Have you ever wanted to pick up a classical novel and read it from start to finish without getting confused, bewildered and/or frustrated? Do you ever want to look smart, flicking through the pages of a famous feminist’s 19th-century novella? Maybe you want to learn something new about ancient cultures and outdated customs? Well, you’re in luck!
Here are the best classics for all readers, comprising of twenty-five novels for five different reading levels!
Table of Contents
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Novice: “I’ve never even looked at a classic before”
- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
- The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
- The Hobbit – J. R. R. Tolkien
- Animal Farm – George Orwell
Beginner: “I remember doing one in school and it was alright”
- Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
- Frankenstein – Mary Shelly
- The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
- The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
Competent: “I’ve read a few before and like the challenge”
- 1984 – George Orwell
- Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
- The Outsiders – S. E. Hinton
- Moby Dick – Herman Melville
- Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Proficient: “I’m a seasoned vetern when it comes to classics”
- The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux
- The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
- A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
- Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
- Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes
Expert: “I hate life and want a book to represent that”
- Ulysses – James Joyce
- Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
- Bleak House – Charles Dickens
- War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
Here’s the best step-by-step guide on how to read classical novels!