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The Best Classic Books and Novels

​​What is a classic book? In our opinion, it’s any work that proves a good story will endure. Classic books tend to populate high school reading lists, lists of books everyone should read, and more. 

There are books that are considered classics within specific genres, such as classic science fiction booksclassic gothic horror novels and classic romance novels. There are classics that distill the voices of certain times and places, such as books from Lost Generation writers or from the Harlem Renaissance

Classic books also have the tendency to become cultural touchstones—everyone knows what it means to tilt at windmills; to chase a white whale; to ask “to be or not to be” (and if you don’t; it’s high time you cross these classic books off your TBR). They’ve also been turned into iconic films, sparked some of the most hated characters known to man, and invented fantastic places we can only dream of visiting

While many books that we consider classics were written long ago, the best ones are truly timeless, telling tales that resonate with people around the world and across generations. If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, it's time to see for yourself.

Classic Fiction on Sale Now!

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The Mother's Recompense
The Mother's Recompense
by Edith Wharton
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The Island of Doctor Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau
by H. G. Wells
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
by Gaston Leroux, Otto Penzler
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton
Little Women
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Amelia Bedelia Makes a Splash
Amelia Bedelia Makes a Splash
by Herman Parish, Lynne Avril
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
Brave New World
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
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White Nights
White Nights
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Monkey
Monkey
by Wu Ch'eng-en, Arthur Waley
The Enchanted April
The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim
How Green Was My Valley
How Green Was My Valley
by Richard Llewellyn
The Doll
The Doll
by Daphne Du Maurier
The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper
Our Man in Havana
Our Man in Havana
by Graham Greene
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov, Mirra Ginsburg
So Big
So Big
by Edna Ferber
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer
by Henry Miller
The Bottle Factory Outing
The Bottle Factory Outing
by Beryl Bainbridge
Queen Margot
Queen Margot
by Alexandre Dumas
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
On the Black Hill
On the Black Hill
by Bruce Chatwin
The Comedians
The Comedians
by Graham Greene
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The Searchers
The Searchers
by Alan Le May
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My Father's Dragon
My Father's Dragon
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
The Good Earth Trilogy
The Good Earth Trilogy
by Pearl S. Buck
Twenty-One Stories
Twenty-One Stories
by Graham Greene
Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Hoskins Forbes, Nathan Hale
These Old Shades
These Old Shades
by Georgette Heyer
The Innocence of Father Brown
The Innocence of Father Brown
by G. K. Chesterton, Otto Penzler
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Persuasion
Persuasion
by Jane Austen
The Journey to the West: Volume I
The Journey to the West: Volume I
by Anthony C. Yu
O Pioneers!
O Pioneers!
by Willa Cather
Clock Without Hands
Clock Without Hands
by Carson McCullers
The Beauty and the Beast
The Beauty and the Beast
by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, Minalima
The Young Lions
The Young Lions
by Irwin Shaw
The Color Purple
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
Black Hearts in Battersea
Black Hearts in Battersea
by Joan Aiken
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The Woman in White
The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins, Otto Penzler
The Secret of Chimneys
The Secret of Chimneys
by Agatha Christie
Women in Love
Women in Love
by D.H. Lawrence
Rumble Fish
Rumble Fish
by S. E. Hinton
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God's Little Acre
God's Little Acre
by Erskine Caldwell
The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May
by H. E. Bates
The Alexandria Quartet
The Alexandria Quartet
by Lawrence Durrell, Jan Morris
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There are so many classic books covering so many different social issues that there is no one best classic book of all time. However, if you’re looking for a good place to start, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is still heavily discussed and recommended today for its knack for tackling social issues that weren’t openly discussed at the time of its publishing, and for its period-defining gothic qualities. 

While the most well-known and well-read book of all time is the Bible, after religious texts, several sources cite Don Quixote as the most famous book of all time, as it was the most widely distributed book after the Bible. After Don Quixote, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, specifically books one and four, are some of the most famous books of all time

There are many classic books that are easier to read than we think, but Catcher in the Rye may be the easiest classic to start with. It’s short in length, uses contemporary language, and as it’s a character-driven novel, it’s easy to understand the author’s goals for the story. Additionally, it’s still a widely-discussed novel in the literary world, making the whole literary scene more accessible for new classic readers.