The Greatest Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
4309 The Unbearable Bassington Saki 1912 British English
4309 Hurrah For St Trinian's Ronald Searle 1948 British English
4309 The Adventures Of Ferdinand Count Fathom Tobias Smollett 1753 British English
4309 Something Fresh P. G. Wodehouse 1915 British English
4309 Piccadilly Jim P. G. Wodehouse 1917 British English
4309 Epitaph For A Spy Eric Ambler 1938 British English
4309 Journey Into Fear Eric Ambler 1940 British English
4309 The Secret Adversary Agatha Christie 1922 British English
4309 A Gun For Sale Graham Greene 1936 British English
4309 Death At The President's Lodging Michael Innes 1936 British English
4309 The Strange Borders Of Palace Crescent E. Phillips Oppenheim 1934 British English
4309 The Getaway Jim Thompson 1958 American English
4309 The Shrimp And The Anemone L. P. Hartley 1944 British English
4309 Invitation To The Waltz Rosamond Lehmann 1932 British English
4309 Pointed Roofs Dorothy Richardson 1915 British English
4309 Alberta And Jacob Cora Sandel 1926 Norwegian Norwegian
4309 The Three Sisters May Sinclair 1914 British English
4309 Peace In War Miguel de Unamuno 1897 Spanish Spanish
4309 Love For Lydia H. E. Bates 1952 British English
4309 The Parasites Daphne du Maurier 1949 British English
4309 Regency Buck Georgette Heyer 1935 British English
4309 Moon Over Africa Pamela Kent 1955 British English
4309 The Weather In The Streets Rosamond Lehmann 1936 British English
4309 Ali And Nino Kurban Said 1937 Azerbaijani German
4309 The Reluctant Orphan Sara Seale 1947 British English
4309 Vril Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1871 British English
4309 After London; Or, Wild England Richard Jefferies 1885 British English
4309 The Victorian Chaise Longue Marghanita Laski 1953 British English
4309 The Last September Elizabeth Bowen 1929 Irish English
4309 The Odd Women George Gissing 1893 British English
4309 Love On The Dole Walter Greenwood 1933 British English
4309 A Girl In Winter Philip Larkin 1947 British English
4309 Of Love & Hunger Julian Maclaren-Ross 1947 British English
4309 Afternoon Men Anthony Powell 1931 British English
4309 Darkness Falls From The Air Nigel Balchin 1942 British English
4309 Fair Stood The Wind For France H. E. Bates 1944 British English
4309 The History Of Pompey The Little Francis Coventry 1751 British English
4309 Three Soldiers John Dos Passos 1921 American English
4309 Count Belisarius Robert Graves 1938 British English
4309 The Mark Of Zorro Johnston McCulley 1919 American English
4309 The Children Of The New Forest Frederick Marryat 1847 British English
4309 The Hunters James Salter 1956 American English
4309 Williwaw Gore Vidal 1946 American English
4364 The Anatomy Of A Moment Javier Cercas 2009 Spanish Spanish
4365 América Hispánica Guillermo Céspedes del Castillo 1983 Peruvian Spanish
4366 Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain 2000 American English
4368 The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie 1995 British English
4367 The Clockmaker Thomas Chandler Haliburton 1800 Canadian English
4369 More Die Of Heartbreak Saul Bellow 1987 American English
4370 Crazy Rich Asians Kevin Kwan 2013 American English
4371 The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind Joseph Murphy 1963 American English
4371 Frost Thomas Bernhard 1963 Austrian German
4371 Irrlicht Und Feuer Max von der Grün 1963 German German
4371 Nobodaddy's Children Arno Schmidt 1963 German German
4371 The Long Voyage Jorge Semprún 1963 French French
4377 The Diversity of Life E. O. Wilson 1992 American English
4378 Heart Edmondo de Amicis 1886 Italian Italian
4378 A Woman Sibilla Aleramo 1906 Italian Italian
4378 Eyes Shut Federigo Tozzi 1919 Italian Italian
4378 Revolt In Aspromonte Corrado Alvaro 1930 Italian Italian
4376 The Truce Unknown 1963 Italian Spanish
4382 How To End A Story Helen Garner 2021 Australian English
4384 Flowers in the Attic V. C. Andrews 1979 American English
4383 A Tale Of Poor Lovers Vasco Pratolini 1947 Italian Italian
4386 It's A Hard Life Luciano Bianciardi 1962 Italian Italian
4386 Fratelli D'italia Alberto Arbasino 1963 Italian Italian
4385 Incubus Giuseppe Berto 1964 Italian Italian
4388 Novecento Alessandro Baricco 1994 Italian Italian
4389 James Joyce Richard Ellmann 1959 American English
4390 The Bishop Murder Case S. S. Van Dine 1929 American English
4391 Crabwalk Günter Grass 2002 German German
4392 The Winds Of War Herman Wouk 1971 American English
4393 The Friend Sigrid Nunez 2018 American English
4394 Halifax, Warden Of The North Thomas H. Raddall 1948 Canadian English
4395 We The Animals Justin Torres 2011 American English
4396 Tobacco Dimitar Dimov 1951 Bulgarian Bulgarian
4397 The Faces Of Silence Augustin Buzura 1974 Romanian Romanian
4397 Țara îndepărtată Sorin Titel 1974 Romanian Romanian
4399 The Obscene Bird Of Night José Donoso 1970 Chilean Spanish
4400 Ariosto Chelsa quinn yarbro 1972 American Unknown
4401 The Revolt Of The Angels Anatole France 1914 French French
4401 The Sword Of Welleran Lord Dunsany 1908 Irish English
4403 The L Shaped Room Lynne Reid Banks 1960 British English
4403 A Kind Of Loving Stan Barstow 1960 British English
4403 This Sporting Life David Storey 1960 British English
4403 Fortunes Of War Olivia Manning 1960 British English
4407 The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea Yukio Mishima 1963 Japanese Japanese
4408 The Essential Rumi Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi 1995 Persian Persian
4409 Salammbô Gustave Flaubert 1862 French French
4410 The Pigeon Patrick Suskind 1987 German German
4413 Norma Vladimir Sorokin 1970 Russian Russian
4412 The Iron Candlestick Dimitar Talev 1952 Bulgarian Bulgarian
4411 Sharpe's Eagle Bernard Cornwell 1981 British English
4414 The House Book Terence Conran 1974 British English
4415 Diary Witold Gombrowicz 1986 Polish Polish
4416 Detransition, Baby Torrey Peters 2021 American English
4417 A Bright Shining Lie Neil Sheehan 1988 American English
4418 Johnny The Partisan Beppe Fenoglio 1968 Italian Italian
4419 The Swerve Stephen Greenblatt 2011 American English
4420 Selections From The Tatler And The Spectator Joseph Addison, Richard Steele 1804 British English
4420 Poems Of George Herbert George Herbert 1633 British English
4420 Memoirs Of The Author Of A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman William Godwin 1798 British English
4420 Life Of John Sterling Thomas Carlyle 1851 British English
4420 The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies James McNeill Whistler 1890 American English
4420 Guide To Kulchur Ezra Pound 1938 American English
4420 The Voysey Inheritance Harley Granville Barker 1905 British English
4420 The Madras House Harley Granville Barker 1910 British English
4420 Trifles Susan Glaspell 1916 American English
4420 Desire Under The Elms Eugene O'Neill 1924 American English
4430 The Family of Man Edward Steichen 1955 American English
4430 One Dimensional Man Herbert Marcuse 1964 German English
4430 And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like To Meet The Milkman Peter Bichsel 1964 Swiss German
4430 Das Große Protokoll Gegen Zwetschkenbaum Albert Drach 1964 Austrian German
4434 Verzameld Werk: Poëzie Paul van Ostaijen 1955 Belgian Dutch
4435 House Mother Normal B. S. Johnson 1971 British English
4436 A Mother's Kisses Bruce Jay Friedman 1964 American English
4436 In Dreams Begin Responsibilities And Other Stories Delmore Schwartz 1938 American English
4436 Native Funk & Flash Alexandra Jacopetti 1974 American English
4436 The Dream Songs John Berryman 1964 American English
4440 The Thief's Journal Jean Genet 1949 French French