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The Best Fiction Books » Classic English Literature » Page 5

Classic English Literature

Last updated: July 02, 2025

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

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

    1

    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Brontë

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

    2

    Aurora Floyd
    by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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

    3

    Dracula
    by Bram Stoker

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

    4

    Poems and Ballads
    by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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

    5

    My Secret Life
    by Walter

  • 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 Sex in Victorian Literature - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  • The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
  • The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - Poems and Ballads by Algernon Charles Swinburne
  • The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature - 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 Sex in Victorian Literature, recommended by Claire Jarvis

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

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

    1

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

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

    2

    On Genesis
    by Augustine

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

    3

    Paradise Lost
    by John Milton

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

    4

    The Bible According to Mark Twain
    by Mark Twain

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

    5

    The Symbolism of Evil
    by Paul Ricoeur

  • 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

  • The best books on Adam and Eve - The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter
  • The best books on Adam and Eve - On Genesis by Augustine
  • The best books on Adam and Eve - Paradise Lost by John Milton
  • The best books on Adam and Eve - The Bible According to Mark Twain by Mark Twain
  • The best books on Adam and Eve - 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

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

    Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature

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

    1

    Rebecca
    by Daphne Du Maurier

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

    2

    The Portrait of a Lady
    by Henry James

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

    3

    Lust
    by Elfriede Jelinek & Translated by Michael Hulse

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

    4

    My First Wife
    by Jakob Wassermann & Translated by Michael Hofmann

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

    5

    The Argonauts
    by Maggie Nelson

  • 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

  • Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
  • Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
  • Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - Lust by Elfriede Jelinek & Translated by Michael Hulse
  • Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - My First Wife by Jakob Wassermann & Translated by Michael Hofmann
  • Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature - 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

Katie Kitamura on Marriage (and Divorce) in Literature

    The Best Gothic Novels, recommended by Sarah Perry

  • Read
    The Best Gothic Novels - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

    1

    Frankenstein (Book)
    by Mary Shelley

  • Read
    The Best Gothic Novels - Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin

    2

    Melmoth the Wanderer
    by Charles Maturin

  • Read
    The Best Gothic Novels - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

    3

    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Brontë

  • Read
    The Best Gothic Novels - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

    4

    We Have Always Lived in the Castle
    by Shirley Jackson

  • Read
    The Best Gothic Novels - Fludd by Hilary Mantel

    5

    Fludd
    by Hilary Mantel

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

  • The Best Gothic Novels - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley
  • The Best Gothic Novels - Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin
  • The Best Gothic Novels - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  • The Best Gothic Novels - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  • The Best Gothic Novels - Fludd by Hilary Mantel

The Best Gothic Novels, recommended by Sarah Perry

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

The Best Gothic Novels, recommended by Sarah Perry

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

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

    1

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

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

    2

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

  • Read
    The Greatest Romantic Poems - Willam Blake: Selected Poetry by William Blake

    3

    Willam Blake: Selected Poetry
    by William Blake

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

    4

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

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

    5

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

  • 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.

  • The Greatest Romantic Poems - William Wordsworth: The Major Works by Stephen Gill (editor)
  • The Greatest Romantic Poems - Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Major Works by H. J. Jackson (Editor)
  • The Greatest Romantic Poems - Willam Blake: Selected Poetry by William Blake
  • The Greatest Romantic Poems - Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works by Michael O'Neill (Editor) & Zachary Leader (Editor)
  • The Greatest Romantic Poems - 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.

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

    Reading the Romantics, recommended by William St Clair

  • Read
    Reading the Romantics - The Romantic Ideology by Jerome J McGann

    1

    The Romantic Ideology
    by Jerome J McGann

  • Read
    Reading the Romantics - Toward an Aesthetic of Reception by Hans Robert Jauss

    2

    Toward an Aesthetic of Reception
    by Hans Robert Jauss

  • Read
    Reading the Romantics - The English Common Reader by Richard Altick

    3

    The English Common Reader
    by Richard Altick

  • Read
    Reading the Romantics - The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France by Robert Darnton

    4

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

  • Read
    Reading the Romantics - The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

    5

    The Wealth of Nations
    by Adam Smith

  • 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

  • Reading the Romantics - The Romantic Ideology by Jerome J McGann
  • Reading the Romantics - Toward an Aesthetic of Reception by Hans Robert Jauss
  • Reading the Romantics - The English Common Reader by Richard Altick
  • Reading the Romantics - The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France by Robert Darnton
  • Reading the Romantics - The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Reading the Romantics, recommended by William St Clair

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

Reading the Romantics, recommended by William St Clair

    The Best Victorian Novels, recommended by John Sutherland

  • Read
    The Best Victorian Novels - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    1

    Great Expectations
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read
    The Best Victorian Novels - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

    2

    Vanity Fair
    by William Makepeace Thackeray

  • Read
    The Best Victorian Novels - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

    3

    Barchester Towers
    by Anthony Trollope

  • Read
    The Best Victorian Novels - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

    4

    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Brontë

  • Read
    The Best Victorian Novels - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

    5

    Wuthering Heights
    by Emily Brontë

  • 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 Victorian Novels - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • The Best Victorian Novels - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • The Best Victorian Novels - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
  • The Best Victorian Novels - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  • The Best Victorian Novels - 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 Victorian Novels, recommended by John Sutherland

    The best books on Modernism, recommended by Alexandra Harris

  • Read
    The best books on Modernism - Early Modernism by Christopher Butler

    1

    Early Modernism
    by Christopher Butler

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

    2

    Vision and Design
    by Roger Fry

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

    3

    British Writers of the Thirties
    by Valentine Cunningham

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

    4

    Jacob's Room
    by Virginia Woolf

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

    5

    The Good Soldier
    by Ford Madox Ford

  • 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 books on Modernism - Early Modernism by Christopher Butler
  • The best books on Modernism - Vision and Design by Roger Fry
  • The best books on Modernism - British Writers of the Thirties by Valentine Cunningham
  • The best books on Modernism - Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf
  • The best books on Modernism - 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 books on Modernism, recommended by Alexandra Harris

    The Best American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

  • Read
    The Best American Stories - O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

    1

    O Pioneers!
    by Willa Cather

  • Read
    The Best American Stories - Stoner by John Williams

    2

    Stoner
    by John Williams

  • Read
    The Best American Stories - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

    3

    Crossing to Safety
    by Wallace Stegner

  • Read
    The Best American Stories - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

    4

    Winesburg, Ohio
    by Sherwood Anderson

  • Read
    The Best American Stories - Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

    5

    Sister Carrie
    by Theodore Dreiser

  • 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.

  • The Best American Stories - O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
  • The Best American Stories - Stoner by John Williams
  • The Best American Stories - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  • The Best American Stories - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
  • The Best American Stories - 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.

The Best American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

    Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney

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

    1

    The House of Mirth
    by Edith Wharton

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

    2

    The Catcher in the Rye
    by J D Salinger

  • Read
    Essential New York Novels - The Wicked Pavilion by Dawn Powell

    3

    The Wicked Pavilion
    by Dawn Powell

  • Read
    Essential New York Novels - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

    4

    American Psycho
    by Bret Easton Ellis

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

    5

    The Fortress of Solitude
    by Jonathan Lethem

  • 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"

  • Essential New York Novels - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  • Essential New York Novels - The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
  • Essential New York Novels - The Wicked Pavilion by Dawn Powell
  • Essential New York Novels - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
  • Essential New York Novels - 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”

Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney
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