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100 Must-Read Lesser-Known Classics

Here are my criteria: I decided on an arbitrary end date of 1950, in order to focus on earlier books and avoid the troublesome category of "modern classics." (What is a modern classic, anyway? Who knows!) I also tried to pick books that aren't commonly taught in high schools and colleges. Your mileage will vary with this one, obviously. But I wanted this list to be a source of suggestions for expanding your classics reading beyond the usual suspects from school. This list is also very much from a U.S. perspective: in other countries and cultures some of these books may be commonly read and taught. But since I'm familiar with the U.S. educational system, I'm using that as my starting point.
So, here's the list! The books are arranged in chronological order, with the author's nationality and the publication date (in many cases the approximate date) listed.
-Rebecca Hussey
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An Ethiopian Romance
An Ethiopian Romance
1
The Recognition of Sakuntala (Kalidasa)
The Recognition of Sakuntala
2
Kalidasa
The Poems of T'ao Ch'ien (T'ao Ch'ien)
The Poems of T'ao Ch'ien
3
T'ao Ch'ien
The Pillow Book (Sei Shonagon)
The Pillow Book
4
Sei Shonagon
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
5
Murasaki Shikibu
The Song of Roland (Anonymous)
The Song of Roland
6
Anonymous
The Essential Rumi (Rumi)
The Essential Rumi
7
Rumi
The Bostan of Saadi
The Bostan of Saadi
8
The Tain (Anon)
The Tain
9
Anon
Essays in Idleness (Yoshida Kenko)
Essays in Idleness
10
Yoshida Kenko
The Cloud of Unknowing
The Cloud of Unknowing
11
The Book of Margery Kempe
The Book of Margery Kempe
12
Lazarillo De Tormes
Lazarillo De Tormes
13
The Heptameron
The Heptameron
14
The Blazing World
The Blazing World
15
The Princess of Cleves (Madame De La Fayette)
The Princess of Cleves
16
Madame De La Fayette
Oroonoko (Aphra Behn)
Oroonoko
17
Aphra Behn
Brief Lives
Brief Lives
18
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
19
Love in Excess
Love in Excess
20
A Journal of the Plague Year (Daniel Defoe)
A Journal of the Plague Year
21
Daniel Defoe
Letters of a Peruvian Woman (Francoise De Graffigny)
Letters of a Peruvian Woman
22
Francoise De Graffigny
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (John Cleland)
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
23
John Cleland
Dream of the Red Chamber (Cao Xueqin)
Dream of the Red Chamber
24
Cao Xueqin
The Female Quixote (Charlotte Lennox)
The Female Quixote
25
Charlotte Lennox
Letters of Mistress Henley (Isabelle De Charrieres)
Letters of Mistress Henley
26
Isabelle De Charrieres
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Olaudah Equiano)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
27
Olaudah Equiano
A Simple Story
A Simple Story
28
Caleb Williams (William Godwin)
Caleb Williams
29
William Godwin
A Voyage Around My Room (Xavier De Maistre)
A Voyage Around My Room
30
Xavier De Maistre
Jacques the Fatalist (Denis Diderot)
Jacques the Fatalist
31
Denis Diderot
A Short Residence in Sweden & Memoirs of the Author of "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (Mary Wollstencraft & William Godwin)
A Short Residence in Sweden & Memoirs of the Author of "Vindication of the Rights of Woman"
32
Mary Wollstencraft & William Godwin
The Coquette
The Coquette
33
Wieland
Wieland
34
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (James Hogg)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
35
James Hogg
Hope Leslie
Hope Leslie
36
The Wide, Wide World (Susan Warner)
The Wide, Wide World
37
Susan Warner
Cranford (Elizabeth Gaskell)
Cranford
38
Elizabeth Gaskell
Ruth Hall (Fanny Fern)
Ruth Hall
39
Fanny Fern
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Harriet Jacobs)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
40
Harriet Jacobs
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