Classics I Have Read So Far

As a voracious reader, I’ve read quite a few classics in my life. But I actually began to wonder the other day: how many classics have I read in my life so far?

I’m 26 years old, and apart from A-Levels, I’ve never studied English Literature. But I think I’ve probably read quite a large chunk of an English Literature syllabus.

Here are the classics I’ve read so far separated by century.

2nd Century to 15th Century (101-1499)

• Daphnis and Chloe by Longus

16th Century (1500-1599)

• The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare
• The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

17th Century (1600-1699)

• Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
• Othello by William Shakespeare
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare

18th Century (1700-1799)

19th Century (1800-1899)

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
• Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth Van Armin
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Dr Jeykll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Tinder Box by Hans Christan Andersen
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charles Perkins Gilman

Early 20th Century (1900-1950)

• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf
• Goodbye Mr Chips by James Hilton
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
• Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• The Pearl by John Steinbeck
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
• The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Late 20th Century (1951-1999)

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
• The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Sparks
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
• Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
• Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

So far, I have read 75 classics in my lifetime.

I’ve always wanted to say I’ve read 100+ classics so I’ve still got a way to go. And I can’t believe I’ve not read a single novel from the 18th century! I need to correct that asap.

How many classics have you read? Let me know in the comments below.

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