Aldous Huxley is a name which is for many synonymous with the dystopian masterpiece Brave New World. Yet, there are many other Aldous Huxley books out there. He's written eleven novels, a number of nonfiction books and countless essays and short stories. Aldous Huxley While I believe Brave New World ...
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Aldous Huxley is a name which is for many synonymous with the dystopian masterpiece Brave New World. Yet, there are many other Aldous Huxley books out there.
He’s written eleven novels, a number of nonfiction books and countless essays and short stories.
Aldous Huxley
While I believe Brave New World is his best book, or at least his most relevant, many other Aldous Huxley books are worth reading.
For this list, however, I want to, apart from a few exceptions, focus on his novels.
Crome Yellow is Aldous Huxley’s first novel and was published back in 1921.
It’s a novel that satirizes the literary scene of Britain at the time.
We get to know a young man named Denis Stone who aspires to be a poet. On a vacation he stays at Crome, an English country house inhabited by some of Aldous Huxley’s strangest and most egocentric characters.
There’s Mr. Barbecue-Smith who writes 1.500 publishable words every hour to get in touch with his subconscious, but also Henry Wimbush who’s obsessed with writing a definite ‘History of Crome.’
When Denis attends a party with other prominent literary figures, things don’t go well for him. His love for his host’s niece is unrequited and his attempts at poetry and his idea of writing a novel about love and art are equally mocked by the other authors.
Crome Yellow is a novel that’s were reminiscent of the country-house novels by Thomas Love Peacock who are always centered on people sitting together and talking about philosophical topics. Yet, Aldous Huxley uses the setting as the basis for a satire.
In Crome Yellow, Aldous Huxley showcases his talent at creating peculiar characters, but also his satirical talent. For he not only questions, but mocks the morals so common in post-war Britain.
Crome Yellow is a witty masterpiece, one which is too ironic to be called a satire, but also too scornful to be irony.
Ape and Essence is another anti-utopian novel and offers some of Aldous Huxley’s most pessimistic views on the future of humanity.
The novel’s plot takes place a century after a nuclear war. Yet, the blight of radioactivity and the diseases it causes are still present and plague the survivors.
In February of 2018, the New Zealand Rediscovery Expedition reaches California. While they expected the physical destruction they find, they are not prepared for the moral degradation they witness.
Ape and Essene is a dark novel, one about the ruin of humanity. At the same time, however, it’s brilliant and imaginative. It’s definitely amongst the Aldous Huxley books I highly recommend, especially for fans of Brave New World.
After Many a Summer is another one of the satirical Aldous Huxley books and centers on man’s desire to live forever.
The novel revolves around a Hollywood millionaire, Jo Stoyte. He’s a man in his sixties and is terrified of death. This fear drives him to hire a physician to research longevity and how to prolong his life. Yet, his quest for eternal life might end in a horrible way.
After Many a Summer is another witty novel in which Aldous Huxley comments and pokes fun at his characters’ quest to live forever.
Interestingly, Aldous Huxley wrote the novel after he moved to California. His influences are most notable in his characters and the novel’s many themes. After Many a Summer is a portrayal of American culture, its narcissism, superficiality and its obsession with youth.
While After Many a Summer might be outshined by other Aldous Huxley books, I still believe it’s fantastic.
Time Must Have a Stop centers on Sebastian Barnack, a handsome English school boy.
When he travels to Florence for his summer holidays, he becomes exposed to two contrary philosophies. The bookseller Bruno Rontini teaches him about spirituality while Uncle Eustace teaches him about hedonism and the pleasures of life.
Time Must Have a Stop is one of the Aldous Huxley books portraying a variety of ideas, but unlike the similar Antic Hay, it also tells a story.
As we follow Sebastian, Aldous Huxley showcases and discusses a variety of aspects of spirituality, mysticism, but also decadence.
Yet, he never criticizes either path, and leaves it to his readers to decide which to follow.
Time Must Have a Stop is essentially a novel which showcases the dilemma of young twentieth-century man, of how ill-equipped they are to handle problems and how they stumble through life not knowing where to go.
Time Must Have a Stop is one of Aldous Huxley’s greatest achievements and a testament to his literary genius.
Those Barren Leaves is yet another one of the satirical Aldous Huxley books.
The novel introduces us to the social ambitious Mrs. Aldwinkle, a self-proclaimed lover of art.
In an attempt to recapture the glories of the Italian Renaissance, she gathers a group of artists in an Italian place. Her efforts, however, ultimately fail, for her guests never meet her high expectations.
These guests comprise a group of characters who believe themselves to be sophisticated, yet aren’t anything but. Amongst them is a suffering poet and reluctant editor who has to bear Mrs. Aldwinkle’s advances. Another is a popular novelist who records every detail of her affair with another guest, the amorous Calamy, for future literary endeavors. And there’s an ageing philosopher who pursues a wealthy, yet mentally impaired heiress.
Over the course of the novel, Aldous Huxley strips all of them of their pretentions and reveals the superficiality of the self-proclaimed cultural elite.
Those Barren leaves pokes fun at and mocks those who believe themselves to be culturally sophisticated and superior. This general theme makes it an Aldous Huxley book that’s as relevant and fresh as it was at the time of its publication.
There’s always something special about collections of letters and personal correspondences. They always show a more personal, intimate side of a writer.
This selection gathered by James Sexton shows us an entirely new picture of Aldous Huxley. In these letters, written over the course of many years, we witness Aldous Huxley’s brilliance, but also the overall change of his ideas.
At first he’s a cynical satirist, poking fun at his contemporaries, but later became more serious and a stark critic of fascism.
The letters also give us insight into his life, his thought process, but also the London, New York and California of Aldous Huxley’s time.
In his letters, he not only discusses the theater scene, but also Hollywood’s film industry and shares with us their pretention, shortcomings and the cynicism of the elites populating it.
Selected Letters paints a very intimate picture of not only Aldous Huxley, his development as a writer, but also the times he lived in.
While this Aldous Huxley book isn’t a novel, it’s very worth reading for anyone who’s interested in the man behind Brave New World.
Eyeless in Gaza is another one of Aldous Huxley’s bestseller and his most personal novel.
It follows a nontraditional narrative and is loosely autobiographical.
The novel’s plot centers on a man named Anthony Beavis, a cynical, high-end Oxford graduate who grows up in the aftermath of World War I.
The novel shows us his coming-of-age, his numerous adventures and love affairs, but also how none of these things fulfill him.
Persuaded by a charismatic friend, he eventually joins the Marxist movement and the Mexican revolutionaries. His high hopes are soon shattered when he witnesses the terror and violence of the revolution. Eventually he finds solace and comfort in a different ideology.
Eyeless in Gaza is a novel full of deeper themes. Anthony questions God, ponders his purpose in life, and also realizes that violence will never bring peace but only death.
It’s one of the best Aldous Huxley books, and a testament to his pacifist views.
Over the course of his life Aldous Huxley wrote countless essays. This collection is assembled with care and follows Aldous Huxley’s evolving thought process and ideas in chronological order.
They are witty, keen and highly intellectual stimulating and are a delight for anyone who’s more interested in Aldous Huxley’s thoughts, world view and the human experience.
The topics of these essays vary widely and center on such topics as: nature, travel, sex, beauty, literature, painting, music, history, politics, psychology, and the meaning of life.
Collected Essays is a fantastic collection and a great start for anyone who’s interested in Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction writings.
While it’s once again, not a novel, I believe Collected Essays is one of the most interesting and important Aldous Huxley books on this list.
The Genius and the Goddess is one of the later Aldous Huxley books and was published in 1955.
The novel follows the student John River who works as a lab assistant for Henry Maarten, a brilliant physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize. Yet, Maarten is also a man of poor social skills.
On a Christmas Eve, years later, John recounts his student days and his affair with Maarten’s wife. He describes these two unique people, the nature of their relationship, and also how he brought it to ruin. He shares how brilliant a man Maarten was, and how his wife was the only person who was able to look behind his dazzling facade.
The Genius and the Goddess is shorter than many other Aldous Huxley books. Yet, it’s a novel full of social, historical and literary references. It is, however, less reliant on a general story, but more a discussion of various topics.
IN essence, The Genius and the Goddess encapsulates his views on literature, history, intellect, sex, God, and death.
Point Counter Point is a novel that centers on the contrast between passion and reason.
It’s nothing short of a masterpiece but also the longest amongst the Aldous Huxley books on this list.
The novel, however, doesn’t follow a straight plot, but discusses two central themes using interconnected storylines.
It’s a strange novel, one that mixes real life with fiction. Many of its characters include real people, some of which were Aldous Huxley’s friends and fellow writers. Even Aldous Huxley himself appears in the novel in the form of novelist Philip Quarles.
Through a series of exchanges between all these characters, Aldous Huxley not only discusses the contrast between passion and reason, but also satirizes the intellectual life of the 1920s.
Point Counter Point is quite an interesting, nontraditional novel that differs from the rest of his work.
Island is Aldous Huxley’s last novel and serves as a utopian counterpart to Brave New World.
The novel’s plot revolves around the Pacific island of Pala on which an ideal society has flourished for 120 years. Yet, a conspiracy to take over Pala is underway, and things are put into motion when an agent of the conspirators shipwrecks there.
That man is Faranby, a newspaperman. Yet, he doesn’t expect how his time on Pala will not only change all his values but also gives him hope for the future.
The novel deals heavily with such topics as ecology, democracy, overpopulation, mysticism, and, one of Aldous Huxley’s favorites, the usage of substances to alter perception and behavior.
Island is by far one of the best Aldous Huxley books, one that’s by many considered his best.
Interestingly, while the novel centers on many of the same themes as Brave New World, it’s quite a different novel, a hopeful one.
Over the course of his life Aldous Huxley wrote countless short stories. This collection comprises twenty of them taken from his earlier collections.
Collected Short Stories is a testament to his literary skill and his social commentary. While all of his shorter works are worth reading, and all his collections are great, Collected Short Stories offers the reader the most complex view of Huxley’s work.
It includes such fantastic stories as ‘The Gioconda Smile,’ ‘Young Archimedes,’ ‘Chawdron,’ and ‘Little Mexican.’
Collected Short Stories is a must-read for any fan of Aldous Huxley and for fans of socio-critical short fiction.
What’s there to say about Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World? It’s one of the most popular dystopian novels ever written.
Brave New World describes a society that feels frighteningly realistic and, frankly, strangely familiar.
The novel’s set in the year 2540, in what at first appears to be an idealistic, utopian society.
In this society, people aren’t born. Instead they are genetically altered and bred via artificial wombs. They are then subjected to childhood indoctrination and eventually assigned to a specific cast depending on their genetic make-up and level of intelligence.
There’s no war, no conflict and everyone is happy.
Intellectual pursuit, however, has been replaced by complacency and hedonistic pleasures.
Our protagonist, Bernhard Marx, a member of the highest, the alpha cast, grows more and more uncomfortable in this society. When he visits a savage reservation, he meets John, a man born naturally and who knows nothing about the real society. Bernhard decides to take him back, but before long, tragedy unfolds.
What at first appears to be a utopia, is soon revealed to be nothing but a horrible caricature. Everything comes at a price. And thus, society has become uncaring, full of numbing drugs and indoctrination. Concepts such as love, care, compassion and even families, or long-lasting relationships are a thing of the past.
Brave New World discusses a variety of themes, such as genetically engineering, the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, indoctrination, blind consumerism and disregard of intellectual pursuit.
It’s probably the most popular out of all the Aldous Huxley books and the one that most people know about and associate with his name.
Brave New World is in my opinion the strongest dystopian novel of all time, one that shows us a nightmarish version of what our future might look like.
Putting together a list of the best Jane Austen books might appear a simple task. Who doesn’t know such classics as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion?
Jane Austen was born in the late 18th century. She’s one of the most popular and celebrated writers of all time, and her works are cited as some of the finest examples of British literature.
Jane Austen
It’s regrettable to know that many of her works were originally published anonymously and brought her little success during her lifetime. Yet, in the decades following her death, they should influence the literary landscape like no other.
Jane Austen’s books are beautifully written, tell timeless stories and come with casts of unforgettable characters. They feature an array of themes, such as love, class difference, societal expectations, wealth and poverty, the value of family, but most of all, the role of women in society.
Her stories center on the domestic life of the landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. What made her works stand out and so influential, was that they were told from a female perspective. This was something unheard of in a, until now, male dominated world.
These female characters broke established traditions and remained beloved and celebrated to this day. While they are under strict social constraints, they showcase strength, wit, cleverness, bravery, and humor. They differ greatly from the meek and mild-mannered woman that were so common in literature at the time.
While Jane Austen is most known for her six major novels, I gave this list of the best Jane Austen books a wider focus and also include some of her lesser known works.
What better way to open this list of the best Jane Austen books than with one of her earliest works?
Love and Friendship was supposedly written when Jane Austen was still only a teenager, no older than fourteen, and to amuse her family.
It’s a satirical take on the romance novels so popular at the time.
The story’s told via a series of letters. They are exchanged between our two main characters. One is Laura, the other is her friend’s daughter, Marianne. In these letters, Laura tells Marianne about failing in love, but as a cautionary tale about the dangers of romance.
While it’s clearly an early work and not one of the best Jane Austen books, it’s still an interesting read for fans of Jane Austen. It’s always interesting to read the earlier works of popular writers and see their often humble beginnings.
Even more interesting, however, is that even this very early work already shows Jane Austen’s disdain for many romantic clichés.
It’s a novella which tells a darkly funny story, and is once again written as a series of letters between different characters.
It centers on the charming Susan Vernon, a beautiful widow in her thirties. She enjoys nothing more than to toy with men for her own entertainment. She’s known to get what she wants and uses her manipulative ways to seduce every man she meets.
After the death of her first husband, she’s in financial troubles and sets out to marry off her teenage daughter, Fredrica, and to find a better man for herself.
Eventually, Lady Susan captures the hearts of two men, the married Mr. Manwaring, and her sister-in-law’s brother, Reginald. Things get complicated, however, when Fredrica, too, falls for Reginald.
Lady Susan is rather rough when compared to Jane Austen’s later works. While it’s far from one of the best Jane Austen books, we can already see her satirical humor and her female characters who stray from the norm.
Yet, these aren’t the only elements shown here that should come to define her later works. Lady Susan shows her talent at creating humorous plots, love struck characters and male antagonists who are both hilarious and annoying.
The Beautiful Cassandra is a miniature novel comprising only twelve chapters. It was written as a dedication to her older sister, Cassandra.
It’s a parody of the melodramatic, sentimental and picaresque novels of the time.
The story centers on a young, mischievous woman named Cassandra, who sets off into the world to make her fortune.
The plot follows her as she sets out on a visit to London to have a perfect day. There she commits a series of slightly criminal but joyful acts, including stealing from shops and spying on the locals.
In the end, The Beautiful Cassandra is a short and lighthearted little tale.
Once again, this is an earlier work written during Jane Austen’s youth, but once more we can see many of her later elements at play here. It showcases the irony that should so define her work, a gift for parody, a sense for the absurd, but most of all, her growing talent as a writer.
The Beautiful Cassandra might not be an outstanding work, but I still think this miniature novel is an interesting addition to this list of the best Jane Austen books.
With Sanditon we’re moving away from Jane Austen’s juvenilia and move right to her last, but ultimately unfinished, novel. Jane Austen passed away at only forty-one-years old and finished only eleven chapters of Sanditon.
The story follows Mr. Parker. He has aspirations of developing the small fictional sea side town of Sanditon into a bustling seaside resort and a playground for those who want to be seen.
For this, he enlists the help of the wealthy widow, Lady Dunham.
While Sanditon was, unfortunately, never finished, it still features many of the elements so common in the best Jane Austen books. It features a colorful cast of characters, is full of social criticism, witty humor and pokes fun at society’s obsession with the next new thing.
Sanditon still makes for an interesting read for those who are interested in the works of Jane Austen and who are interested in reading more than her six major novels.
The Watsons is a novel Jane Austen supposedly began in 1803, but abandoned in the following year and never revised. It was only her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh who eventually published it as part of a biography titled A Memoir of Jane Austen.
It tells the story of Emma Watson, the daughter of a widowed clergyman. She’s been well educated and raised by her wealthy aunt.
Her life’s good, but when her aunt remarries, Emma is forced to return to her home. She now has to live with her father, brother and sisters.
From now on, it’s Emma’s task to find husbands for her unrefined and reckless sisters.
While The Watsons is yet another unfinished novel, I still included it in this list of the best Jane Austen books. It features many elements that make it worth reading, especially a strong female lead, class division, the contrast between poverty and wealth. It’s definitely worth reading for fans of Jane Austen’s books.
Northanger Abby was the first of Jane Austen’s six major novels. It was, however, the last of them to be ever published.
Northanger Abby is lighter than most of her other later novels. It’s fun, lively, but also full of drama. It’s seen as a satire of the gothic genre, so popular at the time and a coming-of-age story.
The novel’s story follows the naïve, seventeen-year-old Catherine Moreland, who thinks herself a heroine in training. She loves and is addicted to romantic, gothic novels.
She’s one of ten children, but the only one of her siblings invited on a trip to Bath along the Allen family. There she meets Henry Tilney, a young clergyman, and falls in love with him.
When Henry and his sister invite her to their family estate, Northanger Abby, she’s delighted to leave her dull home behind. Once there, her imagination runs wild, and she imagines herself in the center of one of the stories she loves so much. For she suspects that the old gothic mansion hides a nefarious secret.
Catherine is essentially a young woman who depends on fairy tales and novels to make sense of the world around her. While one can tell that Jane Austen’s fond of her, she doesn’t shy away from mocking her, making fun of her and laughing at her. She even addresses the reader to give satirical contemplations about the events at play.
As mentioned before, the gothic novel was extremely popular during Jane Austen’s times. These novels were full of dewy-eyed and slightly dim heroines who relied on man. It was these clichés that always filled Jane Austen with contempt and Northanger Abby was her own way of digging into the genre and poking fun at it.
Overall, Northanger Abby might be the weakest of Jane Austen’s major novels, but it’s still a delight to read and not a bad book. Especially for its humor and satirical elements.
Sense and Sensibility was the first of Jane Austen’s six major novels to be published.
While it was initially published anonymously, it has become a beloved classic and is now considered one of the best Jane Austen books.
The novel tells the coming-of-age story of the Dashwood sisters, Marianne and Elinor, and their search for love. However, it’s also a portrayal of deep sisterly love and solidarity.
The two sisters couldn’t be more different. Elinor, the older, relies on her head and is the responsible and sensible one. Marianne, on the other hand, relies on hear heart, and is of an emotional and impulsive character.
When their father dies, they fall into poverty, have to move out of the family home and are now forced to live in a small cottage.
Before long, they both fall in love, however both relationships are doomed to fail because of their respective characters. Elinor falls for a man who’s promised to another woman while Marianne falls for an unfitting suitor who eventually leaves her behind.
These failed romantic experiences force the sisters to reexamine their perspective. Marianne has to learn not to chase fairytale love while Elinor has to lead her guard down and learn to trust into her feelings.
Sense and Sensibility is a tale that explores the problems of how to handle one’s feelings in a society that values status above everything else and is governed by strict rules. It also shows the weight on women’s shoulders so common during the time of its writing and the hardship they go through to find a good husband to support their families.
Sense and Sensibility isn’t as refined in certain aspects and lacks the focus of other, later Jane Austen novels. Yet, one can tell that it’s here Jane Austen figured out her literary skills and started on her path of mastery.
That doesn’t mean Sense and Sensibility isn’t worth reading. It’s still a fantastic novel and amongst the best Jane Austen books.
Our next entry on this list of the best Jane Austen books isn’t a novel. Instead, it’s a collection of her letters which can be seen as an intimate biography. While many biographies on Jane Austen’s life exist, this collection of letters stands out in a variety of ways.
It sheds light on Jane Austen as a person, her family and her life. The letters are organized chronologically and full of researched annotations.
In these letters, we’re shown her witty and memorable tone of voice, but also get to know her deeper thoughts and ideas.
Jane Austen’s Letters is the perfect book for those who want to learn more about her as a writer and connect on a deeper level.
It’s always an interesting experience to read biographies, but this one’s much more personal than those of other writers and akin to works such as A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf.
Jane Austen’s Letters is a delight for fans of Jane Austen but also for those who enjoy reading the biographies of writers.
Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s third published novel. It’s her most controversial book and one that differs from the other best Jane Austen books.
It’s, overall, characterized by more mature themes. Mansfield Park’s focus isn’t on love, but on greed and recklessness. Yet, it’s still considered amongst the best coming-of-age stories of all time.
Mansfield Park centers on Fanny Price. At ten years old, she’s sent to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt, the Bertram’s, at their country estate, Mansfield Park.
Because of her impoverished upbringing, she’s mistreated not only by her uncle and aunt but also by three of her four cousins. It’s only the fourth, Edmund, who treats her kindly and who she eventually falls in love with.
Before long, however, the Crawford siblings, the sophisticated Henry and the vivacious Mary, move near the estate. While Henry flirts with two of Edmund’s sisters, Edmund himself starts a relationship with Mary. These events soon cause emotional upheaval for the Bertram family.
Mansfield Park stands out most for its heroine, Fanny, who differs from her other female protagonist. While they are usually witty, bright, desirable and know what they want, Fanny’s quite different. She stays in the shadows and quietly observes life. She’s of timid character, is silent, introverted and mouthy, but adheres to her own strict moral code. However, she’s much better at reading the people around her.
While this makes her a far more complex character and woman, many critics and even Jane Austen’s mother deemed her as too insipid.
Mansfield Park is, overall, a more serious and moral book, and one could even say a much darker book than the rest of her novels. It explores and questions what truly holds value. Is it money itself, or is it what we can do with it? Is it charm or is it goodness?
Emma is Jane Austen’s fourth published novel and another timeless coming-of-age story. For it, Jane Austen set out to create a character that no one but herself would very much like.
It’s by many critics considered a comedy of manners.
The titular character is Emma Woodhouse. She’s a spoiled young woman from the high society of Highbury. Not only is she beautiful and charming, she also thinks she knows what’s best for everyone around her. She’s also rich and has the freedom not to get married and promptly declares she never will.
Emma shows no interest in the romantic attraction given her, and instead believes herself a natural matchmaker. While she wants and believes she’s of help, she’s much too insensitive and causes chaos and misunderstandings.
Blinded by her desire to continue her matchmaking, she soon becomes entangled in a net of complicated relationships. When she makes an unforgiveable error, however, she risks even her own chance of true happiness.
This eventually forces Emma to look at herself and her own emotions. Before long, she has to realize just how naïve she is and what love means. Things get even more complicated for her when she develops feelings for her neighbor, Mr. Knightly.
The reason Emma deserves such a high place on the list of the best Jane Austen books is because of its heroine. While she starts out as an infuriating and unlikeable character, she eventually turns into one of Jane Austen’s most endearing and loveable. This is all because of Jane Austen’s skills in showcasing her thoughts and inner workings.
Overall, Emma’s adventures are nothing short of entertaining and Jane Austen wastes no time to poke fun at this unlikely heroin.
Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s most popular novel. Almost everyone, no matter if fan or not, has heard of it. It’s by many regarded as the best of all the Jane Austen books.
It’s a heartwarming, historical romance that is still enjoyed two centuries after it was written. Its popularity never waned. The book always remained in print and serves massively popular amongst modern readers.
Following countless adaptions for the big screen, the book has also been adapted in another, more bizarre way, a work titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Our heroine is Elizabeth Bennet, or Lizzy, one of five daughters living in the Longbourn estate with their parents. Lizzy is headstrong, cynical, and witty and should become one of the most famous and beloved female characters of all time.
The novel’s plot revolves around the troubles of the five Bennett sisters and the pressure of the marriage market. Their future’s uncertain since their home is bequeathed to the closest male heir.
Things change when Mr. Bingly, a young, rich and eligible bachelor, arrives in the neighborhood. Jane, the oldest and most faultless of the Bennett sisters, soon begins a relationship with him.
Accompanying Mr. Bingly is the young, aloof and proud Mr. Darcy who’s immediately attracted to Lizzy. While Lizzy’s captivated by him, she’s also repulsed by his behavior.
Pride and Prejudice is essentially a story of enemies who become lovers. We follow them as they each have their pride humbled, overcome their prejudices, and finally fall in love.
Yet, the novel is also the story of the Bennett family. For not all is well, and eventually, Lydia Bennett’s behavior threatens the family’s reputation.
Pride and Prejudice comes with a biting sense of humor and features a cast of unforgettable characters. There’s, of course, our protagonist, Lizzy, but also Mr. Collins and the rest of the Bennett family. They have become one of literatures most believed family.
While many see Pride and Prejudice as a funny and witty romance novel, it has much more to offer. It showcases the social rules of the time and how to unravel them. It also explores the tensions between truths acknowledged by society and authentic human feelings.
Pride and Prejudice is without a doubt amongst the very best Jane Austen books, and by many, considered her best.
Persuasion was Jane Austen’s final novel and was only published posthumously by her brother Henry.
It features another one of Jane Austen’s most beloved heroines, Anne Elliot.
Over the course of her life, Jane Austen came to express deep concerns over how society pressures and persuades young women, and this novel is a testament of these thoughts.
While Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s most popular novel, Persuasion might be her most finely crafted one. Pride and Prejudice is witty, fun and entertaining. Persuasion, on the other hand, is a deeper, quieter and more realistic and mature novel. It’s a melancholic, almost lyrical story.
The novel’s plot centers on Anne Elliot, a twenty-year-old English woman. When Anne’s wealthy family falls from grace and experiences financial troubles, they are forced to rent out their home to Admiral Croft and his wife, Sophia.
As fate wants it, eight years ago, Anne was engaged to Sophia’s brother, Captain Fredrick Wentworth. Back then, Fredrick was nothing but a lowly naval officer, and Anne’s friend persuaded her to call off the engagement.
Fredrick, however, has become a wealthy man and is now famous for his war-time accomplishments. Meanwhile, Anne is a faded beauty, still unmarried and considered an old maid by the younger woman around her.
When Fredrick returns, Anne realizes she’s still in love with him and regrets ending their relationship. Yet Fredrick hasn’t quite forgiven her.
Persuasion is essentially a will-they-will-they-not type of plot. Anne suffers, and we as readers suffer with her, for Jane Austen shows no mercy and often toys with the reader’s expectations. After a series of plot twists and complications that drive them first further apart, they eventually reunite.
Persuasion is a novel that explores the strength of love and of second chances.
This is told from the perspective of one of her best heroines, Anne. She’s older and much more mature than Jane Austen’s other heroines. She’s used to disappointment, full of regret, and nostalgia, but develops tremendously over the course of the novel.
The novel also harshly criticizes society, and how easily young woman are swayed and persuaded by what’s expected of them. This makes Persuasion not only a work of fiction but also a commentary on social history.
All these elements make Persuasion the most satisfying of Jane Austen’s novels and one of the best Jane Austen books.
Charles Dickens is one of England’s most beloved writers. He’s by many regarded as arguably the greats and most influential novelist of the Victorian era. Thus, many books by Charles Dickens are rightfully declared classics.
Many critics recognize him as a literary genius, but he’s also received praise from many other literary titans. His works were beloved by such writers as Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell, G. K. Chesterton and Tom Wolfe.
Books by Charles Dickens are known for their complex themes. They often focus on such issues as social concerns, labor conditions, poverty, childhood cruelty, but also love and friendship. What he’s most known for, however, are his stark portrays of the underclass in Victorian London, highlighting the wealth gap and the class struggles that so marked it.
It’s interesting to note that Charles Dickens himself grew up in misery and suffered much hardship in the earlier years of his life. When he was no older than twelve, he was forced to work ten hours a day at a factory.
Yet, he should become one of England’s most celebrated and prolific writers. Over the course of his career, he wrote fifteen novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories, and various articles and essays.
Charles Dickens
Even today, books by Charles Dickens remain widely read. His works never went out of print, he remains one of the most-sold writers even today, and a Tale of Two Cities is regarded as one of the bestselling novels of all time.
When Charles Dickens published his second book, The Pickwick Papers, serialized from 1836 to 1837, he rose to fame and became England’s most popular writer and should remain so until his death in 1870.
His influence on the literary landscape was so huge that his name, similar to that of Franz Kafka, became a term. The word ‘Dickensian’ describes works reminiscent of those by Charles Dickens. These works focus on themes such as poor social and working conditions, class struggles and other elements he’s known for.
Ever since I read A Tale of Two Cities more than a decade ago, I’ve been a great fan of books by Charles Dickens.
While most fans of classical literature will, without a doubt, know A Tale of Two Cities, and his other most popular works, I also think many of his lesser-known works are worth reading. If you’re interested in the works of other classical writers, I urge you to check out my lists of the best Mark Twain books and the best Hemingway books.
For this list, however, I want to focus almost entirely on his novels and provide you with a list of the twelve essential books by Charles Dickens.
The Old Curiosity Shop is one of Charles Dickens’ earlier works, yet it contains one of his most vivid characters.
This book by Charles Dickens revolves around the orphan Nell Trent, who lives and works with her grandfather at the titular shop.
Their troubles begin when her grandfather gambles away what little money they have. This gives one Mr. Quilp the opportunity to take possession of the shop and evict them.
Nell’s good-natured and virtuous and to save herself and her grandfather from Quilp, the two of them embark on a journey that the leads them out of London.
It’s her hope to find a better life for themselves, but throughout the journey, Nell grows progressively weaker. Even worse, Quilp is coming after them.
While many books by Charles Dickens can be rather sentimental, The Old Curiosity Shop took things to a new level. Even Charles Dickens himself described it as a work that glorifies Victorian sentimentality.
It’s interesting to note that the novel was even read by Queen Victoria, who famously described it as ‘very interesting and clever written.’
While not one of Charles Dickens’ most popular or well-known works, The Old Curiosity Shop is definitely worth reading. It’s a fantastic novel that combines beautiful descriptions of landscape and London cityscape with a depiction of how terrible a place Victorian England could be.
Our Mutual Friend is often regarded as one of the most sophisticated and complex books by Charles Dickens. It’s also the last novel he ever completed.
When a man named John Harmon dies, his fortune passes on to his servants Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, for his estranged son is presumed to be dead.
They take in a woman named Bella Wilfer, who was supposed to marry John Harmon’s son. At the same time, they hire a young man to be their secretary. It’s soon revealed there’s more to this young man and Bella, who’s still set to marry for money, seems to have a strange connection with him.
Our Mutual Friend is a novel with a vast cast of characters and various subplots. It features a group of friends, employees and even estranged family members who all try to manage one man’s fortune. Chaos unfolds.
The novel centers on a mystery of mistaken identities, but also features emotional generosity, violent drama and rich humor. Its central theme, however, is the power of money, how it can corrupt people and what it pushes them to do.
Our Mutual Friend might not be the most well-known or popular of the many books by Charles Dickens, but his many themes and multi-faceted plot make it very worth reading.
Hard Times is Charles Dickens’ tenth novel. It’s rather untypical for a novel by him since it’s a short book of only about three-hundred pages. It can be seen as a satire on the harsh social and economic conditions of the time.
Its set in an imaginary town named Coketown. It’s a place consumed by soot and smoke of heavy industrialization and that depends on the exploitation of its many workers.
The novel’s plot concerns one Thomas Gradgrind, a wealthy, retired merchant. He devotes his life to the philosophy of utilitarianism. This leads him to a no-nonsense approach in both education and parenting. He raises his children, Tom and Luisa allowing them no fanciful or imaginative pursuits.
This harsh upbringing leads to them suffering in their later adult life. While Luisa lets her father decide her marriage using statistics, his son Tom has his own ideas about life and falls into delinquency.
Yet, the novel also focuses on the lives of the many workers who don’t profit from the economic boom following the Industrial Revolution. It showcases its readers the reality of worker conditions and makes them acknowledge them.
Hard Times is a novel that focuses heavily on social and moral themes. Utilitarianism was a philosophy that was popular, but Charles Dickens criticizes it heavily. He makes it clear to us that there’s more to human life than reason. There’s heart and imagination as well.
Hard Times is Charles Dickens’ harshest and most on-point critique of British Industrialization and explores the correlations between morality and capitalism. For this reason alone, I believe it’s one of the many books by Charles Dickens definitely worth reading.
Nicholas Nickleby was Charles Dickens’ third novel.
Once again, it’s a novel that deals heavily with the class struggles of the Victorian era.
While it can be a grim novel, it might, overall, be the most high-spirited out of all the books by Charles Dickens. It also harshly criticizes the Yorkshire schools which many families sent their unwanted children to.
The story begins with the death of Nicholas Nickleby’s father. Following this, his mother and younger sister, Kate, have to give up their comfortable life in Devonshire. They travel to London to get help from their only reality, Ralph Nickleby, Nicholas’ uncle. Ralph, however, is a cold and ruthless man and has no desire to help them. Even worse, he hates Nicholas.
To save his family from financial ruin, he embarks on his own journey and begins work at Dotheboys Hall school in Yorkshire. The board master, Wackford Squeer, however, makes his life a living hell, even after he escapes. It’s here he also befriends Smike, another boy and also a victim of Squeer’s.
Yet, the novel isn’t as bleak as it sounds. When Nicholas and Smike flee from the school, they run into the Crummles traveling trope and join them.
This, however, isn’t all there’s to this novel.
What’s interesting to note is that Charles Dickens paid visits to many of the Yorkshire schools to do research and learn about their harsh conditions. His resentment of these schools, however, might also stem from his time at the Wellington House Academy in Camden Town. He describes it as a terrible experience.
Overall, Nicholas Nickleby is another fantastic book by Charles Dickens. It might be one of his earlier novels, but his literary genius is already visible.
The Pickwick Papers is Charles Dickens’ very first novel and second overall book. It’s considered one of the most decisive debuts in English fiction.
It chronicles the comical adventures of an eccentric but good-hearted man named Samuel Pickwick, his servant Sam Weller, and a group of friends known as the ‘Pickwick Club.’ Those friends include Tracy Tupman, Augustus Snodgrass and Nathaniel Winkle.
Yet, The Pickwick Papers is not a traditional novel. It’s rather a collection of nineteen loosely linked adventures, episodes and tales.
It follows the Pickwick Club on their various day-trips out of London and around England. During their time, they befriend everyone they meet, become heavily drunk and get entangled in many strange situations. In the end, however, things somehow always work out.
It’s a book that’s as hilarious as it’s sentimental. It establishes many of the elements Charles Dickens should become known for. The Pickwick Papers features many ironic situations, an English setting, a cast of eccentric characters and an examination of upper and lower class tensions.
Overall, The Pickwick Papers is an early example of Charles Dickens’ satirical style and it serves as a perfect introduction to his body of works.
Little Dorrit is probably the most powerful of Charles Dickens’ major works and also one of his most personal.
When Charles Dickens penned Little Dorrit, he drew from his own childhood experiences. His father, too, was imprisoned for debt and a young Charles Dickens had to fend for himself. One can also assume that the power-hungry businesswoman Mrs. Clennam was modeled after Charles Dickens’ own mother, who he grew to hate.
Little Dorrit is essentially a satirical critic of England’s legal and court system, its bureaucracy and the uselessness of the debtor’s prison.
In the novel itself we encounter Amy Dorrit, the youngest child of her family. She was born and raised in London’s Marshalsea prison because her father was imprisoned for debt.
Eventually, because of an inheritance, her family becomes one of wealth. Amy Dorrit also encounters one Arthur Clennam after he returns from a twenty-year absence to start a new life.
Little Dorrit is a rags-to-riches epic that once more showcases the strict class divide in Victorian era society.
Over the course of the novel, characters prevail, mature and many of the situations they encounter resonated deeply with readers at the time.
Not much needs to be said about Little Dorrit. It’s a masterpiece and one of the most powerful books by Charles Dickens.
A Christmas Carol is the only novella on this list, but one can’t help but include it in a list of the best books by Charles Dickens.
It’s probably the most popular and well-known Christmas story of all time and one of the most famous books by Charles Dickens, if not the most famous.
Not much needs to be said about it. Everyone’s familiar with the unpleasant and grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge who hates the Christmas holiday. When he’s visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, however, he recognizes the errors of his way, changes and becomes a kind man.
It’s both a beautiful tale of redemption and a critique of Victorian society.
A Christmas Carol is a tale that reminds us to be kind to one another, to help the poor and those in need, especially during the holidays.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Who doesn’t know this famous opening line?
A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens’ most well-known work of historical fiction and one of the best-selling novels of all time.
Yet, it’s, again, rather uncharacteristic of a book by Charles Dickens. It’s shorter than most of his other works, and his usual humorous and satirical elements are almost entirely missing.
It’s set before and during the French Revolution and set in both London and Paris. While it may not be historically accurate, it’s still a vivid portrait of one of history’s most tumultuous periods.
The novel features one doctor Manette who was wrongfully imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years. When he’s released, he sets out to live with his daughter, Lucie. They reunited in Paris and travel back to London to start a new life.
Lucie eventually falls in love with Charles Darnay, a Frenchman who takes a stance against the poor treatment of the lower class. Because of this, the family’s once more trust in danger for the rest of Darnay’s family might not share his ideals. Soon enough, they realize no one’s safe and fear and suspicion are abound.
A Tale of Two Cities is a masterpiece that’s beautiful told from beginning to end. If you want to read Charles Dickens at his best, read A Tale of Two Cities.
Oliver Twist is the second novel Charles Dickens wrote and the one that cemented his role as a social critic of the era. It’s, by many, seen as his first proper social novel.
The titular character of Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse. As an orphan, he’s sold into apprenticeship for an undertaker. Soon enough, he runs away, travels through London and joins a group of young pickpockets. The groups led by an elderly criminal named Fagin, who draws homeless boys into a life of crime. Yet, Fagin himself is under the thump of the villainous criminal mastermind, Bill Sikes.
While thrown into horrible circumstances, our hero Oliver always remains hopeful and pure while we follow him on his unlikely journey.
Oliver Twist is a novel full of unusual friends, unexpected kindness and larger-than-life villains.
Yet, it can be a dark novel at times and Charles Dickens never describes events through rose-tinted glasses. Its themes heavily concern child labor, domestic violence, the recruitment of children as criminals and the life of street children in the Victorian era. It exposes the terrible treatment of orphans, how poverty forces children into horrible circumstances and the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution.
It’s a novel that’s part pleasure, part education, but always exciting. While I highly recommend it to anyone, it’s especially great for children. It’s also a perfect introduction to books by Charles Dickens.
Bleak House is, by many, considered being the greatest of all books by Charles Dickens. At the same time, however, it’s criticized by others for its strange narrative choices, the meandering plot and the many subplots and characters.
It’s a satire of the slow, corrupt process of the law, especially the Court of Chancery, where cases could be dragged out for years. It’s also a heavy critique of the 19th century English society as a whole.
The novel’s plot details the inheritance case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which is so complex it has been drawn out for generations. It’s a larger-than-life court case about who’s inheriting the vast family fortune.
Bleak House features a vastly complicated plot full of twists, ploys, murders, secrets and spies. It’s a fantastical novel that’s at times comical, at others profound.
Over the course of the novel, we’re introduced to a vast cast of characters. We meet, amongst many others, the feisty Esther Summerson, Sir Leicester and Lady Deadlock who live in a stately home in Lincolnshire, and also the poor crossing sweeper Little Joe.
Bleak House also contains many of the elements so common for books by Charles Dickens. It features characters from all parts of society, a vivid description of London, satirical elements, and, of course, social criticism.
While I enjoyed Bleak House immensely, it’s not a novel for everyone. Many fans of books by Charles Dickens might highly enjoy it, but others might find it as bleak as the title suggests.
It can make for some challenging reading. It’s a convoluted and gratuitous satire of the Court of Chancery, which was characterized by its convoluted and gratuitous nature.
Overall, though, Bleak House is a stark contender for Charles Dickens’ greatest novel and everyone should try reading it at least once.
David Copperfield is another one of the most-famous books by Charles Dickens. It’s often heralded as his greatest literary triumph and he himself considered it his magnum opus.
It was highly admired by many other writers, including Leo Tolstoy and Franz Kafka. Even Virginia Woolf, who was not a fan of Charles Dickens’ works, praised David Copperfield.
It’s a highly autobiographical novel, as one can note by the initials of the main character. The novel’s essentially a combination of Charles Dickens’ own life and fictional accounts.
Written as a first person narrative, the plot details the trials and tribulations of its titular character from infancy to maturity.
David Copperfield’s father is long dead at the outset of the novel, and he’s still very young when his mother, too, dies. While Charles Dickens blamed his parents for the miseries of his childhood, it’s David’s stepfather, Mr. Murdstone who takes on this role in David Copperfield.
Over the course of the novel, we witness David’s struggles through childhood and adolescence until he starts a successful career as a novelist and gets married.
David Copperfield features a vast cast of characters, but the most memorable among them are the glamorous Steerforth, the unlucky but cheerful Mr. Micawber, Betsey Trotwood, David’s eccentric aunt, the wicked Mr. Murdstone and, of course, the villainous Uriah Heep.
The biggest themes of the novel are personal growth and change, but one can also tell that it’s a work that helped Charles Dickens himself to grow and confront his own life.
David Copperfield features many of Charles Dickens’ usual elements. It talks about class structure, the criminal justice system, child labor and the status of woman in society.
Another core theme, however, is the question if one can leave behind their roots without becoming corrupted by either the past or newfound advantages.
David Copperfield is also a more serious and much more personal book by Charles Dickens. It’s here we can witness his style change from juvenile and humorous to more mature and serious.
What’s interesting to note is that David Copperfield is not a character of special importance. It makes him very different from the usual, larger-than-life protagonists of other novels at the time.
Not much more needs to be said about David Copperfield. It’s one of the best books by Charles Dickens, a masterpiece and simply a joy to read.
Great Expectations is yet another coming of age story. It’s the tale of a young boy who sets out to become a gentleman.
It’s one of the most popular books by Charles Dickens and by many considered his finest work.
The novel’s plot follows the orphan Pip. While born into humble beginnings, he sets out to escape the lower class.
In his youth, he often visits the bitter Miss Havisham who was left at the altar. She brings up her beautiful, adopted daughter Estella to hate men. It’s no other than her that Pip falls heavily in love with.
To prove himself to her, he begins to work for a blacksmith, and soon lives in London with the help of a mysterious benefactor.
Yet, his heart gets broken when Estella marries someone else and he has to realize that ‘great expectations’ might not come to play out.
This, however, is merely a part of the novel’s intricate plot.
Great Expectations is the tale of a young man who’s been persecuted and deceived, but whose goodness of heart always remains. It’s this that rescues him from falling into snobbery and delusion.
The novel features a fantastic and memorable cast of characters. There’s, of course, Pip, our protagonist, but also the larger-than-life convict Magwitch, the sinister Miss Havisham, the good-hearted Joe and the beautiful, but cold Estella.
Great Expectations is a romantic, heart-warming tale with quite a few plot twists. It’s probably the finest and most moving of all books by Charles Dickens.
It’s a perfectly crafted novel about love, loss, and class divisions and worthy of the number one spot on this list.
Mark Twain is often called the Great American writer and to this day, he remains one of the most important figures of the American literary tradition. Many Mark Twain books are regarded as classics and remain required reading even today.
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in a small riverside town in Missouri in 1983 and raised in Hannibal. This town should later become the setting for his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain is a man who’s known for being controversial, brilliant and witty. He forever changed the landscape of American literature and even other literary titans speak of him in the highest tones.
William Faulkner termed him ‘the father of American literature,’ while Hemingway famously said, ‘All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.’
Yet, Mark Twain wasn’t only famous for his river novels. He’s also known for his essays, his travel writings, his social commentary and his autobiographical writing.
He’s regarded as one of the greatest writers, storytellers and humorists of all time.
Over the course of a life full of travel, he wrote twenty-eight books and over one hundred short stories.
Even today, his social commentary and criticism of American politics and society remains relevant. Many of his quotes remain widely shared, especially in today’s age of social media.
While The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the name Mark Twain, he’s got much more to offer as a writer. If you’re, however, looking for other recommendations, I’d recommend you checking out my list of the best Hemingway books.
For this article, I put together my very own list of the fourteen best Mark Twain books that have earned their place on every reader’s bookshelf.
Following the Equator is Mark Twain’s last work of travel writing. It’s a global travelogue in which he criticizes imperialism both in the countries he visited, but also at home.
In the early 1890s, Mark Twain’s career had gone sour. Following a series of poor investments and bankruptcy, he embarked on an international speaking tour. This trip, lasting from 1895 to 1896, allowed him to travel the world and visit the various countries of the Victorian British Empire.
He visited Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa and shares the oppression, superstition, racism and ignorance he witnessed.
One can notice that this is one of his later works. Mark Twain seems older and sadder than in his earlier works. His sense of observation and his wit, however, remain as sharp as always.
Following the Equator is a work that comprises loving sketches of the places he visited and is full of lovely prose, humor, irony and plenty of political incorrectness.
While he criticizes many of the foreign cultures and customs he witnesses, he also criticizes the tendency of American society to export their values to ‘lesser’ peoples.
While Following the Equator is one of his lesser known works, it’s still a fantastic piece of travel writing and one of the best Mark Twain books.
When Mark Twain grew up, he used every chance he got to travel the world. This passion is especially visible in his earlier works, like The Innocents Abroad.
The book became a bestseller during his lifetime and remains one of the most popular travelogues ever written.
The Innocents Abroad showcases Mark Twain’s talent as a travel writer and documents his journey through the Middle East and Europe with plenty of humor. He visits the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Vatican, the Sphinx and many other places. He describes each of them in his typical humorous fashion and shows his wit by pointing out their peculiarities and political incorrectness.
While The Innocents Abroad is regarded as a non-fiction book, the truth might lie somewhere between fact and fiction. One can tell that many of the stories are a bit too fantastical and are clearly enriched by Mark Twain.
What’s most interesting about this work, however, is that it gives us insight into Mark Twain’s younger days. What we see here is a young, witty and idealistic man who’s merely started down the road to become one of literature’s Greats.
The Innocents Abroad is not only one of the most popular travelogues ever written but also one of the best Mark Twain books.
Mark Twain – The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
While this work’s a short story, it deserves its place on a list of Mark Twain books. It’s without a doubt the most popular amongst the over one-hundred short stories Mark Twain has written over the course of his life and brought him nationwide attention.
Originally published under the title ‘Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,’ it details a story in which a man’s stuck in a one-sided conversation. His interlocutor’s a man who loves the sound of his own voice, barely lets the narrator get in a single word and tells endless, but ultimately pointless, stories. Eventually, the man wraps it all up with the story of a jumping frog.
While it’s a short story and thus much shorter than the many other works on this list, it remains a perfect example of Mark Twain’s brand of humor.
The Prince and the Pauper was Mark Twain’s first attempt at writing historical fiction.
It’s a story set in 1574, and follows two boys born on the same day and of nearly identical appearance.
One is Tom Canty, a pauper who lives in Offal Court of Pudding Lane in London with his abusive and alcoholic father. The other boy’s a price, namely Edward VI of England, son of Henry VIII of England.
The two of them trade places to experience the other’s life. Now the prince is living in poverty and the poor boy lives in fear of discovery. Both are now desperate to make it in the world of the other.
The Prince and the Pauper is as clever and witty as you’d expect from a Mark Twain book.
While it’s regarded as a children’s book, it’s commentary on social inequity and not to judge others by their looks makes it a great read for adults as well.
The Prince and the Pauper is definitely a Mark Twain book that’s worth a look and a must read for fans of his work.
‘A man who keeps company with glaciers, comes to feel tolerably insignificant by and by.’
From this quote, one can tell that A Tramp Abroad is another work of travel literature, but one mixed with many autobiographical elements.
It’s a sequel to The Innocents Abroad, and this time Mark Twain’s referring to himself as a tramp and not as innocent anymore.
The book was inspired by a fifteen months long trip across central Europe and across the Alps from 1878 to 1879.
It highlights his journey through central and southern Europe with a friend named Harris, a character he created for the book. The two of them travel through Germany, the Alps and Italy.
Even from the chapter titles alone, one can tell how humorous a work A Tramp Abroad is.
The chapter titles include “Alp-scaling by Carriage,” “Chillon Has a Nice, Roomy Dungeon,” and “Why Germans Wear Spectacles.”
It’s a highly entertaining travelogue full of social criticism about the Germans, the Swiss, the Americans and the English.
What’s interesting about A Tramp Abroad is that it’s much more introspective than his former travel writings, including many of his personal thoughts.
Overall, A Tramp Abroad is a fantastic book, especially for its commentary and I regard it recommended reading for anyone interesting in travel writings or Mark Twain books.
Early in his life, Mark Twain had aspirations of becoming a steam boat pilot. That’s where his pen name originates from. Mark Twain is originally a term that signifies a depth of two fathoms or twelve feet, which is a safe depth for riverboats.
Life on Mississippi is essentially a memoir and piece of travel literature. In it, he details his younger days as a steam boater on the Mississippi before the Civil War.
It paints a colorful picture of the Mississippi area, including notes on the river and many towns alongside it.
Life on Mississippi also includes a retelling of a trip Mark Twain took from New Orleans to Saint Paul years after the Civil War. In it, he describes the many changes he witnessed along the river.
The book is both a travelogue and a historical account of the Mississippi river.
Overall, it’s a brilliant piece of non-fiction, a great travelogue and another fantastic Mark Twain book.
The Gilded Age was Mark Twain’s first attempt at writing a novel and was co-authored by Charles Dudley Warner.
As the story goes, it was apparently a result of a bet the two of them set with their wives.
It’s a sharp satire that paints a realistic picture of post-Civil War America, American manners and morals. What’s interesting to note is that the title refers to the three decades following the Civil War and essentially coined the term.
The Gilded Age can be seen as a great example of political criticism. It specifically targets the inner workings of Washington, D. C.
It pokes fun at political figures, opportunistic businessmen and the general hysteria at play in the capital. The book especially criticizes the politics and the rampant corruption of the post-war years.
Its cast of characters comprises crooked politicians, plutocrats, pretentious bankers and naïve bystanders.
It’s a lovingly written novel which is accompanied by humorous illustrations depicting both the politicians and speculators that drove American politics.
Yet, the work also serves as a cautionary tale and remains relevant even today. It depicts the influence money has over the American government.
If you’re solely interested in Mark Twain’s part of the novel, stick to the first eleven chapters of the novel. Overall, The Gilded Age is a highly memorable novel and a Mark Twain book that captured an entire period in American history.
The Mysterious Stranger is a work which was only published posthumously by Mark Twain’s biographer and was unfortunately never finished.
It’s regarded as one of Mark Twain’s darkest works and was written after much heartbreak and disappointment in life. It represents a departure from his earlier humorous writings.
The book contains many of Mark Twain’s musings on man’s dual nature and the battle between God and Satan for our lost souls. It’s a contemplation of human nature and a critic of many aspects of organized religion.
The novel’s plot revolves around a group of boys in sixteenth-century Austria. One day, a mysterious stranger shows up in their town. Soon enough, however, it becomes clear that the man might indeed be the devil.
By the end of his life, Mark Twain was a beaten man and concluded that we’re all flawed creatures. The book showcases his cynicism and disillusionment with humanity and that none of his earlier humor and carefreeness remains.
While it’s regarded as one of his lesser works and is much darker than others, it’s still a fantastic Mark Twain book.
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is essentially a work on racism in America.
It revolves around two boys who look nearly identical. One’s born into slavery because of his 1/32 black ancestry. The other’s white and born to the master of the house.
The first boy’s frightened mother, a slave, switches the babies to give her son a path towards success and respectability. As a result, the two children live reversed identities. Yet, each one of them grows into their destined roles in society.
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, however, also comes with a fantastic support cast that’s as interesting and eccentric as we’re used to from Mark Twain. I especially came to love David Wilson. Every scene he was in was a delight to read.
At first glance, The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson might seem nothing but an entertaining novel, but it’s much more. It’s a witty, clever and expertly woven commentary on slavery and racism.
It brilliantly covers the zeitgeist of white versus black, good versus evil. Yet, it also shows Mark Twain’s darkening outlook on life.
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is another fantastic Mark Twain book, one that feels as relevant today as it was during the time it was written.
Mark Twain – A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is a pinnacle work of satire and a fantastic time travel novel.
Mark Twain was supposedly inspired by reading Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. His idea was to mix the notions and habits of the present day with the necessities of the times of King Arthur.
It tells the story of Hank Morgan, an engineer who’s thrown back in time to the year 538 AD and the court of King Arthur. The results, of course, are as disastrous as they are humorous. Soon enough, his shenanigans run rampant at court.
He challenges the great magician Merlin, and using his modern-day inventions and scientific discoveries becomes the prim sorcerer at court.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court essentially showcases the contrast between feudal monarchy and democratic values in the most humorous of ways.
Yet, the book can also be seen as a cautionary tale against our tendencies to romanticize the past, and even questions the ideals that became dominant after the Industrial Revolution.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is another fantastic and funny Mark Twain book, but once again, deeper messages are hidden inside of it. It’s very well worth reading.
Mark Twain’s autobiography is another one of the Mark Twain books only published posthumously. This one, however, by his own express wish.
While Mark Twain had tried to write an autobiography himself, he could never complete it.
In the last years of his life, however, he would dictate to others or talk to a Stenograph. From these notes, an autobiography was eventually created.
Yet, Mark Twain’s autobiography differs widely from those of others. It’s not in chronological order since he talked about whatever came to his mind. It’s a stream-of-consciousness patchwork of memories, anecdotes, tales and his personal philosophy.
During his life, Mark Twain experienced the gold rush, The Civil War, the Reconstruction and its decline and even the onset of the American Indian Wars. He also endured heartbreak, bankruptcy, but also traveled around the globe.
Mark Twain’s autobiography is full of the wit and genius that made him such an endearing writer. Many of the stories detailed in this work are remarkable.
This book, however, also gives us a unique look at the man that was Mark Twain. He shows us his brilliance and his experiences, but also his flaws and his short attention span.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain is a last testament to how exception a writer and human being he was. It’s without a doubt a Mark Twain book anyone interested in the man should read.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of the books Mark Twain is most well-known for and one of his most-beloved works.
While its original publication was a commercial failure, it eventually became a bestseller during his lifetime.
The novel contains a bit of everything: treasure hunts, disappearances, true friendship and young love. What it’s most of all, however, is a coming-of-age tale for the ages.
The story’s set in the 1840s. It follows a boy named Tom Sawyer who lives on the shore of the Mississippi river with his Aunt Polly in the town of St. Petersburg.
Tom Sawyer is a troublemaker, a romantic and a dreamer. His mischievous adventures often land him in trouble. He even falls for Becky Thatcher, the new girl in town and daughter of the local judge.
When he confesses to her, however, he gets humiliated and plans to run away from home. He soon befriends another boy, Huckleberry Finn and from then on, their troubles double. This culminates in them witnessing a murder at a graveyard which forces the boys to run away from home.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a must-read for anyone who loves American literature, coming-of-age stories or those depicting underdogs.
It’s even more wry than its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. What makes it such a delight to read, however, is Mark Twain’s ability to tap into the minds of children and convey them to his readers. He captures both their youthful innocence, but also their general disrespect for all grown-ups.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a fantastic starting place for those who’ve read no Mark Twain books.
Roughing It was inspired by Mark Twain’s experiences as he traveled through the American West and the Pacific Isles.
It takes place during the years 1861 and 1867, when he traveled with a stagecoach with his older brother Orion.
It’s Mark Twain’s second book and the sequel to The Innocent Abroad and a semi-autobiographical memoir full of humorous stories about his own life and the Wild West.
In this book, Mark Twain shares one of his earliest adventures.
A young Mark Twain set out to mine gold in California. For this, he traveled from town to town in Nevada, to California and eventually Hawaii. During that time he mined gold in California, worked as a prospector, a reporter, a mill worker and a lecturer.
To bring forth all these tales, he often consulted his brother’s diary. Yet, he also used those notes for the occasional imaginary tale to entertain his readers.
We learn, amongst other things, of a near-death-experience, of deadly spiders, volcanos and a humorous encounter with Mormons.
While Roughing it is still a bit rough, especially when compared to his later works, it’s here Mark Twain began to hone his craft. Many of the elements that made his later works so endearing can be found here. They’re his witty observation of the most trivial things, the entertaining plot, his humor and his love for traveling.
It’s another earlier Mark Twain book, but one that gives us an interesting picture of his earlier days both in life and as a writer.
Roughing It is by many regarded as essential reading for fans of Mark Twain, American literature and travel literature.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is by many critics called the Great American novel. It’s by many considered the apex of Mark Twain’s writing career and skill. Even Ernest Hemingway praised it in the highest tones and famously said it’s where all American literature began.
It’s a deep-felt portrayal of boyhood, but also a satire of Southern society, particularly their attitude towards race.
In this sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, a 13-year-old boy flees his abusive home. Together with a runaway slave, he sails south on the Mississippi on a rugged draft.
Both of them are trying to break free, Jim from being a slave and Huck from the constraints of society. Throughout their travels, the two of them meet various people and get entangled in comical adventures. They encounter con men, witness fake deaths and even raging family feuds.
What’s most prevalent throughout the work, however, is Huck’s goodness and his disdain for racial prejudice.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an endearing, rich narrative of a boyhood adventure. What makes it such an interesting and enjoyable read, however, is our protagonists struggle to defy society.
Similarly to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it’s regarded as an adventure novel, but it’s also a commentary on the ugly side of society.
It’s all these parts: the humor, the adventure, the youthfulness of Huck, the troubles of Jim and its social commentary that have elevated The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the place it has today.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel for anyone, not only for fans of Mark Twain books or for American literature. If you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to do so.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the most influential American writers of all time. Many of the best Hemingway books are regarded amongst the finest works of American literature.
He was a deeply profound writer, one who shared greatly about the hardships of love, life, but also other topics such as war and opposing the unconquerable.
Ernest Hemingway
His works shine by a combination of a simplistic, yet powerful style, deep themes and an often harsh portrayal of realism.
He’s a writer who differed vastly from his peers. He branded a new, simplistic style of writing.
Over the years, I’ve read many of the best Hemingway books, but I also have taken his approach to the craft to heart. I think reading Ernest Hemingway is a great experience. His works might appear simplistic, but they are full of life, of a feeling of love and profound insight. If you’re interested in more classical literature recommendations, check out or classical literature category.
The Sun Also Rises was Hemingway’s debut and first novel. It’s, however, regarded by many as one of the best Hemingway books out there.
The novel’s defined by a contrast of Midwestern values and new experiences in post-World War I Europe. It showcases life in Paris with friends and acquaintances, meaningless revelry, but also bullfighting in Spain. It portrays the bad and the ugly of people who return from World War one, those who are lost and how they try to create something beautiful.
Its protagonist is typical of Hemingway. He’s competent, confident, yet doomed to stay unfulfilled. It’s, in essence, a personal and literary search for meaning.
The Sun Also Rises is a courageous attempt to write in a different way. It shows Hemingway’s mastery of dialogue, but also his sparse and simplistic style of description and narrative.
The Sun Also Rises is self-indulgent, promiscuous and even unflattering, but most of all, it’s honest. It shows an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love and vanishing illusions.
It’s lively, engrossing, clearly one of the best Hemingway books out there and a must read for fans of his work.
A Farewell to Arms is Hemingway’s second novel and a fictional retelling of the events that shaped his worldview.
It’s about a young man who leaves the Midwest and goes to Italy as an ambulance driver. He wanted to join the Great War, display honor and courage, but was instead blown apart in the trenches. We see him falling in love, contemplating marriage before being rejected. In essence, it shows us how man faces life’s challenges.
It’s the first novel of his that should feature one of his most dominant themes: confrontation with death.
A Farewell to Arms is one of the most important works on World War I. It shows us that war brings out the best and worst in man, shows us weary and demoralized men and the profound struggles between loyalty and desertion.
One can also see that Hemingway’s become more confident in his craft since he wrote The Sun Also Rises.
Overall, A Farewell to Arms is another one of the best Hemingway books out there, and quite a profound and enjoyable read.
Hemingway was a big fan of bullfighting and we can see it in Death in the Afternoon.
This one of the best Hemingway books is his defining work on the subject. He describes bullfighting not as merely a sport, but as an inspiration for his art. He sees it as something akin to a richly choreographed ballet.
One of Hemingway’s most popular themes is courage and grace under pressure, and it’s what he sees as the essence of bullfighting. He does a tremendous job of illustrating both the savageness and the beauty of it. He describes it in detail, sheds light on the rigorous combination of athleticism and artistry, as well as the technical aspects and dangers of it.
Death in the Afternoon is a novel full of examination and insight. It shows bravery and cowardice, heroism and tragedy, and, of course, life and death.
While it’s not one of Hemingway’s most popular novels, I still believe it to be amongst the best Hemingway books and one anyone should read.
To Have and Have Not is a novel about Hemingway’s growing awareness of the different financial and social classes of people.
Its cast of characters are based on the people Hemingway met during his time in Key West. They comprise the working class on the docks, the illegal immigrants who are smuggled in from Cuba and the rich who moor their boats there.
The plot centers on a man who’s forced to run contraband between Cuba and Key West to keep his family afloat. It leads him into a world of wealthy yachtsmen and involves him in a strange and unlikely love affair.
To Have and Have Not is a depression-era novel. It’s a harsh and realistic work, yet also oddly tender. Hemingway argues for political and social change to help the working class, yet he doesn’t think the New Deal is a solution.
Via the novel’s main character, he outlines the limits of personal freedom, self-reliance and the absence of grace under pressure.
It’s a profound and deep work and amongst the best Hemingway books.
The Green Hills of Africa is Hemingway’s venture into the realm of nonfiction. It details his real-life adventure of going hunting in East Africa and provides us with insights into his life and adventures.
In his prose, he showcases the rich, unsullied lands of Africa, the fat herds, but also the dangers of overhunting and the scarcity of nature.
It’s regarded as one of the most essential books in the travel literature genre. When I first read it, I loved every page and even now I regard it as one of the best Hemingway books out there.
Ernest Hemingway – The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway started his literary career as a writer of short stories and he became a monster of the form.
This giant book is the definite collection of all his short stories and contains all sixty he ever wrote.
It contains many highly regarded classics such as ‘Hills Like White Elephants,’ ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro,’ ‘The Killers,’ and, of course, ‘Indian Camp.’
It’s a fantastic collection, a true showcase of Hemingway’s mastery of the short story, and it contains some of the greatest short fiction ever written.
A Moveable Feast is Hemingway’s memoir and was only published posthumously.
Did you ever dream of going to Paris to become a writer? If you read this book, I’m sure you’ll find it as tempting as I did.
I regard A Moveable Feast as one of the greatest and most definite memories any young writer could read, probably the best.
Before Hemingway wrote about deep sea fishing, hunting, or his experiences in war, he was a young man who desired to hone his craft.
The book’s essential a time capsule that takes us back to this time, the Paris of the 1920s.
What’s interesting to note is that it also gives us insight into other writers of the period, most notably F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein.
A Moveable Feast is definitely amongst the best Hemingway books out there, and it’s a warm, heartfelt love letter to the craft of writing and of being young.
The Old Man and the Sea was the work Hemingway published before his death.
It’s, in my opinion, his most refined and finely crafted work and his most enduring book. It’s a short, but outstanding read.
Based on his experiences in Cuba, Hemingway created the character of Santiago, an old fisherman. After an unlucky streak of not catching anything for eighty-five days, the old man catches a great marlin. Yet, his luck doesn’t last for long, for the fish is soon torn apart by sharks.
All the while, the old man reminisces about his life and his experiences as an arm wrestling-champion.
The novel’s a testament to Hemingway’s view of life, confront the unconquerable and to fight and show courage under pressure.
The old man doesn’t give in, not until the end, even though he knows he’s lost.
All this is encapsulated in the novel’s most famous line ‘A man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.’
The Old Man and the Sea is a testament of his mastery of the craft like no other. The style is simplistic, yet incredibly powerful.
When the book was first published, it was an incredible success. It was first awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and later the Noble Price in Literature.
It’s without a doubt one of the best Hemingway books, if not the best, and it’s a book anyone should read.
For Whom the Bell Tolls is Hemingway’s magnum opus and clearly one of the best Hemingway books ever written.
It’s based on Hemingway’s experiences as a correspondent during the Spanish Civil war and going behind enemy lines, similar to the novel’s protagonist.
The novel showcases his classic themes in all their glory: the courage of man under pressure and the conflicts of love and war.
Once more, Hemingway uses his personal experiences, as well as that of friends and acquaintances, to develop his fictional retelling. Many of the characters in the novel are based on people Hemingway knew himself.
The novel takes place over three days and is set near the El Tajo gorge.
One of the most outstanding parts of the novel is the description of the political massacre in Pablo’s village. The best, however, at least in my opinion, was his description of the smell of death. It was something I’d never seen outlined in such detail before.
It’s a fantastic novel, and one of his most popular by far.
While it can be tough, or even tedious at times, it makes up for it by those parts who are nothing short of brilliant.
It’s a story that’s beautiful, strong and brutal, but also compassionate, moving and wise.
For me, For Whom the Bell Tolls is the best Hemingway book out there, and a book that anyone should read.
