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100 Must-Read Classics According to Penguin

Everyone loves a classic novel, but where to start? From Jane Austen to Charles Dickens, Toni Morrison to Fyodor Dostoevsky, the fiction canon is so vast you can easily get lost in it.. So we asked our readers to tell us about their favourite classic books. The resulting list of must-reads is a perfect way to find inspiration to start your classics adventure. There's something for everyone, from family sagas and dystopian fiction to romances and historical fiction. These are your recommendations (not in any particular order):
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from penguin.co.uk · made by The Bibliophile
avg. score: 31 of 100 (31%)
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1
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
2
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
3
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
4
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez
5
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote
6
Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys
7
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
8
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
9
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte
10
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
11
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
12
The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
The Call of the Wild
Jack London
13
Persuasion (Jane Austen)
Persuasion
Jane Austen
14
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
Victor Hugo
15
Moby-Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby-Dick
Herman Melville
16
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf
17
The Death of the Heart (Elizabeth Bowen)
The Death of the Heart
Elizabeth Bowen
18
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
19
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov
20
The Go-Between (L.P. Hartley)
The Go-Between
L.P. Hartley
21
The Iliad (Homer)
The Iliad
Homer
22
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Ken Kesey)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Ken Kesey
23
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
George Orwell
24
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
25
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
Toni Morrison
26
The Code of the Woosters (P.G. Wodehouse)
The Code of the Woosters
P.G. Wodehouse
27
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Dracula
Bram Stoker
28
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton
29
The Chrysalids (John Wyndham)
The Chrysalids
John Wyndham
30
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy, Trans. Anthony Briggs)
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy, Trans. Anthony Briggs
31
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
32
Another Country (James Baldwin)
Another Country
James Baldwin
33
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
34
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
35
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
36
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Middlemarch
George Eliot
37
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie
38
Tess of the D'urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
Tess of the D'urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
39
Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray
40
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Brideshead Revisited
Evelyn Waugh
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