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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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1
An Ethiopian Romance
An Ethiopian Romance
2
The Recognition of Sakuntala (Kalidasa)
The Recognition of Sakuntala
Kalidasa
3
The Poems of T'ao Ch'ien (T'ao Ch'ien)
The Poems of T'ao Ch'ien
T'ao Ch'ien
4
The Pillow Book (Sei Shonagon)
The Pillow Book
Sei Shonagon
5
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
Murasaki Shikibu
6
The Song of Roland (Anonymous)
The Song of Roland
Anonymous
7
The Essential Rumi
The Essential Rumi
8
The Bostan of Saadi
The Bostan of Saadi
9
The Tain (Anon)
The Tain
Anon
10
Essays in Idleness (Yoshida Kenko)
Essays in Idleness
Yoshida Kenko
11
The Cloud of Unknowing
The Cloud of Unknowing
12
The Book of Margery Kempe
The Book of Margery Kempe
13
Lazarillo De Tormes
Lazarillo De Tormes
14
The Heptameron
The Heptameron
15
The Blazing World
The Blazing World
16
The Princess of Cleves (Madame De La Fayette)
The Princess of Cleves
Madame De La Fayette
17
Oroonoko (Aphra Behn)
Oroonoko
Aphra Behn
18
Brief Lives
Brief Lives
19
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
20
Love in Excess
Love in Excess
21
A Journal of the Plague Year
A Journal of the Plague Year
22
Letters of a Peruvian Woman (Francoise De Graffigny)
Letters of a Peruvian Woman
Francoise De Graffigny
23
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (John Cleland)
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
John Cleland
24
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
25
The Female Quixote
The Female Quixote
26
Letters of Mistress Henley (Isabelle De Charrieres)
Letters of Mistress Henley
Isabelle De Charrieres
27
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Olaudah Equiano)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
28
A Simple Story
A Simple Story
29
Caleb Williams (William Godwin)
Caleb Williams
William Godwin
30
A Voyage Around My Room (Xavier De Maistre)
A Voyage Around My Room
Xavier De Maistre
31
Jacques the Fatalist (Denis Diderot)
Jacques the Fatalist
Denis Diderot
32
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"
Mary Wollstencraft & William Godwin
33
The Coquette
The Coquette
34
Wieland
Wieland
35
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (James Hogg)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
James Hogg
36
Hope Leslie
Hope Leslie
37
The Wide, Wide World (Susan Warner)
The Wide, Wide World
Susan Warner
38
Cranford (Elizabeth Gaskell)
Cranford
Elizabeth Gaskell
39
Ruth Hall (Fanny Fern)
Ruth Hall
Fanny Fern
40
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Harriet Jacobs)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs
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