The Greatest Books of All Time on Intrigue

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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
119 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
138 The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal 1839 French French
210 Dangerous Liaison Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 French French
397 Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel 2009 British English
453 I, Claudius Robert Graves 1934 British English
678 Barchester Towers Anthony Trollope 1857 British English
831 Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers 1903 British English
1282 The Plum in the Golden Vase Unknown 1610 Chinese Chinese
1831 The Swords Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
2212 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner 1987 American English
2282 Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2390 It Can't Always Be Caviar Johannes Mario Simmel 1960 Austrian German
2507 Memoirs of Louis XIV Louis de Rouvroy Saint-Simon (duc de) 1740 French French
2788 By Night Under The Stone Bridge Leo Perutz 1953 Austrian German
2919 Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel 2012 British English
3014 The Game Of Kings Dorothy Dunnett 1961 British English
3042 The Great Impersonation E. Phillips Oppenheim 1920 British English
3248 Memoirs of Cardinal De Retz Cardinal de Retz 1717 French French
3324 Love in Excess; or, The Fatal Enquiry Eliza Haywood 1719 British English
3550 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
3915 Zayni Barakat Jamal al- Ghitani 1974 Egyptian Arabic
4073 Private Renaissance Maria Bellonci 1985 Italian Italian
4310 Charade John Mortimer 1947 British English
4310 The Strange Borders Of Palace Crescent E. Phillips Oppenheim 1934 British English
4501 Night Visitor B. Traven 1966 German Unknown
4732 Don Carlos Friedrich Schiller 1787 German German
5412 Captain Alatriste Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1996 Spanish Spanish
5633 Queens' Play Dorothy Dunnett 1964 British English
5862 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
5863 The New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson 1882 Scottish English
6005 The Story Of My Life Giacomo Casanova 1822 Italian French
6158 Pawn In Frankincense Dorothy Dunnett 1969 British English
6183 Kenilworth Sir Walter Scott 1821 British English
6184 The Accursed Kings Series Maurice Druon 1955 French French
6265 The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory 2001 British English
6294 The Ringed Castle Dorothy Dunnett 1971 British English
6401 The Fencing Master Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1988 Spanish Spanish
6629 Checkmate Dorothy Dunnett 1975 British English
6892 The Company Robert Littell 2002 American English
7031 Quentin Durward Sir Walter Scott 1823 Scottish English
7216 Mémoires Philippe de Commynes 1524 French French
7216 Nicomède Pierre Corneille 1651 French French
7216 Wallenstein Friedrich Schiller 1799 German German
7216 A Princesa De Clèves Madame de La Fayette 1678 French French
8107 Memoirs Of A Korean Queen Lady Hyegyeong 1795 Korean Korean
8296 La Guerra De Galio Héctor Aguilar Camín 1991 Mexican Spanish
8528 The Secret History Procopius 550 Multiple Greek
8655 The Abbot Sir Walter Scott 1820 Scottish English
8666 Twenty Years After Alexandre Dumas 1845 French French
8761 Rats And Gargoyles Mary Gentle 1990 British English
9218 Game, Set & Match Len Deighton 1983 British English
9377 The Italian Ann Radcliffe 1797 British English
9722 The Moon and the Sun Vonda N. McIntyre 1997 American English
9729 Gagner La Guerre Jean-Philippe Jaworski 2009 French French
9859 Mary Queen Of Scots Antonia Fraser 1969 British English
9859 Count Robert Of Paris Sir Walter Scott 1832 British English
9904 A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine 2019 American English
9929 The Eagle's Throne Carlos Fuentes 2002 Mexican Spanish
10633 Last Of The Barons Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1843 British English
11187 Die Puppenspieler Tanja Kinkel 1995 German German
11204 Five Go Adventuring Again Enid Blyton 1943 British English
11251 Queen Margot Alexandre Dumas 1845 French French
11413 Barrayar Lois McMaster Bujold 1991 American English
13229 Gardens Of The Moon Steven Erikson 1999 Canadian English
13239 The Last Emperox John Scalzi 2020 American English
13305 Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey 2001 American English
13362 Anne Of Geierstein Sir Walter Scott 1829 Scottish English
13600 Saint Germain Ou La Négociation Francis Walder 1958 Belgian French
13806 The Chronicles Of The Deryni Katherine Kurtz 1970 American English
13818 The Eunuch Of Constantinople Zülfü Livaneli Turkish Unknown
13971 The Monster Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson 2018 American English
13971 The Consuming Fire John Scalzi 2018 American English
13992 Chu Liuxiang Gu Long 1967 Chinese Chinese
14078 The Tyrant Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson 2020 American English
14389 The Queen's Quair Maurice Hewlett 1904 British English
14666 Yongzheng Emperor Eryue He 1990 Chinese Chinese
14985 Ombria in Shadow Patricia A. McKillip 2002 American English
14985 Sailing To Sarantium Guy Gavriel Kay 1998 Canadian English
14985 The World At Night Alan Furst 1996 American English
15729 Edward Ii Christopher Marlowe 1594 British English
15915 The Tower Of London William Harrison Ainsworth 1840 British English
15915 Windsor Castle William Harrison Ainsworth 1843 British English
15915 Talleyrand Duff Cooper 1932 British English
15915 Cinq Mars Alfred de Vigny 1826 French French
15915 The Fifth Queen Ford Madox Ford 1908 British English
15915 The Iron King Unknown 1955 Unknown French
16549 Spider King Lawrence Schoonover 1954 American English
17161 The Plantagenet Saga Jean Plaidy 1976 British English
17161 Flesh and Spirit Carol Berg 2007 American English
17161 The King of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner 2006 American English
17161 The Dragon Waiting John M. Ford 1983 American English
17161 Light Errant Chaz Brenchley 1997 British English
17161 The Icarus Plot Timothy Zahn 2022 American English
17161 The Conspiracy Faraj Al-Huwar Unknown Unknown
17161 Entered From The Sun George Garrett 1990 American English
17161 Equal Of The Sun Anita Amirrezvani 2012 Unknown English
17161 The Romanovs Simon Sebag Montefiore 2016 British English
17161 A God Against The Gods Allen Drury 1976 American English
17161 Royal Succession Maurice Druon 1958 French French
17161 Cunning Of The Dove Alfred Duggan 1960 British English
17161 Duchess Of Milan Michael Ennis 1992 American English
17161 City Of God Cecelia Holland 1979 American English
17161 The Bride Of Sforza Miranda Seymour 1975 Unknown English
17161 The Firedrake's Eye Patricia Finney 1992 British English
17161 Death Of The Fox George Garrett 1972 American English
17161 The Succession George Garrett 1983 American English
17161 The Court Of The Lion Eleanor Cooney, Daniel Altieri 1988 Unknown English
17161 Deception Eleanor Cooney, Daniel Altieri 1993 Unknown English
17161 The Moghul Thomas Hoover 1983 American English
17161 Inversions Iain Banks 1998 British English