
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is Beatrix Potter's mischievous rabbit hero from The Tale of Peter Rabbit, first published by Frederick Warne in 1902 after private printing and six rejections, and sold over 46 million copies since.
Philo Vance
Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective created by Willard Huntington Wright (S.S. Van Dine). His novels ran from 1926 to 1939, solving twelve murder puzzles.
Philosophical novel
A philosophical novel is a work of fiction using plot, character, and dialogue to explore philosophical questions; early landmarks include Voltaire's Candide and Johnson's Rasselas, both from 1759.
Philosophical tale
The philosophical tale (French: conte philosophique) is a short fiction using irony and satire to treat philosophical questions, reaching its classic form in 18th-century France with Voltaire.
Picaresque novel
Picaresque novel (novela picaresca): Spanish Golden Age prose genre, 16th-17th centuries, begun by the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes (1554), featuring a first-person rogue narrator, episodic survival adventures, and satire, later influencing Tom Jones and Huckleberry Finn.
Pinocchio
Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio) is Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian children's novel about a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy; serialized 1881–1883, first book edition by Paggi with Mazzanti illustrations, over 260 translations, Disney 1940.
Planet of the Apes (novel)
Planet of the Apes (La Planète des singes) is Pierre Boulle's 1963 French satirical science fiction novel, translated by Xan Fielding as Monkey Planet, in which astronauts reach a Betelgeuse planet ruled by intelligent apes; it inspired the 1968 film and the whole franchise.
Plot armor
Plot armor (plot armour) is informal fandom slang for a fictional character's implausible immunity to harm because the story needs them alive; first recorded 2005–10, defined on Urban Dictionary in 2008, and extended jokingly to real people.
Poirot Investigates
Poirot Investigates is Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot short story collection, published by The Bodley Head in March 1924 with 11 stories narrated by Captain Hastings; the 1925 US edition added three stories.
Poirot's Early Cases
Poirot's Early Cases (Hercule Poirot's Early Cases in the US) is Agatha Christie's 1974 Collins Crime Club collection of eighteen Poirot short stories from 1923-1935, mostly narrated by Captain Hastings, including Poirot's greatest failure, The Chocolate Box.