The Greatest Books of All Time on Imprisonment

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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
87 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
138 The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal 1839 French French
188 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 British English
351 Moll Flanders Daniel Defoe 1722 British English
529 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
610 Requiem Anna Akhmatova 1963 Russian Russian
731 The Mysteries of Udolpho Ann Radcliffe 1794 British English
757 The Adventures of Caleb Williams William Godwin 1794 British English
929 Our Lady of the Flowers Jean Genet 1943 French French
938 Burger's Daughter Nadine Gordimer 1979 South African English
1012 Invitation To A Beheading Vladimir Nabokov 1935 American Russian
1464 Little Dorrit Charles Dickens 1855 British English
1575 Borstal Boy Brendan Behan 1958 Irish English
2229 A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles 2016 American English
2544 The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe 1842 American English
2547 The Enormous Room E. E. Cummings 1922 American English
2681 The Czar's Madman Jaan Kross 1978 Estonian Estonian
3236 The Man Died Wole Soyinka 1972 Nigerian English
3279 Before Night Falls Reinaldo Arenas 1992 Cuban Spanish
3538 Amelia Henry Fielding 1751 British English
3612 Redgauntlet Sir Walter Scott 1824 Scottish English
3638 Memoirs Of A Revolutionist Vera Figner 1920 Russian Russian
3908 The Wind on the Moon Eric Linklater 1944 British English
4101 Life And Death In Shanghai Nien Cheng 1986 Chinese English
4797 If Beale Street Could Talk James Baldwin 1974 American English
4816 Ozma Of Oz L. Frank Baum 1907 American English
4828 Cataract Mykhaylo Osadchy 1976 Ukrainian Ukrainian
5776 My Happy Days In Hell György Faludy 1962 Hungarian Hungarian
5859 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
6002 Les Murs De Fresnes Henri Calet 1945 French French
7041 The Man In The Iron Mask Alexandre Dumas 1847 French French
7110 Journey Into The Whirlwind Eugenia Ginzburg 1967 Russian Russian
7215 Prison Of Love Diego de San Pedro 1485 Spanish Spanish
7215 Samson Agonistes John Milton 1671 British English
8651 The Abbot Sir Walter Scott 1820 Scottish English
8666 The Hiding Place Corrie ten Boom 1971 Dutch English
9032 From A To X John Berger 2008 British English
9039 Against The Loveless World Susan Abulhawa 2020 Palestinian English
9093 Life Went On Anyway Oleg Sentsov 2019 Ukrainian Russian
9188 A Sliver Of Light Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal, Sarah Shourd 2014 American English
9372 The Italian Ann Radcliffe 1797 British English
9656 The Cell Horst Bienek German Unknown
9856 Mary Queen Of Scots Antonia Fraser 1969 British English
9856 Peveril Of The Peak Sir Walter Scott 1823 British English
9916 The Eyes Of The Dragon Stephen King 1987 American English
10026 The Boy Who Stole Attila's Horse Ivan Repila 2013 Spanish Spanish
10448 Prisoner Without A Name, Cell Without A Number Jacobo Timerman 1981 Argentinian Spanish
10920 Fear No Evil Natan Sharansky 1988 Israeli English
11271 The Ill Fated Peregrinations Of Fray Servando Reinaldo Arenas 1987 Cuban Spanish
11899 Grey Is The Colour Of Hope Irina Ratushinskaya 1988 Russian Russian
13276 This Blinding Absence Of Light Tahar Ben Jelloun 2001 French French
13599 Not Everybody Lives the Same Way Jean-Paul Dubois 2019 French French
14023 The Man Who Stayed Behind Sidney Rittenberg 1993 American English
15897 The Tower Of London William Harrison Ainsworth 1840 British English
15897 My Own Story Emmeline Pankhurst 1914 British English
15897 The Walls Came Tumbling Down Henriette Roosenburg 1957 Dutch English
16593 Le Comte De Monte Cristo I Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
17117 Flying Colours C. S. Forester 1938 British English
16916 Jammers Minde Leonora Christina 1869 Danish Danish
17117 A Month And A Day Ken Saro-Wiwa 1995 Nigerian English
17117 The World That Made Mandela Luli Callinicos 2000 Unknown English
17117 Gould's Book Of Fish Richard Flanagan 2001 Australian English
17117 Piranesi Jonathan Scott 2020 Unknown English
17117 Children Of The Jacaranda Tree Sahar Delijani 2013 Unknown English