Masterpieces of World Literature

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Frank N. Magill, 244 Books

Scholar Frank N. Magill’s famous literary studies reference book. A selection of over 200 of the greatest works of literature of all time

This list was originally published in 1991 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'One Thousand and One Nights' by Unknown
One Thousand and One Nights

Unknown

Cover of 'Beowulf' by Unknown
Beowulf

Unknown

Cover of 'The Epic Of Gilgamesh' by Unknown
The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Unknown

Cover of 'Everyman' by Unknown
Everyman

Unknown

Cover of 'The Twelve Labours of Hercules' by Unknown
The Twelve Labours of Hercules

Unknown

Cover of 'Argonautika' by Apollonius of Rhodes
Argonautika

Apollonius of Rhodes

Cover of 'The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes' by Unknown
The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes

Unknown

Cover of 'Mahabharata' by Vyasa
Mahabharata

Vyasa

Cover of 'The Nibelungenlied' by Unknown
The Nibelungenlied

Unknown

Cover of 'Orpheus and Eurydice' by Unknown
Orpheus and Eurydice

Unknown

Cover of 'Poem of the Cid' by Unknown
Poem of the Cid

Unknown

Cover of 'Reynard the Fox' by Unknown
Reynard the Fox

Unknown

Cover of 'The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood' by Howard Pyle
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Howard Pyle

Cover of 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' by Simon Armitage
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Simon Armitage

Cover of 'The Song of Roland' by Unknown
The Song of Roland

Unknown

Cover of 'Fairy Tales and Stories' by Hans Christian Andersen
Fairy Tales and Stories

Hans Christian Andersen

Cover of 'The Birds' by Aristophanes
The Birds

Aristophanes

Cover of 'Confessions' by Augustine
Confessions

Augustine

Cover of 'Decameron' by Giovanni Boccaccio
Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio

Cover of 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri
The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

Cover of 'The Education of Henry Adams' by Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams

Henry Adams

Cover of 'Emma' by Jane Austen
Emma

Jane Austen

Cover of 'Lysistrata' by Aristophanes
Lysistrata

Aristophanes

Cover of 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius
Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Cover of 'Oresteia' by Aeschylus
Oresteia

Aeschylus

Cover of 'The Orlando Furioso' by Lodovico Ariosto
The Orlando Furioso

Lodovico Ariosto

Cover of 'Poetics' by Aristotle
Poetics

Aristotle

Cover of 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Cover of 'Prometheus Bound' by Aeschylus
Prometheus Bound

Aeschylus

Cover of 'Summa Theologica' by Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica

Thomas Aquinas

Cover of 'Robert Browning's Poetry' by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's Poetry

Robert Browning

Cover of 'Eugenie Grandet' by Honoré de Balzac
Eugenie Grandet

Honoré de Balzac

Cover of 'The Flowers of Evil' by Charles Baudelaire
The Flowers of Evil

Charles Baudelaire

Cover of 'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck
The Good Earth

Pearl S. Buck

Cover of 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Cover of 'Life Is a Dream' by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Life Is a Dream

Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Cover of 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' by James Boswell
The Life of Samuel Johnson

James Boswell

Cover of 'Selected Poems of Lord Byron' by Lord Byron
Selected Poems of Lord Byron

Lord Byron

Cover of 'New Atlantis' by Francis Bacon
New Atlantis

Francis Bacon

Cover of 'The Old Wives' Tale' by Arnold Bennett
The Old Wives' Tale

Arnold Bennett

Cover of 'Father Goriot' by Honoré de Balzac
Father Goriot

Honoré de Balzac

Cover of 'Pilgrim's Progress' by John Bunyan
Pilgrim's Progress

John Bunyan

Cover of 'Poems of Matsuo Bashō' by Matsuo Bashō
Poems of Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō

Cover of 'The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake' by William Blake
The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake

William Blake

Cover of 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sonnets from the Portuguese

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Cover of 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett
Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Cover of 'Biographia Literaria' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Biographia Literaria

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Cover of 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

Cover of 'Le Cid' by Pierre Corneille
Le Cid

Pierre Corneille

Cover of 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' by Willa Cather
Death Comes for the Archbishop

Willa Cather

Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'The Last of the Mohicans' by James Fenimore Cooper
The Last of the Mohicans

James Fenimore Cooper

Cover of 'My Antonia' by Willa Cather
My Antonia

Willa Cather

Cover of 'Nostromo' by Joseph Conrad
Nostromo

Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'Catiline Orations' by Marcus Tullius Cicero
Catiline Orations

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cover of 'The Pioneers' by James Fenimore Cooper
The Pioneers

James Fenimore Cooper

Cover of 'The Plague' by Albert Camus
The Plague

Albert Camus

Cover of 'The Red Badge of Courage' by Stephen Crane
The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane

Cover of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Cover of 'Three Sisters' by Anton Chekhov
Three Sisters

Anton Chekhov

Cover of 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Cover of 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens
David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Nicholas Nickleby' by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'On the Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

Cover of 'The Pickwick Papers' by Charles Dickens
The Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Poems of Emily Dickinson' by Emily Dickinson
Poems of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Cover of 'Demons' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Demons

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne' by John Donne
The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne

John Donne

Cover of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Cover of 'The Bacchae' by Euripides
The Bacchae

Euripides

Cover of 'Electra' by Sophocles
Electra

Sophocles

Cover of 'The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson' by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cover of 'Four Quartets' by T. S. Eliot
Four Quartets

T. S. Eliot

Cover of 'Medea' by Euripides
Medea

Euripides

Cover of 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot
Middlemarch

George Eliot

Cover of 'Parzival' by Wolfram Eschenbach
Parzival

Wolfram Eschenbach

Cover of 'Silas Marner' by George Eliot
Silas Marner

George Eliot

Cover of 'Trojan Women' by Euripides
Trojan Women

Euripides

Cover of 'Absalom, Absalom!' by William Faulkner
Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner

Cover of 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin' by Benjamin Franklin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Cover of 'A Fable' by William Faulkner
A Fable

William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Interpretation of Dreams' by Sigmund Freud
The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud

Cover of 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'A Passage to India' by E. M. Forster
A Passage to India

E. M. Forster

Cover of 'Penguin Island' by Anatole France
Penguin Island

Anatole France

Cover of 'The Poems of Robert Frost' by Robert Frost
The Poems of Robert Frost

Robert Frost

Cover of 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

Cover of 'Tom Jones' by Henry Fielding
Tom Jones

Henry Fielding

Cover of 'Dead Souls' by Nikolai Gogol
Dead Souls

Nikolai Gogol

Cover of 'Faust' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Cover of 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' by Edward Gibbon
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon

Cover of 'Stories of Nikolai Gogol' by Nikolai Gogol
Stories of Nikolai Gogol

Nikolai Gogol

Cover of 'She Stoops to Conquer' by Oliver Goldsmith
She Stoops to Conquer

Oliver Goldsmith

Cover of 'The Odes' by Horace
The Odes

Horace

Cover of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' by Cao Xueqin
Dream of the Red Chamber

Cao Xueqin

Cover of 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding' by David Hume
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

David Hume

Cover of 'A Farewell to Arms' by Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'The Histories of Herodotus' by Herodotus
The Histories of Herodotus

Herodotus

Cover of 'The House of the Seven Gables' by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cover of 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' by Victor Hugo
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Victor Hugo

Cover of 'Hunger' by Knut Hamsun
Hunger

Knut Hamsun

Cover of 'The Iliad' by Homer
The Iliad

Homer

Cover of 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure

Thomas Hardy

Cover of 'Leviathan' by Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes

Cover of 'Les Misérables' by Victor Hugo
Les Misérables

Victor Hugo

Cover of 'The Odyssey' by Homer
The Odyssey

Homer

Cover of 'The Old Man and the Sea' by Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'The Return of the Native' by Thomas Hardy
The Return of the Native

Thomas Hardy

Cover of 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cover of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

Cover of 'Works and Days' by Hesiod
Works and Days

Hesiod