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45 Novels Written in the 19th Century That Deserve a Place on the Modern Bookshelf

The fifty books on this list were all published more than a hundred years ago, and yet remain fresh and exhilarating reads. There's a temptation, of course, to mutter the names Dickens, Tolstoy, and Twain and assume you've covered the 19th century—but a deeper dive proves the novel was alive and well in the 1800s.
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Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
Tom Sawyer
1
Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Huckleberry Finn
2
Mark Twain
The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)
The Last of the Mohicans
3
James Fenimore Cooper
McTeague (Frank Norris)
McTeague
4
Frank Norris
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women
5
Louisa May Alcott
The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane)
The Red Badge of Courage
6
Stephen Crane
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
7
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
8
Jane Austen
The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James)
The Portrait of a Lady
9
Henry James
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
10
Herman Melville
The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)
The Turn of the Screw
11
Henry James
Captains Courageous (Rudyard Kipling)
Captains Courageous
12
Rudyard Kipling
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice in Wonderland
13
Lewis Carroll
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Dracula
14
Bram Stoker
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
15
Charles Dickens
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Edwin A. Abbott)
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
16
Edwin A. Abbott
Emma (Jane Austen)
Emma
17
Jane Austen
Far From the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy)
Far From the Madding Crowd
18
Thomas Hardy
The Island of Doctor Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau
19
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
20
Charles Dickens
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
21
Joseph Conrad
Ivanhoe (Sir Walter Scott)
Ivanhoe
22
Sir Walter Scott
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
23
Charlotte Bronte
Lorna Doone (R. D. Blackmore)
Lorna Doone
24
R. D. Blackmore
The Luck of Barry Lyndon (William Makepeace Thackeray)
The Luck of Barry Lyndon
25
William Makepeace Thackeray
Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)
Oliver Twist
26
Charles Dickens
Ton Brown's School Days (Thomas Hughes)
Ton Brown's School Days
27
Thomas Hughes
Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
Tale of Two Cities
28
Charles Dickens
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
The Time Machine
29
H.G. Wells
Tess of the D'urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
Tess of the D'urbervilles
30
Thomas Hardy
Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)
Vanity Fair
31
William Makepeace Thackeray
The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
The Woman in White
32
Wilkie Collins
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
33
Emily Brontë
Venus in Furs
Venus in Furs
34
Flowers in the Mirror (Li Ruzhen)
Flowers in the Mirror
35
Li Ruzhen
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The Count of Monte Cristo
36
Alexandre Dumas
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
37
Jules Verne
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
38
Leo Tolstoy
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
39
Fyodor Dostoevsky
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
40
Leo Tolstoy
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