diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bc36f07..8326109 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -113,9 +113,11 @@ Check out the full output format in [test/output/reddit.json](test/output/reddit
 feedUrl: 'https://www.reddit.com/.rss'
 title: 'reddit: the front page of the internet'
 description: ""
+subtitle: 'Front page highlights'
 link: 'https://www.reddit.com/'
 items:
     - title: 'The water is too deep, so he improvises'
+      subtitle: 'A quick summary of the post'
       link: 'https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/3skxqc/the_water_is_too_deep_so_he_improvises/'
       pubDate: 'Thu, 12 Nov 2015 21:16:39 +0000'
       creator: "John Doe"
@@ -129,6 +131,7 @@ items:
 
 ##### Notes:
 * The `contentSnippet` field strips out HTML tags and unescapes HTML entities
+* `subtitle` is returned for both feeds and items when the source XML includes it (for example, Atom `<subtitle>` or RSS `<subtitle>` elements)
 * The `dc:` prefix will be removed from all fields
 * Both `dc:date` and `pubDate` will be available in ISO 8601 format as `isoDate`
 * If `author` is specified, but not `dc:creator`, `creator` will be set to `author` ([see article](http://www.lowter.com/blogs/2008/2/9/rss-dccreator-author))
@@ -137,21 +140,23 @@ items:
 ## XML Options
 
 ### Custom Fields
-If your RSS feed contains fields that aren't currently returned, you can access them using the `customFields` option.
+If your RSS feed contains fields that aren't currently returned, you can access them using the `customFields` option. Built-in fields such as `title`, `description`, and `subtitle` do not need to be listed here.
 
 ```js
 let parser = new Parser({
   customFields: {
     feed: ['otherTitle', 'extendedDescription'],
-    item: ['coAuthor','subtitle'],
+    item: ['coAuthor', 'readingTime'],
   }
 });
 
 parser.parseURL('https://www.reddit.com/.rss', function(err, feed) {
   console.log(feed.extendedDescription);
+  console.log(feed.subtitle); // built-in when present
 
   feed.items.forEach(function(entry) {
-    console.log(entry.coAuthor + ':' + entry.subtitle);
+    console.log(entry.coAuthor + ':' + entry.readingTime);
+    console.log(entry.subtitle); // built-in when present
   })
 })
 ```
diff --git a/index.d.ts b/index.d.ts
index 45b237a..ad89c72 100644
--- a/index.d.ts
+++ b/index.d.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ declare namespace Parser {
     link?: string;
     guid?: string;
     title?: string;
+    subtitle?: string;
     pubDate?: string;
     creator?: string;
     summary?: string;
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ declare namespace Parser {
     items: (U & Item)[];
     feedUrl?: string;
     description?: string;
+    subtitle?: string;
     itunes?: {
       [key: string]: any;
       image?: string;
diff --git a/lib/fields.js b/lib/fields.js
index b3f8d7b..fae0953 100644
--- a/lib/fields.js
+++ b/lib/fields.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ fields.feed = [
   ['dc:type', 'type'],
   'title',
   'description',
+  // Common in Atom feeds and supported by some RSS feeds.
+  'subtitle',
   'author',
   'pubDate',
   'webMaster',
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ fields.item = [
   ['dc:source', 'source'],
   ['dc:title', 'title'],
   'title',
+  'subtitle',
   'link',
   'pubDate',
   'author',
diff --git a/test/input/subtitle.rss b/test/input/subtitle.rss
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07ddd6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/input/subtitle.rss
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<rss version="2.0">
+  <channel>
+    <title>Example Blog</title>
+    <link>https://example.com/blog</link>
+    <description>A blog about technology and programming</description>
+    <subtitle>Tech insights and tutorials</subtitle>
+    <language>en-us</language>
+    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT</lastBuildDate>
+    <item>
+      <title>First Post</title>
+      <subtitle>An introduction to our blog</subtitle>
+      <link>https://example.com/blog/post-1</link>
+      <description>Welcome to our blog!</description>
+      <pubDate>Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
+      <guid>https://example.com/blog/post-1</guid>
+    </item>
+    <item>
+      <title>Second Post</title>
+      <subtitle>More content for readers</subtitle>
+      <link>https://example.com/blog/post-2</link>
+      <description>Here is another post.</description>
+      <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jan 2024 09:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
+      <guid>https://example.com/blog/post-2</guid>
+    </item>
+  </channel>
+</rss>
diff --git a/test/output/subtitle.json b/test/output/subtitle.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01aec06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/output/subtitle.json
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+{
+  "feed": {
+    "items": [
+      {
+        "title": "First Post",
+        "subtitle": "An introduction to our blog",
+        "link": "https://example.com/blog/post-1",
+        "pubDate": "Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT",
+        "content": "Welcome to our blog!",
+        "contentSnippet": "Welcome to our blog!",
+        "guid": "https://example.com/blog/post-1",
+        "isoDate": "2024-01-15T10:00:00.000Z"
+      },
+      {
+        "title": "Second Post",
+        "subtitle": "More content for readers",
+        "link": "https://example.com/blog/post-2",
+        "pubDate": "Sun, 14 Jan 2024 09:00:00 GMT",
+        "content": "Here is another post.",
+        "contentSnippet": "Here is another post.",
+        "guid": "https://example.com/blog/post-2",
+        "isoDate": "2024-01-14T09:00:00.000Z"
+      }
+    ],
+    "title": "Example Blog",
+    "description": "A blog about technology and programming",
+    "subtitle": "Tech insights and tutorials",
+    "link": "https://example.com/blog",
+    "language": "en-us",
+    "lastBuildDate": "Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/parser.js b/test/parser.js
index 034c72f..fd7b06a 100644
--- a/test/parser.js
+++ b/test/parser.js
@@ -284,4 +284,8 @@ describe('Parser', function() {
   it('should parse atom:link pagination links', function (done) {
     testParseForFile('pagination-links', 'rss', done);
   });
+
+  it('should parse subtitle field in feed and items', function(done) {
+    testParseForFile('subtitle', 'rss', done);
+  });
 })