10 Best Books About Cheating and Infidelity
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Published Sep 8, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
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Novelists and readers alike have been fascinated by the idea of infidelity for ages, and baked it into some of the best novels of all time. While the subject itself may be taboo, literary classics and contemporary fiction alike love a story that winds passion together with impossible circumstances, creating a complicated story that has every opportunity to end in pain. Exploring some of the most complicated parts of human relationships, novels that revolve around infidelity and cheating can be part of dramatic plots, or be the catalyst for something larger to happen within the scope of a difficult story.
Infidelity is such an intense theme because there are rarely easy answers for the characters once they decide to cheat. While some novels portray cheating as a passionate, sexy escape from an unhappy life, others reveal its devastating consequences as they ripple through their families, friendships, and communities. The most memorable stories resist judgment, though, and instead guide their readers through the sometimes uncomfortable truths that come out of an affair. The best cheating and infidelity novels all approach the idea of an affair from vastly different perspectives, and represent some of literature's most insightful examinations of intensely difficult emotions.
10 Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
PenguinJeanette Winterson's 1992 novel, Written on the Body, follows an unnamed narrator who falls deeply in love with a married woman, Louise, throughout the course of the novel. As the pair's affair develops, the narrator has to deal with desire, jealousy, and loss, especially as things get more and more difficult for the couple. Winterson's unconventional approach to the novel, which never reveals details about the narrator, allows the story to focus all the more intensely on the relationship at hand. With lyrical prose that captures the emotional highs and lows of a forbidden relationship, the novel is a must-read.
9 We Don’t Live Here Anymore by André Dubus
André Dubus' We Don't Live Here anymore is a collection of novellas that focuses on two married couples as their lives become entangled. Moving through affairs, betrayal, and an eerie level of dissatisfaction, the couples' everyday realities are explored through the prose, rather than the spectacle or dynamic moments they share within and outside of their relationships. While the work examines love intertwined with resentment, loneliness, and desire, it also makes it clear that there needs to be compassion in difficult situations. Dubus' work refuses to simplify the situations at hand, instead looking at a nuanced depiction of difficult relationships.
8 Little Children by Tom Perrotta
MacMillanLittle Children by Tom Perrotta follows two suburban parents who begin an extramarital affair, Sarah Pierce and Todd Bowden, while dealing with issues within their own personal lives. Navigating marriage, parenthood, and disappointment in what's come of their lives, the pair find a spark within each other in their ordinary suburban community. Perrotta's balance between social satire and emotional depth is able to make a novel with a somewhat predictable plot into anything but predictable. The nuanced portrayal of suburban life makes the dissatisfaction that leads to the affair at its core seem understandable, even in the darkest of moments.
7 Light Years by James Salter
Light Years by James Salter follows the marriage between Viri and Nedra Berland, who live what appears to be an idyllic life together until things begin to unravel. With emotional distance, overall dissatisfaction in their lives, and relationships outside of their marriage. Salter explores the slow erosion of the relationship over time, which is deeply impacted by the affairs that the couple are having. While this novel doesn't explore one singular instance of cheating, the all-encompassing damage that it does to the core relationship gives some genuinely fascinating insight into betrayal and the broader concept of the passage of time.
6 The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
A novel that focuses on Maurice Bendrix, a writer who begins an affair with Sarah Miles during World War II, The End of the Affair by Graham Greene sees the relationship abruptly end, which shifts the entire plot. As Maurice struggles with the end of the affair and a lack of understanding around why he was left behind, he becomes consumed by jealousy and an intense need to grasp what's happened to his life. Blending romance, obsession, and a deeply emotional narrator, the novel explores some of the darker tones of an affair after it comes to a sudden close.
5 Damage by Josephine Hart
A novel by Josephine Hart, Damage follows Stephen Fleming, a British politician whose life unravels when he begins an affair with his son's fiancée. Diving into the affair headfirst, the novel makes it clear that the passionate relationship's dark side is the most prominent as it threatens to hurt his family, his career, and his future. While the novel isn't soft in its description of the affair, Hart makes it clear that the infidelity at hand is something larger than sexual desire, instead exploring the consequences of Fleming's behavior. Damage's psychological intensity and focus on consequences makes it different.
4 The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
As one of the most iconic infidelity plots of all time, The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller is a must-read. Following Francesca Johnson, a housewife from Iowa who meets a photographer, Robert Kincaid, the pair's short relationship is fueled by an intense romance that neither of them can forget. While their connection is short, it leaves an impact on both of their lives that sets a course of action that changes everything. Capturing the tension between personal desire and a sense of obligation or responsibility, The Bridges of Madison County resonates with readers regardless of their experiences.
3 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy's classic, Anna Karenina, tells the story of a passionate affair between the titular Anna and Count Vronsky as it explores other relationships within Russian society at the time. As Anna pursues happiness outside of her marriage in a time where affairs weren't just taboo, but forbidden, she faces social isolation in a way that feels more intense than usual. Tolstoy dives into the personal turmoil that Anna faces because of her decisions, and makes it clear that her choice for infidelity isn't a one-note decision, but instead something more nuanced, taking extraordinary lengths to make the story feel nuanced.
2 The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
A modern classic, Elena Ferrante's The Days of Abandonment begins when Olga's husband abruptly leaves her for a younger woman who he's been having an affair with. Looking at the other side of the coin, Ferrante's novel documents the dark side and fallout outside of the affair rather than the pulpy, sexy side of actually having one. Choosing to look at the person who's left behind, Ferrante's work is an unflinching portrait of devastation as Olga moves through her life after one of life's most intense betrayals. The raw honesty of The Days of Abandonment makes it an iconic masterpiece.
1 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
As one of the most timeless depictions of illicit affairs of all time, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert focuses on Emma Bovary, a doctor's wife whose deep dissatisfaction in her daily life leads her to have a series of extramarital affairs. Looking at her behavior as a cure for boredom rather than an intense need, Emma seeks affection from others for her own enjoyment, which makes Madame Bovary stand out amongst the crowd. An exploration in the destruction of a carefully curated life, Flaubert's classic is an intense look at the mind of someone who's stuck between fantasy and reality.
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