Byronic Hero Books for High School Book Clubs

Using book clubs for high school English classes is a great way to give students choice. It adds to their buy-in. I have found that using a selection of Byronic Hero books works really well in upper level courses like AP® Literature.

*** This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you click through and make a purchase, I might receive the tiniest of commissions. Bookshop.org is an organization dedicated to helping small independent bookstores. When you make a purchase through Bookshop, you can also select a bookstore that will earn the full profit from the title. ***

Byronic Hero Books to use in high school English books clubs

Using Byronic Hero Books for Literature Circles

Byronic Hero books work really well for literature circles. You can anchor them in common texts like excerpts from “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” and other Byron poems.

It works well to pair the Byronic Hero with Gothic literature. While other titles may also include Byronic heroes, like Pride and Prejudice, my list primarily includes Byronic Hero books that are also gothic. These titles are Byronic Hero Books that I have used in my own high school book clubs.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Edmond Dantes seems to have the perfect life, he is about to become a ship’s captain at the age of 19 and marry the woman of his dreams; however jealousy rears its evil head and Fernand Mondego who also loves his fiancé write a letter accusing Dantes of treason, and on the day of his wedding he is arrested. In prison, he meets the intellectual priest who educates him and tells him of money hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. He then escapes prison and heads to the island.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The story of a creature created as the result of an unorthodox science experiment. The monster is so hideous that even his creator Victor Frankenstein is afraid of him. It is the story of Victor’s quest to destroy the monster he has created after the monster destroys much of what he loves.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is the title character of the novel. The story spans her life as she begins as an orphan living on her uncle’s wife’s charity to going to a boarding school to becoming a governess to the ward of one Mr. Rochester who eventually becomes Jane’s love interest. The only problem is what he has hidden (literally) in his attic.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMurier

The narrator has just married the dashing Maxim, a widower who is a number of years older than she. When she arrives at the estate, Manderly, the narrator discovers that Maxim’s first wife is still fresh in the memories of all.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Mr. Lockwood, a wealthy renter from London, learns the history of the residents of the famed estate “Wuthering Heights.” He learns of the strange relationships between the Earnshaws, the adopted Heathcliff and his love interest Catherine (also his adopted sister).

A list of Byronic Hero books for book clubs or literature circles in high school English classes

Activities for Byronic Hero Book Clubs

Need some ideas for activities to use in your Byronic Hero Book Clubs? Try using anchor charts, hexagonal thinking and pairing it with poetry. Use can read more about these activities in this post: Teaching the Byronic Hero in High School English. I also pair my Byronic Hero unit with gothic literature, so I purposely offer Byronic Hero novels that are also in the gothic tradition.