What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Way We Live Now
Series · 2001
If you loved The Way We Live Now, start with The Way We Live Now (Anthony Trollope, 1999) — a book from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Way We Live Now across media.
You were captivated by The Way We Live Now because of how it exposes the corrosive intersection of unchecked financial ambition and social decay.
Start with the source
Books on the same thread
The Warden
Anthony Trollope · Book · 1980
Shares a thread with The Way We Live Now: Social Commentary.
Like The Way We Live Now, this novel masters the art of dissecting moral compromises and public scandal, proving that Trollope remains the definitive chronicler of institutional integrity under pressure.
Howards End
Edward Morgan Forster · Book · 2001
Shares a thread with The Way We Live Now: Class conflict.
If the class friction in The Way We Live Now gripped you, this Edwardian portrait offers a similarly sharp examination of how shifting social landscapes and industrial progress redefine human values.
Nostromo
Joseph Conrad · Book · 2015
Explores: Political corruption, The corrupting influence of wealth, Imperialism.
This narrative mirrors the cynical exploration of capital found in The Way We Live Now, illustrating how the pursuit of vast wealth inevitably corrupts both individuals and entire political systems.
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray · Book · 1992
Shares a thread with The Way We Live Now: Social Climbing.
Much like the social climbers in The Way We Live Now, Becky Sharp navigates the rigid hierarchies of her era with a ruthless ambition that highlights the absurdity of class.
Films on the same thread
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson · Film · 2007
Shares 2 threads with The Way We Live Now: Greed, Period Drama.
The destructive nature of greed depicted in The Way We Live Now finds a brutal modern equivalent here, as the film charts the moral collapse caused by the obsession with capital.
Once Upon a Time in the West
Film · 1968
Shares a thread with The Way We Live Now: Greed.
The railroad speculation that drives the plot of The Way We Live Now serves as the same catalyst for chaos here, showing how industrial expansion inevitably steamrolls the lives of individuals.
Network
Sidney Lumet · Film · 1976
Explores: Media Manipulation, Corporate Greed, Mental Breakdown.
The cynical media manipulation and corporate greed exposed in The Way We Live Now are mirrored in this biting satire, which reveals how profit motives distort truth and public perception.
Barry Lyndon
Film · 1975
Shares 2 threads with The Way We Live Now: Social Climbing, Period Drama.
The way The Way We Live Now chronicles a rogue climbing the social ladder is perfected here, tracking the calculated rise and inevitable moral erosion of an ambitious, opportunistic protagonist.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Archers
Podcast
Explores: family life, community, farming.
If The Way We Live Now hit, The Archers shares the thread.
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
If The Way We Live Now hit, 1619 shares the thread.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Way We Live Now based on a book?
Yes, the 2001 television adaptation of The Way We Live Now is based on the 1999 book of the same name. Both versions explore the Victorian era themes of corruption and financial scandal surrounding the character Augustus Melmotte and his proposed railway project.
What is the premise of The Way We Live Now?
The Way We Live Now follows the financier Augustus Melmotte as he arrives in London during the 1870s. He lures members of the cash-poor aristocracy into investing in a fraudulent railway project that promises to connect Salt Lake City to the Gulf of Mexico.
Does The Way We Live Now portray a specific historical period?
The Way We Live Now is set in the 1870s. It depicts a narrative of Victorian power and corruption, focusing on the social dynamics between the land-rich aristocracy and the predatory financial schemes introduced by the arrival of Augustus Melmotte in London.
What is the central conflict in The Way We Live Now?
The central conflict in The Way We Live Now involves the financier Augustus Melmotte manipulating the English aristocracy. He entices distinguished but cash-poor members of society to sell their land parcels to fund a speculative railway venture that spans from Salt Lake City to the Gulf of Mexico.