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Fiction » Classic English Literature

Most Recommended Books

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

“What the rest of Great Expectations shows is that having Christmas lasting all the way through your life might not be a good thing. Having a Santa Claus figure who keeps throwing gifts and money at you when they’re not necessarily wanted or deserved might be a handicap.”

Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Literary Scholar

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

“I think Charlotte Brontë’s most accomplished book is Villette. It’s probably a better book, it’s tighter and more sophisticated in some ways. But there’s something about Jane Eyre that is just deeply emotionally compelling for me.”

Lucy Atkins, Journalist

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

“Wuthering Heights is a strange novel in a lot of ways. It’s a standalone—there’s not really another book like it.”

Claire Jarvis,

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

“Brian Aldiss has famously argued that science fiction starts with Mary Shelley’s novel, and many people have agreed with him.”

Adam Roberts, Novelist

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream has always been a great favourite of mine, ever since my school days. I was introduced to it at school when I was about 11 or 12. I’ve seen many productions of it. It’s the first play I edited, for the New Penguin Shakespeare, in 1967. I very much enjoyed writing about it then. It’s a play about imagination, about Shakespeare’s own heart, in many ways. The Mechanicals’ scenes, as they’re called, in which Shakespeare portrays amateur actors putting on the play of Pyramus and Thisbe, actually tell us an awful lot about Shakespeare’s attitude towards the theatre and the acting profession. They’re also wonderfully playable.It’s a play that appeals very much to young people. I’m speaking now from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust at Stratford-Upon-Avon and we have what’s called ‘Shakespeare Week,’ when we engage with over 10,000 primary schools. The Royal Shakespeare Company put on a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which uses amateur actors, including schoolchildren.”

Stanley Wells, Literary Scholar

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Browse book recommendations:

Classic English Literature

  • Charles Dickens Books

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The best classics of English literature: whether you're reading for school or for pleasure, it can be hard to get a grip on the Western canon—and even harder to understand it. Thankfully, out of the 1500+ interviews on Five Books, scores of them cover every topic and most major authors you’re likely to encounter in a survey English literature course. You can treat these interviews as study guides, intelligent scholarly discussions, reading lists, or even collectively a syllabus, beginning with the time of Chaucer and Shakespeare moving through Romantic poetry, Victorian fiction, modernism and even previously overlooked female authors now gaining in critical heft like Daphne du Maurier and Iris Murdoch.

We’ve arranged the highlights by period, but if you’re after more of a general overview, check out the section at the bottom for literature interviews by topic. We have Columbia professor Jenny Davidson recommending the best love stories in literature, leading Oxford professor Merve Emre discussing the literary fiction that created our modern understanding of MBTI personality types, novels on marriage and divorce, the best novels in English full stop, and more.

Finally, if you’re an English literature student (or aspire to be one), you’ll likely encounter or need to be familiar with literature in other languages, too. A good place to start is Emily Wilson’s reading list on The Odyssey (her new translation of the Homeric epic is a cut above the rest, too), as well as Daniel Mendelssohn on classics and Lucy Coats on Greek myths. Remember, too, that any collection of literature is incomplete without Dante and Russian novels like Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment and Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Middle English to Shakespeare
Troilus and Criseyde
Canterbury Tales
Shakespeare

Victorian and 19th-Century American Literature
Victorian Fiction
The Gothic
Gothic Fiction
George Eliot
Oscar Wilde
DH Lawrence
Wilkie Collins
Charles Dickens
HG Wells
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Victorian Essays
Sex in Victorian Literature

General: Topics in Literature
Personality Types
Marriage and Divorce in Literature
Psychological Novels
Best Novels in English
Books that Changed the World
Love stories
Motherhood

Romantic Literature
Jane Austen; the alternative Jane Austen
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Greatest Romantic Poems
William and Dorothy Wordsworth
Reading the Romantics

20th-Century British Literature
Modernism
Iris Murdoch
Samuel Beckett
George Orwell
Evelyn Waugh & the Bright Young Things
PG Wodehouse
Agatha Christie
Daphne du Maurier

20th-Century American Literature
African American Literature
American Poetry
Hemingway in Paris
The Great Gatsby
Cormac McCarthy
Sylvia Plath
Vladimir Nabokov
Best American Stories
Essential New York Novels
New York Writers
9/11 Literature

    The Best Jane Austen Books, recommended by Patricia Meyer Spacks

  • Read
    The Best Jane Austen Books - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

    1

    Sense and Sensibility
    by Jane Austen

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    The Best Jane Austen Books - Pride and Prejudice (Book) by Jane Austen

    2

    Pride and Prejudice (Book)
    by Jane Austen

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    The Best Jane Austen Books - Emma by Jane Austen

    3

    Emma
    by Jane Austen

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    The Best Jane Austen Books - Persuasion by Jane Austen

    4

    Persuasion
    by Jane Austen

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    The Best Jane Austen Books - A Companion to Jane Austen by Claudia L Johnson and Clara Tuite

    5

    A Companion to Jane Austen
    by Claudia L Johnson and Clara Tuite

The Best Jane Austen Books, recommended by Patricia Meyer Spacks

The distinguished Austen scholar Patricia Meyer Spacks  tells us about the joy of rereading Jane Austen novels and the hidden layers of complexity that emerge from the writing when one does so. She chooses the best Jane Austen books.

    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List, recommended by Marion Turner

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    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List - The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

    1

    The Canterbury Tales
    by Geoffrey Chaucer

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    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List - The House of Fame by Geoffrey Chaucer

    2

    The House of Fame
    by Geoffrey Chaucer

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    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List - The Decameron by Boccaccio

    3

    The Decameron
    by Boccaccio

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    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List - Refugee Tales as told to Ali Smith, Patience Agbabi, Abdulrazak Gurnah and many others

    4

    Refugee Tales
    as told to Ali Smith, Patience Agbabi, Abdulrazak Gurnah and many others

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    The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List - Social Chaucer by Paul Strohm

    5

    Social Chaucer
    by Paul Strohm

The Canterbury Tales: A Reading List, recommended by Marion Turner

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales not only revolutionized English poetry—they’re also extremely funny and moving. Oxford Professor Marion Turner, who has written the first full-length biography of Chaucer in a generation, tells us about the extraordinary man who wrote them and why we should all read the Canterbury Tales. 

    The Best George Orwell Books, recommended by D J Taylor

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    The Best George Orwell Books - Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

    1

    Down and Out in Paris and London
    by George Orwell

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    The Best George Orwell Books - A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell

    2

    A Clergyman’s Daughter
    by George Orwell

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    The Best George Orwell Books - Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

    3

    Keep the Aspidistra Flying
    by George Orwell

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    The Best George Orwell Books - The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

    4

    The Road to Wigan Pier
    by George Orwell

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    The Best George Orwell Books - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

    5

    Nineteen Eighty-Four
    by George Orwell

The Best George Orwell Books, recommended by D J Taylor

Seventy years on from its initial publication, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is just as resonant in today’s era of misinformation and fake news as it was in the incipient Cold War era. D J Taylor, author of a lauded biography of Orwell and a forthcoming biography of Nineteen Eighty-Four, takes us through the extraordinary impact of the author’s fiction and reportage.

    The Best Novels in English, recommended by Robert McCrum

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    The Best Novels in English - Emma by Jane Austen

    1

    Emma
    by Jane Austen

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    The Best Novels in English - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

    2

    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Brontë

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    The Best Novels in English - Middlemarch by George Eliot

    3

    Middlemarch
    by George Eliot

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    The Best Novels in English - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    4

    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    by Mark Twain

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    The Best Novels in English - Ulysses by James Joyce

    5

    Ulysses
    by James Joyce

The Best Novels in English, recommended by Robert McCrum

Journalist Robert McCrum spent two years selecting the best novels ever written in English. Here he narrows it down to just five: a perfect introduction to the best fiction the English language has to offer.

    Shakespeare’s Best Plays, recommended by Emma Smith

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    Shakespeare’s Best Plays - Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    1

    Macbeth
    by William Shakespeare

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    Shakespeare’s Best Plays - Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

    2

    Measure for Measure
    by William Shakespeare

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    Shakespeare’s Best Plays - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

    3

    Twelfth Night
    by William Shakespeare

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    Shakespeare’s Best Plays - Pericles by William Shakespeare

    4

    Pericles
    by William Shakespeare

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    Shakespeare’s Best Plays - Richard II by William Shakespeare

    5

    Richard II
    by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Best Plays, recommended by Emma Smith

Shakespearean scholar Emma Smith picks her five favourite plays of the Bard, and controversially argues that not only are some of his plays just too long, but also that the most moving moments in Shakespeare’s oeuvre are where we might not expect them

    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, recommended by Scott Newstok

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Shakespeare's Sonnets by Katherine Duncan-Jones & William Shakespeare

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    Shakespeare's Sonnets
    by Katherine Duncan-Jones & William Shakespeare

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets by Helen Vendler & William Shakespeare

    2

    The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets
    by Helen Vendler & William Shakespeare

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - All the Sonnets of Shakespeare by Paul Edmonson, Stanley Wells & Willliam Shakespeare

    3

    All the Sonnets of Shakespeare
    by Paul Edmonson, Stanley Wells & Willliam Shakespeare

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - The Afterlife of Shakespeare's Sonnets by Jane Kingsley-Smith

    4

    The Afterlife of Shakespeare's Sonnets
    by Jane Kingsley-Smith

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Nets by Jen Bervin

    5

    Nets
    by Jen Bervin

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    The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Lucy Negro, Redux by Caroline Randall Williams

    6

    Lucy Negro, Redux
    by Caroline Randall Williams

The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, recommended by Scott Newstok

The beauty of Shakespeare’s sonnets speaks to us down the centuries, their lines peaking out at us from the titles of famous books or enjoying outings at weddings or other romantic occasions. But they were not always regarded as perfectly-formed jewels, and the relationships they portray not as conventional as many of us presume. Here, Shakespeare scholar Scott Newstok talks us through books that help us learn more about Shakespeare’s sonnets, from the best introduction to the poems for students through to their afterlife and recent creative interpretations.

    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare

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    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare - King Lear by William Shakespeare

    1

    King Lear
    by William Shakespeare

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    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

    2

    A Midsummer Night’s Dream
    by William Shakespeare

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    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    3

    Romeo and Juliet
    by William Shakespeare

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    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare - Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

    4

    Antony and Cleopatra
    by William Shakespeare

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    René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare - Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    5

    Macbeth
    by William Shakespeare

René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare

In the second of a Five Books series marking the 400th year since the world’s most popular playwright’s death, eminent Shakespearean René Weis picks his five favourite plays, and explains why King Lear will change your life.

    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth, recommended by Lucy Newlyn

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    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth - William Wordsworth: The Major Works by Stephen Gill (editor)

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    William Wordsworth: The Major Works
    by Stephen Gill (editor)

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    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth - The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals by Pamela Woof (editor)

    2

    The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals
    by Pamela Woof (editor)

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    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth - The Gang by John Worthen

    3

    The Gang
    by John Worthen

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    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth - The Gift by Lewis Hyde

    4

    The Gift
    by Lewis Hyde

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    The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth - Dorothy Wordsworth, Writer by Pamela Woof

    5

    Dorothy Wordsworth, Writer
    by Pamela Woof

The best books on William and Dorothy Wordsworth, recommended by Lucy Newlyn

William Wordsworth probably did not get his greatest creative impetus from solitude, but from his extremely close relationship with his sister, suggests Oxford scholar Lucy Newlyn

    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books, recommended by Seamus Perry

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    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books - Lyrical Ballads 1798 and 1802 by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    1

    Lyrical Ballads 1798 and 1802
    by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Gustave Doré

    2

    The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Gustave Doré

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    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books - The Complete Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    3

    The Complete Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books - Coleridge's Notebooks: A Selection by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    4

    Coleridge's Notebooks: A Selection
    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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    The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books - Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    5

    Biographia Literaria
    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books, recommended by Seamus Perry

The reputation of Romantic poet, critic and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge has long been overshadowed by William Wordsworth, his friend and Lyrical Ballads co-author. Oxford professor Seamus Perry talks us through the books that showcase Coleridge’s idiosyncratic brilliance.  

    The best books on Virginia Woolf, recommended by Hermione Lee

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

    1

    To the Lighthouse
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - The Years by Virginia Woolf

    2

    The Years
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - Walter Sickert: A Conversation by Virginia Woolf

    3

    Walter Sickert: A Conversation
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf

    4

    On Being Ill
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - Selected Diaries by Virginia Woolf

    5

    Selected Diaries
    by Virginia Woolf

The best books on Virginia Woolf, recommended by Hermione Lee

Virginia Woolf was long dismissed as a ‘minor modernist’ but now stands as one of the giants of 20th century literature. Her biographer, Hermione Lee, talks us through the best Virginia Woolf books, novels and essays, and diaries, of Virginia Woolf.

    The Best Charles Dickens Books, recommended by Jenny Hartley

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    The Best Charles Dickens Books - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

    1

    David Copperfield
    by Charles Dickens

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    The Best Charles Dickens Books - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    2

    Great Expectations
    by Charles Dickens

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    The Best Charles Dickens Books - Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

    3

    Charles Dickens: A Life
    by Claire Tomalin

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    The Best Charles Dickens Books - The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens by Jenny Hartley

    4

    The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens
    by Jenny Hartley

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    The Best Charles Dickens Books - Palgrave Advances in Charles Dickens Studies by John Bowen and Robert I. Patten

    5

    Palgrave Advances in Charles Dickens Studies
    by John Bowen and Robert I. Patten

The Best Charles Dickens Books, recommended by Jenny Hartley

He was the most popular novelist of the Victorian era, a convivial family man who always championed the underdog. But he also harboured dark secrets that only came out after his death. Jenny Hartley recommends the best books by and about Charles Dickens and discusses Dickens the phenomenon, past and present.

    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen

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    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen - Jane Austen's Manuscript Works by Jane Austen

    1

    Jane Austen's Manuscript Works
    by Jane Austen

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    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen - Jane Austen in Context by Janet Todd (editor)

    2

    Jane Austen in Context
    by Janet Todd (editor)

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    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen - Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel by Claudia L. Johnson

    3

    Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel
    by Claudia L. Johnson

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    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen - Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin

    4

    Jane Austen: A Life
    by Claire Tomalin

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    Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen - Jane Austen's Textual Lives: From Aeschylus to Bollywood by Kathryn Sutherland

    5

    Jane Austen's Textual Lives: From Aeschylus to Bollywood
    by Kathryn Sutherland

Devoney Looser on The Alternative Jane Austen

Thanks to her ability to be many things to many people at once, Jane Austen is one of the vast minority of writers who manage to be both eternally popular and canonical. Here, Austen scholar Devoney ‘Stone Cold Jane’ Looser presents alternative Austens, from subversive youngster to video-game heroine

    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson, recommended by James Marcus

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    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson - Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert D Richardson

    1

    Emerson: The Mind on Fire
    by Robert D Richardson

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    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson - Emerson: Essays and Lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson

    2

    Emerson: Essays and Lectures
    by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson - Emerson in His Journals Ralph Waldo Emerson and Joel Porte (editor)

    3

    Emerson in His Journals
    Ralph Waldo Emerson and Joel Porte (editor)

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    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson - Emerson in His Own Time Ronald A. Bosco and Joel Myerson (editors)

    4

    Emerson in His Own Time
    Ronald A. Bosco and Joel Myerson (editors)

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    The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson - One First Love by Ellen Louisa Tucker & Ralph Waldo Emerson

    5

    One First Love
    by Ellen Louisa Tucker & Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best books on Ralph Waldo Emerson, recommended by James Marcus

Known to many of us as the American Transcendentalist champion of individualism and self-reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson is a much more soulful and sorrowful, brilliant but deeply contradictory thinker than we often give him credit for, says James Marcus, as he recommends the best books by – or about – Emerson.

    The Best Iris Murdoch Books, recommended by Miles Leeson

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    The Best Iris Murdoch Books - The Bell by Iris Murdoch

    1

    The Bell
    by Iris Murdoch

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    The Best Iris Murdoch Books - The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch

    2

    The Black Prince
    by Iris Murdoch

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    The Best Iris Murdoch Books - A Word Child by Iris Murdoch

    3

    A Word Child
    by Iris Murdoch

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    The Best Iris Murdoch Books - Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature by Iris Murdoch

    4

    Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature
    by Iris Murdoch

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    The Best Iris Murdoch Books - The Philosopher's Pupil by Iris Murdoch

    5

    The Philosopher's Pupil
    by Iris Murdoch

The Best Iris Murdoch Books, recommended by Miles Leeson

Iris Murdoch gained fame as a novelist, a philosopher and, perhaps most prominently of all, for her public and rapid decline (and posthumous immortalization by her husband John Bayley) after an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. But now, a hundred years on from her birth, the attention is returning back to her work: Miles Leeson, Director of the Iris Murdoch Centre at the University of Chichester, recommends what books to read from her canon of 27 novels.

    The best books on Oscar Wilde, recommended by Sos Eltis

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    The best books on Oscar Wilde - The Soul of Man Under Socialism by Oscar Wilde

    1

    The Soul of Man Under Socialism
    by Oscar Wilde

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    The best books on Oscar Wilde - The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde

    2

    The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
    by Oscar Wilde

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    The best books on Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

    3

    The Picture of Dorian Gray
    by Oscar Wilde

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    The best books on Oscar Wilde - The Complete Short Stories by Oscar Wilde

    4

    The Complete Short Stories
    by Oscar Wilde

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    The best books on Oscar Wilde - De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

    5

    De Profundis
    by Oscar Wilde

The best books on Oscar Wilde, recommended by Sos Eltis

Oscar Wilde cultivated an image of himself as an idle genius, dashing off masterpieces with a lazy brilliance. But below the glittering linguistic surface of his works, suggests Sos Eltis, lies an anarchic politics and a phenomenal analysis of power.

    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources

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    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources - Metamorphoses Ovid (translated by A D Melville)

    1

    Metamorphoses
    Ovid (translated by A D Melville)

  • Read
    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources - Roman Lives Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield)

    2

    Roman Lives
    Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield)

  • Read
    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources - Four Comedies Plautus (ed. Erich Segal)

    3

    Four Comedies
    Plautus (ed. Erich Segal)

  • Read
    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources - Six Tragedies Seneca (translated by Emily Wilson)

    4

    Six Tragedies
    Seneca (translated by Emily Wilson)

  • Read
    Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources - Holinshed's Chronicles by Raphael Holinshed

    5

    Holinshed's Chronicles
    by Raphael Holinshed

Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources

William Shakespeare has a strong claim to be the most influential writer of all time. But whose works influenced him? And how? Robert S Miola discusses the breadth of Shakespeare’s reading, the vexed question of how we can reconstruct what he read, and the staggeringly innovative ways that Shakespeare shaped his sources

    The best books on Dickens and Christmas, recommended by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

  • Read
    The best books on Dickens and Christmas - A Christmas Carol: And Other Stories by Charles Dickens

    1

    A Christmas Carol: And Other Stories
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read
    The best books on Dickens and Christmas - The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

    2

    The Pickwick Papers
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read
    The best books on Dickens and Christmas - What Christmas Is As We Grow Older by Charles Dickens

    3

    What Christmas Is As We Grow Older
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read
    The best books on Dickens and Christmas - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    4

    Great Expectations
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read
    The best books on Dickens and Christmas - The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

    5

    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
    by Charles Dickens

The best books on Dickens and Christmas, recommended by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

When it was published on December 19th, 1843, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was an instant classic. As families settle in front of the fire to read it aloud on Christmas Eve, Oxford Professor of English Literature Robert Douglas-Fairhurst runs through the best of Dickens’s prolific writings about Christmas.

    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List, recommended by Jenni Nuttall

  • Read
    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List - Troilus and Criseyde Geoffrey Chaucer (ed. by Stephen Barney)

    1

    Troilus and Criseyde
    Geoffrey Chaucer (ed. by Stephen Barney)

  • Read
    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List - Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde by Barry Windeatt

    2

    Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde
    by Barry Windeatt

  • Read
    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List - The Double Sorrow of Troilus: A Study of Ambiguities in ‘Troilus and Criseyde’ by Ida L. Gordon

    3

    The Double Sorrow of Troilus: A Study of Ambiguities in ‘Troilus and Criseyde’
    by Ida L. Gordon

  • Read
    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List - The Tragic Argument of Troilus and Criseyde by Gerald Morgan

    4

    The Tragic Argument of Troilus and Criseyde
    by Gerald Morgan

  • Read
    Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List - A Double Sorrow: Troilus and Criseyde by Lavinia Greenlaw

    5

    A Double Sorrow: Troilus and Criseyde
    by Lavinia Greenlaw

Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List, recommended by Jenni Nuttall

Troilus and Criseyde has a centuries’ old backstory. Long before Renaissance dramas or realist novels, Chaucer wrote a love story set in a besieged city that was a deep psychological exploration of character and human relationships. Jenni Nuttall, author of Troilus and Criseyde: A Reader’s Guide, shares her reading recommendations after over a decade of teaching the poem to Oxford undergraduates.

    Sylvia Plath Books, recommended by Tim Kendall

  • Read
    Sylvia Plath Books - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

    1

    The Bell Jar
    by Sylvia Plath

  • Read
    Sylvia Plath Books - The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath

    2

    The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
    by Sylvia Plath

  • Read
    Sylvia Plath Books - The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Vol 2: 1956–1963 by Peter Steinberg and Karen Kukil (eds.) & Sylvia Plath

    3

    The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Vol 2: 1956–1963
    by Peter Steinberg and Karen Kukil (eds.) & Sylvia Plath

  • Read
    Sylvia Plath Books - Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath

    4

    Collected Poems
    by Sylvia Plath

  • Read
    Sylvia Plath Books - Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath

    5

    Ariel: The Restored Edition
    by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath Books, recommended by Tim Kendall

Though biographical sensation has often diverted attention from her work, Sylvia Plath remains one of the finest lyric poets of the twentieth century, argues Professor Tim Kendall, Academic Director of Arts and Culture at Exeter and author of Sylvia Plath: A Critical Study. Here, he recommends the best places to start (or return to) with Plath, from a fresh look at Ariel to illuminating an oft-overlooked, brilliant appendix in her unabridged journals.

    The best books on D H Lawrence, recommended by Catherine Brown

  • Read
    The best books on D H Lawrence - Twilight in Italy by D. H. Lawrence

    1

    Twilight in Italy
    by D. H. Lawrence

  • Read
    The best books on D H Lawrence - Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence

    2

    Women in Love
    by D. H. Lawrence

  • Read
    The best books on D H Lawrence - Mr Noon by D. H. Lawrence

    3

    Mr Noon
    by D. H. Lawrence

  • Read
    The best books on D H Lawrence - Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine by D. H. Lawrence

    4

    Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine
    by D. H. Lawrence

  • Read
    The best books on D H Lawrence - Birds, Beasts and Flowers by D. H. Lawrence

    5

    Birds, Beasts and Flowers
    by D. H. Lawrence

The best books on D H Lawrence, recommended by Catherine Brown

Although less flamboyantly experimental than his contemporaries Joyce and Woolf, D H Lawrence was a modernist, says literary scholar Catherine Brown. Here, she selects five books that make the case for this most contradictory, and often divisive, of writers—a man whose fictions and ‘philosophicalish’ works were by turns brilliant and bewildering, sublime and ridiculous

    The Best George Eliot Books, recommended by Philip Davis

  • Read
    The Best George Eliot Books - Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot

    1

    Scenes of Clerical Life
    by George Eliot

  • Read
    The Best George Eliot Books - Adam Bede by George Eliot

    2

    Adam Bede
    by George Eliot

  • Read
    The Best George Eliot Books - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

    3

    The Mill on the Floss
    by George Eliot

  • Read
    The Best George Eliot Books - Middlemarch by George Eliot

    4

    Middlemarch
    by George Eliot

  • Read
    The Best George Eliot Books - George Eliot's Life, as Related in Her Letters and Journals by John Walter Cross

    5

    George Eliot's Life, as Related in Her Letters and Journals
    by John Walter Cross

The Best George Eliot Books, recommended by Philip Davis

George Eliot is all but synonymous with Victorian realism; for D H Lawrence, she was the first novelist to start ‘putting all the action inside.’ Here, Philip Davis, author of The Transferred Life of George Eliot, selects the best books by or about one of the greatest novelists of all time: ‘If you want to read literature that sets out to create a holding ground for raw human material—for human struggles, difficulties, and celebrations—read George Eliot’

    The Best Anthony Trollope Books, recommended by Francesca Simon

  • Read
    The Best Anthony Trollope Books - The American Senator by Anthony Trollope

    1

    The American Senator
    by Anthony Trollope

  • Read
    The Best Anthony Trollope Books - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

    2

    The Way We Live Now
    by Anthony Trollope

  • Read
    The Best Anthony Trollope Books - The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope

    3

    The Eustace Diamonds
    by Anthony Trollope

  • Read
    The Best Anthony Trollope Books - Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope

    4

    Miss Mackenzie
    by Anthony Trollope

  • Read
    The Best Anthony Trollope Books - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

    5

    Barchester Towers
    by Anthony Trollope

The Best Anthony Trollope Books, recommended by Francesca Simon

October 2020 is ‘Pick up a Trollope’ month. Bestselling children’s author and Trollope enthusiast Francesca Simon is one of nine notable fans championing the campaign, which includes a vote for the world’s favourite Trollope novel and an online read of the winning book in November. Here, she explains her fascination with Anthony Trollope and recommends some of her favourite books by the Victorian novelist.

    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays

  • Read
    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays - King Lear by William Shakespeare

    1

    King Lear
    by William Shakespeare

  • Read
    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays - A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

    2

    A Midsummer Night’s Dream
    by William Shakespeare

  • Read
    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays - The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

    3

    The Winter's Tale
    by William Shakespeare

  • Read
    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays - Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

    4

    Antony and Cleopatra
    by William Shakespeare

  • Read
    Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

    5

    Twelfth Night
    by William Shakespeare

Stanley Wells recommends the best of Shakespeare’s Plays

In our Shakespeare series, we ask experts to select their favourite plays from the Bard’s oeuvre. Here, preeminent Shakespearean scholar Sir Stanley Wells chooses five plays that best chart the evolution of the Bard of Avon during his 25-year career.

    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books, recommended by Stacey Peebles

  • Read
    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

    1

    Blood Meridian
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books - Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

    2

    Child of God
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books - Reading the World: Cormac McCarthy's Tennessee Period by Dianne C. Luce

    3

    Reading the World: Cormac McCarthy's Tennessee Period
    by Dianne C. Luce

  • Read
    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books - All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

    4

    All the Pretty Horses
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    The Best Cormac McCarthy Books - The Road by Cormac McCarthy

    5

    The Road
    by Cormac McCarthy

The Best Cormac McCarthy Books, recommended by Stacey Peebles

From All The Pretty Horses to Blood Meridian to The Road, Cormac McCarthy has achieved deserved status as a living titan of literary fiction for his philosophical, violent, often deeply moving novels. Cormac McCarthy expert Stacey Peebles introduces us to the author’s oeuvre—and tells us that despite its apocalyptic bleakness, The Road is actually McCarthy’s “happiest book.”

    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things, recommended by Selina Hastings

  • Read
    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things - Children of the Sun by Martin Green

    1

    Children of the Sun
    by Martin Green

  • Read
    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things - A Fragment of Friendship by Charlotte Mosley (editor)

    2

    A Fragment of Friendship
    by Charlotte Mosley (editor)

  • Read
    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things - My Brother Evelyn and Other Profiles by Alec Waugh

    3

    My Brother Evelyn and Other Profiles
    by Alec Waugh

  • Read
    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things - The Picturesque Prison by Jeffrey Heath

    4

    The Picturesque Prison
    by Jeffrey Heath

  • Read
    The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things - The Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh by Dudley Carew

    5

    The Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh
    by Dudley Carew

The best books on Evelyn Waugh and the Bright Young Things, recommended by Selina Hastings

The biographer explores the decadence of the young and rich in 1920s London, and tells us about Evelyn Waugh’s rebellious youth, bullying disposition and later breakdown – as well as just how much (and early) he drank

    The Best Agatha Christie Books, recommended by Mathew Prichard

  • Read
    The Best Agatha Christie Books - Endless Night by Agatha Christie

    1

    Endless Night
    by Agatha Christie

  • Read
    The Best Agatha Christie Books - The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

    2

    The ABC Murders
    by Agatha Christie

  • Read
    The Best Agatha Christie Books - A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

    3

    A Murder is Announced
    by Agatha Christie

  • Read
    The Best Agatha Christie Books - Agatha Christie: An English Mystery by Laura Thompson

    4

    Agatha Christie: An English Mystery
    by Laura Thompson

  • Read
    The Best Agatha Christie Books - The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie

    5

    The Witness for the Prosecution
    by Agatha Christie

The Best Agatha Christie Books, recommended by Mathew Prichard

Agatha Christie was a shy, unassuming woman who likely remains the bestselling novelist of all time. Here her grandson, Mathew Prichard, talks us through his favourite Agatha Christie books.

    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins, recommended by Jason Hall

  • Read
    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins - Rambles Beyond Railways by Wilkie Collins

    1

    Rambles Beyond Railways
    by Wilkie Collins

  • Read
    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

    2

    The Woman in White
    by Wilkie Collins

  • Read
    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

    3

    The Moonstone
    by Wilkie Collins

  • Read
    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins - Poor Miss Finch by Wilkie Collins

    4

    Poor Miss Finch
    by Wilkie Collins

  • Read
    The Best Books by Wilkie Collins - Heart and Science by Wilkie Collins

    5

    Heart and Science
    by Wilkie Collins

The Best Books by Wilkie Collins, recommended by Jason Hall

Wilkie Collins, the sensationalist author and inventor of the detective novel, knew precisely how to “make ’em laugh, make ’em cry, make ’em wait”. Jason Hall, Victorian literature expert and editor of a new edition of Jezebel’s Daughter, chooses the five best books from Collins’s extensive oeuvre – and considers the voracious appetites and unorthodox lifestyle of this intriguing Englishman.

    The Best H G Wells Books, recommended by Roger Luckhurst

  • Read
    The Best H G Wells Books - The Time Machine by H G Wells

    1

    The Time Machine
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The Best H G Wells Books - The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells

    2

    The Island of Doctor Moreau
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The Best H G Wells Books - The War of the Worlds by H G Wells

    3

    The War of the Worlds
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The Best H G Wells Books - Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought by H G Wells

    4

    Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The Best H G Wells Books - Studies in a Dying Culture by Christopher Caudwell

    5

    Studies in a Dying Culture
    by Christopher Caudwell

The Best H G Wells Books, recommended by Roger Luckhurst

Often described as the ‘father of science fiction’, H G Wells was a man of extraordinary charisma and vivid imagination. Yet he suffered terribly from class anxiety and subscribed to political beliefs we now find abhorrent, says the editor and author Roger Luckhurst. He recommends the best books to learn more about the life and work of the British writer H G Wells.

    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov, recommended by Maxim D Shrayer

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    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov - The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov

    1

    The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
    by Vladimir Nabokov

  • Read
    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov - Glory by Vladimir Nabokov

    2

    Glory
    by Vladimir Nabokov

  • Read
    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov - Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

    3

    Pnin
    by Vladimir Nabokov

  • Read
    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov - Vladimir Nabokov by Brian Boyd

    4

    Vladimir Nabokov
    by Brian Boyd

  • Read
    The best books on Vladimir Nabokov - Vladimir Nabokov (Overlook Illustrated Lives) by Jane Grayson

    5

    Vladimir Nabokov (Overlook Illustrated Lives)
    by Jane Grayson

The best books on Vladimir Nabokov, recommended by Maxim D Shrayer

Bilingual author and translator with his pick of the five must-reads by – and about – Nabokov. Says a revisionist biography of the writer is due, which comes to terms with the Jewish influence on his work

    The best books on The Great Gatsby, recommended by Sarah Churchwell

  • Read
    The best books on The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald by Matthew J. Bruccoli

    1

    F. Scott Fitzgerald
    by Matthew J. Bruccoli

  • Read
    The best books on The Great Gatsby - The Far Side of Paradise by Arthur Mizener

    2

    The Far Side of Paradise
    by Arthur Mizener

  • Read
    The best books on The Great Gatsby - Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin by Marion Meade

    3

    Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin
    by Marion Meade

  • Read
    The best books on The Great Gatsby - The Achieving of The Great Gatsby by Robert Emmet Long

    4

    The Achieving of The Great Gatsby
    by Robert Emmet Long

  • Read
    The best books on The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby by Matthew J. Bruccoli

    5

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
    by Matthew J. Bruccoli

The best books on The Great Gatsby, recommended by Sarah Churchwell

F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, set during a hedonistic zenith before the Great Depression, has fresh appeal today as we face down our own crisis, says the professor of American literature

    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books, recommended by Laura Varnam

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    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books - Manderley Forever: The Life of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay

    1

    Manderley Forever: The Life of Daphne du Maurier
    by Tatiana de Rosnay

  • Read
    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books - The King's General by Daphne Du Maurier

    2

    The King's General
    by Daphne Du Maurier

  • Read
    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books - The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier

    3

    The Parasites
    by Daphne Du Maurier

  • Read
    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books - The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë by Daphne Du Maurier

    4

    The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë
    by Daphne Du Maurier

  • Read
    The Best Daphne du Maurier Books - The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier

    5

    The Birds and Other Stories
    by Daphne Du Maurier

The Best Daphne du Maurier Books, recommended by Laura Varnam

Daphne du Maurier is one of the most overlooked writers of the twentieth century, says Oxford University’s Laura Varnam. As Rebecca celebrates its eightieth anniversary and du Maurier enjoys a critical renaissance, Varnam explores the books which highlight this novelist’s sheer range and brilliance—from biography and fiction to history and horror.

    The best books on Hemingway in Paris, recommended by Wai Chee Dimock

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

    1

    The Sun Also Rises
    by Ernest Hemingway

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

    2

    A Moveable Feast
    by Ernest Hemingway

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein

    3

    The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas
    by Gertrude Stein

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

    4

    The Book of Salt
    by Monique Truong

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

    5

    The Paris Wife
    by Paula Mclain

The best books on Hemingway in Paris, recommended by Wai Chee Dimock

Paris in the 1920s was a creative melting pot, the haunt of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. The Yale English professor gives us a feel for what it was like to be there

    The Best Samuel Beckett Books, recommended by Mark Nixon

  • Read
    The Best Samuel Beckett Books - Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett by James Knowlson

    1

    Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett
    by James Knowlson

  • Read
    The Best Samuel Beckett Books - Samuel Beckett's Library by Dirk Van Hulle & Mark Nixon

    2

    Samuel Beckett's Library
    by Dirk Van Hulle & Mark Nixon

  • Read
    The Best Samuel Beckett Books - Watt by Samuel Beckett

    3

    Watt
    by Samuel Beckett

  • Read
    The Best Samuel Beckett Books - Krapp's Last Tape and Other Shorter Plays by Samuel Beckett

    4

    Krapp's Last Tape and Other Shorter Plays
    by Samuel Beckett

  • Read
    The Best Samuel Beckett Books - Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett

    5

    Worstward Ho
    by Samuel Beckett

The Best Samuel Beckett Books, recommended by Mark Nixon

Samuel Beckett remains one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century. Ruthlessly experimental, his plays, novels, and poems represent a sustained attack on the realist tradition. Dr Mark Nixon looks at the mutating nature of Beckett’s literary style and explains why he didn’t choose Waiting for Godot.

    The Best American Poetry, recommended by Elisa New

  • Read
    The Best American Poetry - The Cambridge History of American Poetry by Alfred Bendixen & Stephen Burt (eds.)

    1

    The Cambridge History of American Poetry
    by Alfred Bendixen & Stephen Burt (eds.)

  • Read
    The Best American Poetry - The Emily Dickinson Archive by Emily Dickinson

    2

    The Emily Dickinson Archive
    by Emily Dickinson

  • Read
    The Best American Poetry - Lunch Poems by Frank O'Hara

    3

    Lunch Poems
    by Frank O'Hara

  • Read
    The Best American Poetry - Geography III: Poems by Elizabeth Bishop

    4

    Geography III: Poems
    by Elizabeth Bishop

  • Read
    The Best American Poetry - The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry by Rita Dove

    5

    The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry
    by Rita Dove

The Best American Poetry, recommended by Elisa New

With the help of a good anthology and a heaping dose of American classics, anyone can be converted to being a lover of poetry. Elisa New, Harvard scholar and host of the new PBS series Poetry in America, recommends her favorite American poets, from Emily Dickinson to Elizabeth Bishop.

    The Best African American Literature, recommended by Farah Jasmine Griffin

  • Read
    The Best African American Literature - Cane by Jean Toomer

    1

    Cane
    by Jean Toomer

  • Read
    The Best African American Literature - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    2

    Their Eyes Were Watching God
    by Zora Neale Hurston

  • Read
    The Best African American Literature - The Narrows by Ann Petry

    3

    The Narrows
    by Ann Petry

  • Read
    The Best African American Literature - Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

    4

    Invisible Man
    by Ralph Ellison

  • Read
    The Best African American Literature - Beloved by Toni Morrison

    5

    Beloved
    by Toni Morrison

The Best African American Literature, recommended by Farah Jasmine Griffin

An ever-growing body of authors are writing about the reality of what it means to be black in America, says Farah Jasmine Griffin, director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University. Here she recommends five works of African American literature, from greats like Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison to lesser-known gems by Ann Petry.

    The best books on Personality Types, recommended by Merve Emre

  • Read
    The best books on Personality Types - Psychological Types by Carl Jung

    1

    Psychological Types
    by Carl Jung

  • Read
    The best books on Personality Types - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    2

    The Great Gatsby
    by F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • Read
    The best books on Personality Types - Murder Yet To Come by Isabel Briggs Myers

    3

    Murder Yet To Come
    by Isabel Briggs Myers

  • Read
    The best books on Personality Types - Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

    4

    Breakfast at Tiffany's
    by Truman Capote

  • Read
    The best books on Personality Types - The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman

    5

    The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
    by Erving Goffman

The best books on Personality Types, recommended by Merve Emre

Since its birth in the early twentieth century, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become the most popular personality test in the world. Here, Merve Emre, author of the new book The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing, recommends five books that reveal how the language of ‘type’ has seeped into the marrow of American civic institutions and social life—from Fortune 500 companies to Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft, recommended by Diane Purkiss

  • Read
    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft - Red Shift by Alan Garner

    1

    Red Shift
    by Alan Garner

  • Read
    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft - The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia by Neil Price

    2

    The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia
    by Neil Price

  • Read
    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft - Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs by Rane Willerslev

    3

    Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs
    by Rane Willerslev

  • Read
    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft - The Annotated Collected Poems Edward Thomas (ed. by Edna Longley)

    4

    The Annotated Collected Poems
    Edward Thomas (ed. by Edna Longley)

  • Read
    The best books on Witches and Witchcraft - The Poems of Emily Brontë Emily Brontë (ed. by Derek Roper)

    5

    The Poems of Emily Brontë
    Emily Brontë (ed. by Derek Roper)

The best books on Witches and Witchcraft, recommended by Diane Purkiss

For centuries, the witch has been an index not only of what we fear most in others, but also what we cannot cope with—the powerfully abnormal, strange and often irrational elements—in ourselves. And the best way to understand the history of witches and witchcraft is to first understand the supernatural, according to Diane Purkiss, Professor at Keble College, Oxford and author of the lauded book The Witch in History.

    The best books on The Gothic, recommended by Nick Groom

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Zofloya; Or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre

    1

    Zofloya; Or The Moor
    by Charlotte Dacre

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

    2

    Frankenstein (Book)
    by Mary Shelley

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey

    3

    Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
    by Thomas De Quincey

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Collected Ghost Stories by MR James

    4

    Collected Ghost Stories
    by MR James

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Black Roses by Simon Armitage

    5

    Black Roses
    by Simon Armitage

The best books on The Gothic, recommended by Nick Groom

‘The Gothic’ can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films and a recent subculture. Here, Nick Groom—who is professor in English at the University of Exeter and is also known as the ‘Prof. of Goth’—recommends five of the best books on the Gothic, showing how this term remains central to the way we think of our identities today.

    David Russell on The Victorian Essay

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Selected Prose by Charles Lamb

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    Selected Prose
    by Charles Lamb

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings by Matthew Arnold

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    Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings
    by Matthew Arnold

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Selected Essays, Poems, and Other Writings by George Eliot

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    Selected Essays, Poems, and Other Writings
    by George Eliot

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Studies in the History of the Renaissance by Walter Pater

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    Studies in the History of the Renaissance
    by Walter Pater

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - The Hands of the Living God: An Account of a Psychoanalytic Treatment by Marion Milner

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    The Hands of the Living God: An Account of a Psychoanalytic Treatment
    by Marion Milner

David Russell on The Victorian Essay

With the advent of the Victorian age, polite maxims of eighteenth-century essays in the Spectator were replaced by a new generation of writers who thought deeply—and playfully—about social relationships, moral responsibility, education and culture. Here, Oxford literary critic David Russell explores the distinct qualities that define the Victorian essay and recommends five of its greatest practitioners.

    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature, recommended by Claire Jarvis

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    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

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    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Brontë

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    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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    Aurora Floyd
    by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Dracula by Bram Stoker

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    Dracula
    by Bram Stoker

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    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Poems and Ballads by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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    Poems and Ballads
    by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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    The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - My Secret Life by Walter

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    My Secret Life
    by Walter

The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature, recommended by Claire Jarvis

We often assume the Victorians had puritanical attitudes to sex, but this was far from the reality. From familiar classics to neglected gems, Claire Jarvis—Stanford academic and author of Exquisite Masochism: Sex, Marriage and the Novel Form—selects the best books on sex in Victorian literature.

    The best books on Adam and Eve, recommended by Stephen Greenblatt

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    The best books on Adam and Eve - The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter

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    The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
    by Robert Alter

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    The best books on Adam and Eve - On Genesis by Augustine

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    On Genesis
    by Augustine

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    The best books on Adam and Eve - Paradise Lost by John Milton

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    Paradise Lost
    by John Milton

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    The best books on Adam and Eve - The Bible According to Mark Twain by Mark Twain

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    The Bible According to Mark Twain
    by Mark Twain

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    The best books on Adam and Eve - The Symbolism of Evil by Paul Ricoeur

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    The Symbolism of Evil
    by Paul Ricoeur

The best books on Adam and Eve, recommended by Stephen Greenblatt

Who were Adam and Eve, really? Over many centuries, the origin story has undergone countless transformations. The Pulitzer Prize-winner and Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt chooses five books that explore the history of Adam and Eve, and tells us why the world isn’t ready to leave the narrative of Eden behind

    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature

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    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

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    Rebecca
    by Daphne Du Maurier

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    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

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    The Portrait of a Lady
    by Henry James

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    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - Lust by Elfriede Jelinek & Translated by Michael Hulse

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    Lust
    by Elfriede Jelinek & Translated by Michael Hulse

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    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - My First Wife by Jakob Wassermann & Translated by Michael Hofmann

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    My First Wife
    by Jakob Wassermann & Translated by Michael Hofmann

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    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

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    The Argonauts
    by Maggie Nelson

Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature

Love and marriage may go together like a horse and carriage, but what happens when the horses are spooked and the whole procession is run off the road? Katie Kitamura, whose new novel A Separation charts the disastrous—and tragic—failure of a marriage, considers some of literature’s most heartfelt accounts of relationship failure

    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

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    Frankenstein (Book)
    by Mary Shelley

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin

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    Melmoth the Wanderer
    by Charles Maturin

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

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    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Brontë

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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    We Have Always Lived in the Castle
    by Shirley Jackson

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Fludd by Hilary Mantel

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    Fludd
    by Hilary Mantel

Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction

The Gothic puts flesh on the bones of our darkest fears, novelist Sarah Perry tells Five Books. Here, she chooses five favourite novels in this ‘irresistible’ genre.

    The Greatest Romantic Poems, recommended by Gillen D'Arcy Wood

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    The Greatest Romantic Poems - William Wordsworth: The Major Works by Stephen Gill (editor)

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    William Wordsworth: The Major Works
    by Stephen Gill (editor)

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    The Greatest Romantic Poems - Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Major Works by H. J. Jackson (Editor)

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    Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Major Works
    by H. J. Jackson (Editor)

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    The Greatest Romantic Poems - Willam Blake: Selected Poetry by Nicholas Shrimpton & William Blake

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    Willam Blake: Selected Poetry
    by Nicholas Shrimpton & William Blake

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    The Greatest Romantic Poems - Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works by Michael O'Neill (Editor) & Zachary Leader (Editor)

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    Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works
    by Michael O'Neill (Editor) & Zachary Leader (Editor)

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    The Greatest Romantic Poems - John Keats: The Major Works by Elizabeth Cook (Editor)

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    John Keats: The Major Works
    by Elizabeth Cook (Editor)

The Greatest Romantic Poems, recommended by Gillen D'Arcy Wood

Freud said he owed them everything and even people who have never read a poem in their lives speak their language today. Gillen D’Arcy Wood, Professor of Environmental Humanities and English at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, explains who the Romantic poets were and recommends five of the greatest Romantic poems.

    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics

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    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics - The Romantic Ideology by Jerome J McGann

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    The Romantic Ideology
    by Jerome J McGann

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    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics - Toward an Aesthetic of Reception by Hans Robert Jauss

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    Toward an Aesthetic of Reception
    by Hans Robert Jauss

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    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics - The English Common Reader by Richard Altick

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    The English Common Reader
    by Richard Altick

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    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics - The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France by Robert Darnton

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    The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France
    by Robert Darnton

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    William St Clair on Reading the Romantics - The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

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    The Wealth of Nations
    by Adam Smith

William St Clair on Reading the Romantics

Who read Byron in his time? How much did a copy of Wordsworth cost? The scholar guides us through the astonishing history of reading in the Romantic period of English literature

    The Best Victorian Novels, recommended by John Sutherland

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    The Best Victorian Novels - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

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    Great Expectations
    by Charles Dickens

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    The Best Victorian Novels - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

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    Vanity Fair
    by William Makepeace Thackeray

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    The Best Victorian Novels - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

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    Barchester Towers
    by Anthony Trollope

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    The Best Victorian Novels - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

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    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Brontë

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    The Best Victorian Novels - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

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    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Brontë

The Best Victorian Novels, recommended by John Sutherland

The Victorian era was a golden age for fiction, says Victorian literature specialist John Sutherland, Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. He talks us through the some of the best novels written during the Victorian period, and what they reveal about the people who wrote them.

    The best books on Modernism, recommended by Alexandra Harris

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    The best books on Modernism - Early Modernism by Christopher Butler

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    Early Modernism
    by Christopher Butler

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    The best books on Modernism - Vision and Design by Roger Fry

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    Vision and Design
    by Roger Fry

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    The best books on Modernism - British Writers of the Thirties by Valentine Cunningham

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    British Writers of the Thirties
    by Valentine Cunningham

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    The best books on Modernism - Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf

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    Jacob's Room
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Modernism - The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

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    The Good Soldier
    by Ford Madox Ford

The best books on Modernism, recommended by Alexandra Harris

Modernism is about form more than content, says literary scholar and critic Alexandra Harris, author of Romantic Moderns: English Writers, Artists and the Imagination from Virginia Woolf to John Piper. She tells us about the history of the modernist movement, and picks five books that exemplify or explain it.

    The Best American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

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    The Best American Stories - O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

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    O Pioneers!
    by Willa Cather

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    The Best American Stories - Stoner by John Williams

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    Stoner
    by John Williams

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    The Best American Stories - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

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    Crossing to Safety
    by Wallace Stegner

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    The Best American Stories - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

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    Winesburg, Ohio
    by Sherwood Anderson

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    The Best American Stories - Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

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    Sister Carrie
    by Theodore Dreiser

The Best American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

Modern America is a story of expanding frontiers, says bestselling author Simon Winchester. He tells us about five novels that shed light on the social history of his adopted homeland, from the late 19th century to the Great Depression.

    Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney

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    Essential New York Novels - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

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    The House of Mirth
    by Edith Wharton

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    Essential New York Novels - The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger

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    The Catcher in the Rye
    by J D Salinger

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    Essential New York Novels - The Wicked Pavilion by Dawn Powell

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    The Wicked Pavilion
    by Dawn Powell

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    Essential New York Novels - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

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    American Psycho
    by Bret Easton Ellis

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    Essential New York Novels - The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

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    The Fortress of Solitude
    by Jonathan Lethem

Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney

The author of Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney, tells us what changed after 9/11 and which books best capture the ambition, romance and creativity of New York. He chooses his list of  “essential New York novels”

    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers

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    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers - The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker

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    The Portable Dorothy Parker
    by Dorothy Parker

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    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers - The Diaries of Dawn Powell: 1931-1965 by Dawn Powell

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    The Diaries of Dawn Powell: 1931-1965
    by Dawn Powell

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    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers - Queer Street by James McCourt

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    Queer Street
    by James McCourt

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    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers - Instant Lives And More by Howard Moss, drawings by Edward Gorey

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    Instant Lives And More
    by Howard Moss, drawings by Edward Gorey

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    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers - Cheap Novelties by Ben Katchor

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    Cheap Novelties
    by Ben Katchor

Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers

‘The authors of these five books are people who came to New York for freedom – not so they could get rich, but so they could be free to pursue their interests and live their lives the way they wanted.’ New Yorker par excellence Fran Lebowitz recommends the writers who best capture her immutably mutable city.

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