The Best Classics

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

The Times, 93 Books

The Times selection of the 100 best classic works of literature.

This list was originally published in 2006 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey

Cover of 'Call to Arms' by Lu Xun
Call to Arms

Lu Xun

Cover of 'Wide Sargasso Sea' by Jean Rhys
Wide Sargasso Sea

Jean Rhys

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

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Notes from the Underground' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Notes from the Underground

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Story of the Eye' by Georges Bataille
Story of the Eye

Georges Bataille

Cover of 'A Spy In The House Of Love' by Anaïs Nin
A Spy In The House Of Love

Anaïs Nin

Cover of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' by D. H. Lawrence
Lady Chatterley's Lover

D. H. Lawrence

Cover of 'Venus in Furs' by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch
Venus in Furs

Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch

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

Geoffrey Chaucer

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

Fyodor Dostoevsky

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

Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'Diamonds Are Forever' by Ian Fleming
Diamonds Are Forever

Ian Fleming

Cover of 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Master and Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov

Cover of 'The Secret Agent' by Joseph Conrad
The Secret Agent

Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'A Room With a View' by E. M. Forster
A Room With a View

E. M. Forster

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Cover of 'Don Juan' by Lord Byron
Don Juan

Lord Byron

Cover of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' by Tennessee Williams
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Tennessee Williams

Cover of 'Love in a Cold Climate' by Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate

Nancy Mitford

Cover of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens
David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot
Middlemarch

George Eliot

Cover of 'Long Walk To Freedom' by Nelson Mandela
Long Walk To Freedom

Nelson Mandela

Cover of 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Cover of 'She' by H. Rider Haggard
She

H. Rider Haggard

Cover of 'The Age of Innocence' by Edith Wharton
The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton

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

Victor Hugo

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

Thomas Hardy

Cover of 'The Old Curiosity Shop' by Charles Dickens
The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson

Cover of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker
Dracula

Bram Stoker

Cover of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Cover of 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James
The Turn of the Screw

Henry James

Cover of 'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray
Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray

Cover of 'The Castle of Otranto' by Horace Walpole
The Castle of Otranto

Horace Walpole

Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Truman Capote

Cover of 'Emma' by Jane Austen
Emma

Jane Austen

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac
On the Road

Jack Kerouac

Cover of 'The Odyssey' by Homer
The Odyssey

Homer

Cover of 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

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

Lewis Carroll

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'Household Tales' by Brothers Grimm
Household Tales

Brothers Grimm

Cover of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Cover of 'The Beautiful and Damned' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' by Alex Haley
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Alex Haley

Cover of 'Vile Bodies' by Evelyn Waugh
Vile Bodies

Evelyn Waugh

Cover of 'Against Nature' by J. K. Huysmans
Against Nature

J. K. Huysmans

Cover of 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus
The Stranger

Albert Camus

Cover of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell
Animal Farm

George Orwell

Cover of 'Communist Manifesto' by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels

Cover of 'Les Misérables' by Victor Hugo
Les Misérables

Victor Hugo

Cover of 'The Time Machine' by H. G. Wells
The Time Machine

H. G. Wells

Cover of 'The Man in the High Castle' by Philip K. Dick
The Man in the High Castle

Philip K. Dick

Cover of 'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham
The Day of the Triffids

John Wyndham

Cover of 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin
We

Yevgeny Zamyatin

Cover of 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

Cover of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells
The Invisible Man

H. G. Wells

Cover of 'Hell's Angels' by Hunter S. Thompson
Hell's Angels

Hunter S. Thompson

Cover of 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Another Country' by James Baldwin
Another Country

James Baldwin

Cover of 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote
In Cold Blood

Truman Capote

Cover of 'Junky' by William S. Burroughs
Junky

William S. Burroughs

Cover of 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins

Cover of 'The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Cover of 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty Four

George Orwell

Cover of 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' by Edward Abbey
The Monkey Wrench Gang

Edward Abbey

Cover of 'The Subterraneans' by Jack Kerouac
The Subterraneans

Jack Kerouac

Cover of 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

Cover of 'Death Of A Salesman' by Arthur Miller
Death Of A Salesman

Arthur Miller

Cover of 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White

Wilkie Collins

Cover of 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle

Cover of 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' by John Buchan
The Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan

Cover of 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'Thérèse Raquin' by Émile Zola
Thérèse Raquin

Émile Zola

Cover of 'Dangerous Liaison' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Dangerous Liaison

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

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

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves
I, Claudius

Robert Graves

Cover of 'Hangover Square' by Patrick Hamilton
Hangover Square

Patrick Hamilton

Cover of 'Lives of the Caesars' by Suetonius
Lives of the Caesars

Suetonius

Cover of 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson

Cover of 'The Iliad' by Homer
The Iliad

Homer

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

Alexandre Dumas

Cover of 'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming
From Russia with Love

Ian Fleming

Cover of 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons
Cold Comfort Farm

Stella Gibbons

Cover of 'The Diary of a Nobody' by George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith
The Diary of a Nobody

George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith

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

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Scoop' by Evelyn Waugh
Scoop

Evelyn Waugh

Cover of 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis
Lucky Jim

Kingsley Amis