The Greatest British Books of All Time on Existentialism

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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
63 Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry 1947 British English
190 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 1979 British English
410 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham 1944 British English
442 The Magus John Fowles 1965 British English
567 The French Lieutenant's Woman John Fowles 1969 British English
662 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
808 Watchmen Alan Moore 1986 American, British English
902 Under the Net Iris Murdoch 1954 British English
1139 The Unquiet Grave Cyril Connolly 1944 British English
1238 The Age of Anxiety W. H. Auden 1947 British English
1399 Star Maker Olaf Stapledon 1937 British English
1403 The Outsider Colin Wilson 1956 British English
1526 A History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell 1945 British English
2011 Pincher Martin William Golding 1956 British English
2156 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2293 The Divided Self R. D. Laing 1960 British English
3108 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Douglas Adams 1987 British English
3182 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
3209 Briefing For A Descent Into Hell Doris May Lessing 1971 British English
3241 Sweet Dreams Michael Frayn 1973 British English
3533 The Birthday Party Harold Pinter 1958 British English
4559 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
5891 Sartor Resartus Thomas Carlyle 1836 British English
6261 At The Existentialist Café Sarah Bakewell 2016 British English
6379 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
6472 The Sound Of My Voice Ron Butlin 1987 British English
7215 The City Of The Dreadful Night James Thomson 1880 British English
7836 The Midnight Library Matt Haig 2020 British English
8143 Jerusalem Commands Michael Moorcock 1992 British English
8202 4.48 Psychosis Sarah Kane 2000 British English
8239 How The Dead Live Will Self 2000 British English
10200 Monsieur, Or The Prince Of Darkness Lawrence Durrell 1974 British English
10241 A History of Philosophy Frederick Charles Copleston 1946 British English
10450 Nothing to be Frightened Of Julian Barnes 2008 British English
10657 An Accidental Man Iris Murdoch 1971 British English
11661 Staring At The Sun Julian Barnes 1986 British English
14817 Restaurant At The End Of The Universe Douglas Adams 1980 British English
14922 Life, The Universe And Everything Douglas Adams 1982 British English
14984 Wittgenstein Jr. Lars Iyer 2014 British English
14984 Altered Carbon Richard Morgan 2002 British English
14984 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons 1967 British English
14984 The New Confessions William Boyd 1987 British English
15903 The Journal Of A Disappointed Man W. N. P. Barbellion 1919 British English
16654 The Pilgrim's Regress C. S. Lewis 1933 British English
17130 Adam's Breed Radclyffe Hall 1926 British English
17130 The Moment Of Eclipse Brian Aldiss 1970 British English
17130 Confessions Of A Philosopher Bryan Magee 1997 British English
17130 A Short History Of Modern Philosophy Roger Scruton 1982 British English
17130 The Marriage Question Clare Carlisle 2022 British English
17130 Stranger Than We Can Imagine John Higgs 2015 British English
17130 The Salmon Of Doubt Douglas Adams 2002 British English
17130 August Blue Deborah Levy 2023 British English
17130 Katherine Carlyle Rupert Thomson 2015 British English
17130 Cave & Julia M. John Harrison 2014 British English
17130 The Humans Matt Haig 2013 British English
17130 Insignificance Terry Johnson 1982 British English
17130 The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again M. John Harrison 2020 British English
17130 Infinite Ground Martin MacInnes 2016 British English
17130 The Hitchhiker's Trilogy Douglas Adams 1979 British English