The Greatest Tragedy 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
1 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 American English
8 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 1877 Russian Russian
10 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë 1847 British English
18 The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929 American English
19 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert 1857 French French
21 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck 1939 American English
47 Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner 1936 American English
65 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 British English
70 The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford 1915 British English
75 The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton 1920 American English
76 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
78 The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky 1869 Russian Russian
84 All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque 1928 German German
86 Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 German German
91 Native Son Richard Wright 1940 American English
92 As I Lay Dying William Faulkner 1930 American English
93 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
97 Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry 1947 British English
99 Buddenbrooks Thomas Mann 1901 German German
102 For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 1940 American English
124 A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway 1929 American English
130 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers 1940 American English
132 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 1891 British English
133 Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak 1957 Russian Russian
143 Rabbit, Run John Updike 1960 American English
146 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
153 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
158 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British English
165 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
171 All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren 1946 American English
173 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin 1956 American English
177 Light in August William Faulkner 1932 American English
180 Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald 1934 American English
193 An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 1925 American English
198 Man's Fate Andre Malraux 1933 French French
204 The House of Mirth Edith Wharton 1905 American English
215 Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham 1915 British English
232 Oblomov Ivan Goncharov 1859 Russian Russian
234 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 1937 American English
248 Dangerous Liaison Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 French French
252 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee 1999 South African English
253 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African English
257 The Epic Of Gilgamesh Unknown -2100 Multiple Akkadian
266 The Radetzky March Joseph Roth 1932 Austrian German
273 The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy 1886 Russian Russian
288 The Road Cormac McCarthy 2006 American English
296 The Awakening Kate Chopin 1899 American English
303 Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson 1980 American English
306 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
309 The Mill on the Floss George Eliot 1860 British English
314 The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy 1886 British English
320 Kristin Lavransdatter Sigrid Undset 1920 Norwegian Norwegian
325 Wings of the Dove Henry James 1902 American English
327 The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
329 La Regenta Clarín 1884 Spanish Spanish
334 Celestina Or The Tragic-Comedy Of Calisto And Melibea Fernando de Rojas 1499 Spanish Spanish
337 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy 1895 British English
346 A Death in the Family James Agee 1957 American English
350 Clarissa Samuel Richardson 1748 British English
359 The Man Who Loved Children Christina Stead 1940 Australian English
362 The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion 2005 American English
371 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
388 American Pastoral Philip Roth 1997 American English
407 Germinal Émile Zola 1885 French French
409 Passing Nella Larsen 1929 American English
417 Effi Briest Theodor Fontane 1895 German German
421 Fortunata and Jacinta Benito Pérez Galdós 1887 Spanish Spanish
424 Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin 1833 Russian Russian
433 Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser 1900 American English
434 Another Country James Baldwin 1962 American English
435 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
446 The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen 1938 British, Irish English
450 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
451 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
460 The Day of the Locust Nathanael West 1939 American English
461 The Human Stain Philip Roth 2000 American English
467 Ethan Frome Edith Wharton 1911 American English
471 A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 1934 British English
477 The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison 1970 American English
480 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
488 The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Giorgio Bassani 1962 Italian Italian
509 New Grub Street George Gissing 1891 British English
514 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry 1995 Indian English
518 Her Lover Albert Cohen 1968 Swiss French
531 Sula Toni Morrison 1973 American English
532 Arrow of God Chinua Achebe 1964 Nigerian English
535 The English Patient Michael Ondaatje 1992 Canadian English
539 Oroonoko Aphra Behn 1688 British English
553 The Custom of the Country Edith Wharton 1913 American English
555 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
589 Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison 1992 American English
610 Death in Venice Thomas Mann 1912 German German
612 Drunkard Émile Zola 1877 French Unknown
629 The Return of the Native Thomas Hardy 1878 British English
632 History Elsa Morante 1974 Italian Italian
633 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
641 Thérèse Raquin Émile Zola 1867 French French
648 Revolutionary Road Richard Yates 1961 American English
654 The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst 2004 British English
672 The Street Ann Petry 1946 American English
710 The Heart of the Matter Graham Greene 1948 British English
717 Peyton Place Grace Metalious 1956 American English
721 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
725 Them Joyce Carol Oates 1969 American English
728 The Temple of the Golden Pavilion Yukio Mishima 1956 Japanese Japanese
732 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
750 Les Enfants Terribles Jean Cocteau 1929 French French
752 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac 1833 French French
757 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
760 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
764 Fateless or Fatelessness Imre Kertész 1975 Hungarian Hungarian
789 Sophie's Choice William Styron 1979 American English
792 The Bacchae Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
802 Rickshaw Boy Lao She 1936 Chinese Chinese
811 A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 1947 American English
832 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
836 The Life Before Us Romain Gary 1975 French French
861 Chaka Thomas Mofolo 1925 South African Sesotho
865 Prometheus Bound Aeschylus -455 Greek Ancient greek
906 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek