Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
Classics Library
I am on a mission to read and reread classic literature. I searched far and wide for a decent book list but all seem incomplete to me. Please add your favorite classic books to the list.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
Pride and Prejudice
by
4.29 avg rating — 4,677,938 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Jane Eyre
by
4.16 avg rating — 2,276,113 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
1984
by
4.20 avg rating — 5,287,787 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
The Count of Monte Cristo
by
4.32 avg rating — 1,000,313 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Little Women (Little Women, #1)
by
4.17 avg rating — 2,409,884 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
Wuthering Heights
by
3.90 avg rating — 1,975,452 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Frankenstein
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,789,001 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
The Great Gatsby
by
3.93 avg rating — 5,777,696 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
To Kill a Mockingbird
by
4.26 avg rating — 6,737,124 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Sense and Sensibility
by
4.09 avg rating — 1,274,446 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
The Odyssey
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,165,538 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 12 |
|
A Tale of Two Cities
by
3.88 avg rating — 1,000,729 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
Great Expectations
by
3.80 avg rating — 861,790 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
Brave New World
by
3.88 avg rating — 1,262,394 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
Animal Farm
by
4.01 avg rating — 4,406,255 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,323,864 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
Dracula
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,427,573 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 18 |
|
Fahrenheit 451
by
3.97 avg rating — 2,748,910 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Hamlet
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,027,058 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Emma
by
4.05 avg rating — 958,353 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
The Canterbury Tales
by
3.52 avg rating — 235,481 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
Anna Karenina
by
4.10 avg rating — 913,161 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
The Catcher in the Rye
by
3.80 avg rating — 3,825,099 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
Romeo and Juliet
by
3.74 avg rating — 2,782,026 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
Persuasion
by
4.15 avg rating — 758,413 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by
4.30 avg rating — 4,374,416 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
by
4.06 avg rating — 600,828 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
Rebecca
by
4.25 avg rating — 704,802 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
The Scarlet Letter
by
3.44 avg rating — 905,540 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
Gone with the Wind
by
4.31 avg rating — 1,248,060 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
Les Misérables
by
4.21 avg rating — 834,111 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by
3.94 avg rating — 570,860 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
The Picture of Dorian Gray
by
4.13 avg rating — 1,806,916 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
War and Peace
by
4.17 avg rating — 359,224 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
The Iliad
by
3.93 avg rating — 498,691 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 36 |
|
Crime and Punishment
by
4.28 avg rating — 1,038,991 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
Beowulf
by
3.50 avg rating — 340,030 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
The Complete Tales and Poems
by
4.40 avg rating — 292,639 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
The Three Musketeers
by
4.10 avg rating — 346,394 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Macbeth
by
3.89 avg rating — 999,044 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
Oliver Twist
by
3.88 avg rating — 421,720 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Moby-Dick or, The Whale
by
3.56 avg rating — 606,381 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 43 |
|
Mansfield Park
by
3.86 avg rating — 374,080 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
The Grapes of Wrath
by
4.02 avg rating — 977,420 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo, #2)
by
3.89 avg rating — 272,362 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
The Republic
by
3.97 avg rating — 221,670 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Catch-22
by
3.99 avg rating — 876,990 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
Madame Bovary
by
3.71 avg rating — 366,904 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.39 avg rating — 374,214 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
The Lord of the Rings
by
4.54 avg rating — 720,251 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
King Lear
by
3.91 avg rating — 233,902 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
David Copperfield
by
4.04 avg rating — 254,477 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
Northanger Abbey
by
3.85 avg rating — 442,852 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 54 |
|
Don Quixote
by
3.91 avg rating — 299,359 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
by
4.24 avg rating — 3,083,147 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
The Time Machine
by
3.89 avg rating — 556,055 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
Lord of the Flies
by
3.70 avg rating — 3,138,405 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by
3.85 avg rating — 220,337 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)
by
4.32 avg rating — 1,088,287 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
Of Mice and Men
by
3.89 avg rating — 2,772,274 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 61 |
|
The Moonstone
by
3.91 avg rating — 97,712 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
by
3.84 avg rating — 299,117 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Gulliver’s Travels
by
3.59 avg rating — 295,282 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 64 |
|
The Man Without Qualities
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,235 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 65 |
|
The Crucible
by
3.61 avg rating — 454,824 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 66 |
|
Candide
by
3.76 avg rating — 296,441 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
The Metamorphosis
by
3.90 avg rating — 1,361,140 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 68 |
|
The Phantom of the Opera
by
3.96 avg rating — 269,737 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 69 |
|
Vanity Fair
by
3.81 avg rating — 132,330 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 70 |
|
The Mayor of Casterbridge
by
3.86 avg rating — 65,353 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
Ivanhoe
by
3.76 avg rating — 98,267 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 72 |
|
J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
by
4.61 avg rating — 142,197 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 73 |
|
Treasure Island
by
3.85 avg rating — 531,778 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 74 |
|
The War of the Worlds
by
3.83 avg rating — 343,173 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 75 |
|
Jude the Obscure
by
3.83 avg rating — 75,138 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 76 |
|
East of Eden
by
4.43 avg rating — 611,749 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 77 |
|
The Age of Innocence
by
3.97 avg rating — 191,595 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 78 |
|
Robinson Crusoe
by
3.68 avg rating — 326,819 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 79 |
|
Bleak House
by
4.02 avg rating — 112,831 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 80 |
|
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 502,053 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 80 |
|
The Secret Garden
by
4.17 avg rating — 1,271,837 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 82 |
|
Paradise Lost
by
3.85 avg rating — 179,013 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 83 |
|
The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso
by
4.08 avg rating — 168,590 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 84 |
|
Aesop’s Fables
by
4.05 avg rating — 128,882 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 85 |
|
Cry, the Beloved Country
by
3.93 avg rating — 78,840 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 86 |
|
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings
by
4.19 avg rating — 243,901 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
The Histories
by
4.01 avg rating — 54,958 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)
by
4.05 avg rating — 592,223 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 89 |
|
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by
3.99 avg rating — 380,057 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
The House of Mirth
by
3.97 avg rating — 104,188 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 91 |
|
The Pilgrim's Progress
by
4.07 avg rating — 155,394 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
The Woman in White
by
4.01 avg rating — 163,513 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 93 |
|
Alice in Wonderland
by
Jane Carruth (Adapted By)
4.03 avg rating — 396,101 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 94 |
|
The Aeneid
by
3.87 avg rating — 140,816 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 95 |
|
Lolita
by
3.87 avg rating — 926,059 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 96 |
|
The Little Prince
by
4.33 avg rating — 2,400,598 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 97 |
|
A Christmas Carol
by
4.09 avg rating — 900,981 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 98 |
|
The Giver (The Giver, #1)
by
Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 2,751,780 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 99 |
|
Julius Caesar
by
3.71 avg rating — 216,321 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 100 |
|
Heart of Darkness
by
3.43 avg rating — 549,051 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
634 books ·
522 voters ·
list created June 21st, 2008
by Crystal.
Tags:
classic, literature
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Tamora
(new)
Apr 04, 2009 11:38AM
I'm just clicking on what I've read, not on what I liked. When you're dealing with books like these, that generally drop into everyone's life before they're 20, what you like and what you don't like is highly individual. I don't think you can really go by the opinion of the next person, because you're all forming your opinions. I liked TARZAN, but had no interest in CHARLOTTE'S WEB. My classmates had spasms over CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, so much so that I never told them that I kinda liked it. They were okay with THE SCARLET LETTER, which made me crazy. You really have to try the books that our parents, teachers, and peers think are probably classic, and decide for yourself if they're good reads as far as you're concerned!
reply
|
flag
I would just like to say that I believe 'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo is the best book on this list. And nooooo, I'm not basing it on the hit musical (even though I love that as well), because it did get a lot wrong. I'm currently reading A Tale of 2 Cities, nad let me say I've made a lot of connections to Les Miserables. It's just an amzing and epic Book!
I agree with Tamora, There are several books i've been told are must reads by people who don't read much themselves. I have been disappointed in many of them most books are classics because they've been around forever and a day. Much of the language is outdated and stale. occasionally you do stumble upon a book with a plot that holds up but it is a rare find. That being said, I loved Scarlett Letter and The hunchback of Notra Dame but found Pride and Prejudice tedious at best shallow and mindless at worst
i just discovered my interest in reading so i've read only a few. i just finished che's book on social revolution. so far from what i've read dracula is the best they describe the events as if one was there. my second best is lady chaterley's lover
This is a great list! I have this sort of mission too, although I gotta find a good library to hold all of these books. Too bad I don't have it in the area, or money to but some..
@CrystalI've tried adding other books than then ones originally written in English, apart from voting for the ones already on the list I mean, as there are so many great classics worth reading. All of which are available in English translations, by the way. Books I've added are, for instance, Alle fabels, Lustgebed, Avondgezichten, Het hoofdkussenboek, Het boek van Dede Korkoet, Nibelungenlied, De ring van de duif, Het boek der koningen, De rozentuin and Rubaiyat, to name just a few.
By the way, 'Classics' = 'Modern Classics' too? As there are plenty of those on your list.
Related News
Hollywood has been mining the world of books for a long time—since 1899, according to some reckonings. The practice has been ramping up in recent...
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
