13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read)

Christopher J. Scalia is a senior fellow in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute. A former English professor, Dr. Scalia specialized in 18th-century and early 19th-century British literature. He also spent three years as director of AEI’s Academic Programs department, where he led educational and professional-development programs and events for college students around the country. His articles, essays, and reviews on literature, music, higher education, and other topics have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Commentary, National Review, First Things, the Washington Free Beacon, the Times Literary Supplement, the Spectator World, and FoxNews.com, among other outlets. Dr. Scalia is the coeditor of On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer and Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived. He holds a PhD and MA in English from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a BA in English from the College of William & Mary. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their four children.

“In this excellent study of thirteen underappreciated works of fiction, Christopher Scalia gives us an insightful, witty, and powerful argument for why literature matters. If, as Horace claimed, great literature instructs and delights, then we readers are fortunate indeed to have a writer as perceptive as Scalia as our delightful instructor.”—Christine Rosen, author of The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World“Christopher Scalia’s learning is wide and deep, but (don’t worry!) he wears it lightly. Indeed, there’s a gossamer lightness to everything about this wise and funny book—a trustworthy guide to the adventures of reading, writing, and living well.”—Andrew Ferguson, contributing writer for the Atlantic“If conservatives want to pass down tradition, they need to step more fully into the fruits of its imagination. This book shows that reading is an invitation into a preceding conversation. Thanks to Christopher Scalia for asking us to enjoy this feast of discourse!”—Jessica Hooten Wilson, Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University“Christopher Scalia’s wise and witty book is a complete course in the English-language novel—but it’s a lot more fun than you would have in any classroom.”—Matthew Continetti, author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism“A life of reading takes a lot of planning—and a lot of thinking about what to read. That’s why Christopher Scalia’s smart guide to novels is so useful with its surprising but persuasive suggestions. It may point you to your next great book. But you should start by reading this great book.”—John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism"All the books in Scalia’s splendid list make the conservative case, imaginatively rather than pedantically, that this life cannot be perfect, that we each have duties to ourselves, to others, to the wisdom of the past, and to the desires of the future.All 13 novels would be good additions to anyone’s bookshelves. Scalia’s book would be a good 14th."—Hugo Gurdon, The Washington Examiner"Mr Scalia is too thoughtful a reader to reduce novels to parables: he understands that good fiction provides pleasure in at least equal measure to instruction[.]" —The Economist"Christopher J. Scalia has written a book that takes a valiant stand against the self-obsessed screen-culture spirit of our times. . . . [H]e’s a reliable and entertaining guide." —Commentary"Scalia has a gift for capturing the most interesting elements of these novels in a short paragraph or a single sentence. . . . The selections also reflect Scalia’s tastes, which are impeccable." —Washington Free Beacon"This clear-sighted, intelligent book contains much in it to delight readers familiar with the works cited and those who are not. . . . Is this the book that could make America read again? We can but hope." —The Spectator World"A core strength of the book is that it is affirmative. It displays conservative thought as a rich intellectual and cultural tradition — a source of truth and insight through fiction, such as when it comes to understanding human nature (Rasselas), manners (Evelina), national identity (Daniel Deronda), and fertility (The Children of Men). . . . Conservatives, both the initiated and uninitiated into the canon, will love this book. . . . you will be dipping back into it regularly." —The Critic“Scalia is a powerful close reader of detail and a keen synthesizer of wide observation. His rhetorical approach, which meets his reader partway and offers beneficial challenge, is worth studying and imitating. He is especially good on the role fiction plays in expanding and extending our experience.”—National Review“The whole thing is fun, each novel comes off well, and Scalia nicely represents the love in his title.”—Claremont Review of Books"The lesson of this engaging, useful book is for conservatives to redefine their sense of winning even in the ascendant second Trump administration: Retaking Nathaniel Hawthorne or George Eliot as our own may be more important than reshaping trade policy.—The American Conservative