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
3 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 American English
9 The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929 American English
10 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 1877 Russian Russian
15 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë 1847 British English
20 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert 1857 French French
26 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck 1939 American English
43 Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner 1936 American English
57 The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky 1869 Russian Russian
63 Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry 1947 British English
67 A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway 1929 American English
71 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 British English
79 As I Lay Dying William Faulkner 1930 American English
85 The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford 1915 British English
86 All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque 1928 German German
89 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
90 Buddenbrooks Thomas Mann 1901 German German
92 The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton 1920 American English
96 Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 German German
97 For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 1940 American English
106 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
107 Native Son Richard Wright 1940 American English
112 Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak 1957 Russian Russian
117 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 1891 British English
118 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers 1940 American English
125 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
129 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
131 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British English
149 All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren 1946 American English
155 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
167 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin 1956 American English
168 Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald 1934 American English
170 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 1937 American English
172 Man's Fate Andre Malraux 1933 French French
174 Rabbit, Run John Updike 1960 American English
181 Light in August William Faulkner 1932 American English
194 Oblomov Ivan Goncharov 1859 Russian Russian
195 An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 1925 American English
199 The Radetzky March Joseph Roth 1932 Austrian German
210 Dangerous Liaison Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 French French
217 The House of Mirth Edith Wharton 1905 American English
240 Death in Venice Thomas Mann 1912 German German
255 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee 1999 South African English
261 Wings of the Dove Henry James 1902 American English
264 The Epic Of Gilgamesh Unknown -2100 Multiple Akkadian
265 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African English
271 The Awakening Kate Chopin 1899 American English
282 The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
285 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
287 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy 1895 British English
290 The Road Cormac McCarthy 2006 American English
292 Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham 1915 British English
299 Kristin Lavransdatter Sigrid Undset 1920 Norwegian Norwegian
307 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
308 The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison 1970 American English
329 History Elsa Morante 1974 Italian Italian
331 Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson 1980 American English
332 Clarissa Samuel Richardson 1748 British English
335 The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Giorgio Bassani 1962 Italian Italian
336 Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser 1900 American English
337 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
338 Effi Briest Theodor Fontane 1895 German German
347 The Day of the Locust Nathanael West 1939 American English
349 The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy 1886 Russian Russian
356 Germinal Émile Zola 1885 French French
358 The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy 1886 British English
365 Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin 1833 Russian Russian
366 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
370 The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion 2005 American English
380 American Pastoral Philip Roth 1997 American English
383 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
386 La Regenta Clarín 1884 Spanish Spanish
401 Celestina Or The Tragic-Comedy Of Calisto And Melibea Fernando de Rojas 1499 Spanish Spanish
414 The Mill on the Floss George Eliot 1860 British English
420 The Human Stain Philip Roth 2000 American English
424 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
428 Death Of A Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 American English
437 Passing Nella Larsen 1929 American English
449 Les Enfants Terribles Jean Cocteau 1929 French French
466 A Death in the Family James Agee 1957 American English
467 A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 1934 British English
472 The Man Who Loved Children Christina Stead 1940 Australian English
477 Fateless or Fatelessness Imre Kertész 1975 Hungarian Hungarian
484 Dream of the Red Chamber Cao Xueqin 1754 Chinese Chinese
489 Manon Lescaut Abbe Prevost 1731 French French
490 Ethan Frome Edith Wharton 1911 American English
500 Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O'Connor 1965 American English
501 Another Country James Baldwin 1962 American English
504 Her Lover Albert Cohen 1968 Swiss French
510 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac 1833 French French
523 Fortunata and Jacinta Benito Pérez Galdós 1887 Spanish Spanish
529 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
549 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry 1995 Indian English
560 Sula Toni Morrison 1973 American English
569 The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen 1938 British, Irish English
572 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
599 A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 1947 American English
606 New Grub Street George Gissing 1891 British English
611 Revolutionary Road Richard Yates 1961 American English
613 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
619 The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles 1949 American English
622 Elective Affinities Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1809 German German
627 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe 1604 British English
631 The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder 1927 American English
644 The English Patient Michael Ondaatje 1992 Canadian English
656 The Time Of The Doves Merce Rodoreda 1962 Spanish Catalan
685 Them Joyce Carol Oates 1969 American English
699 The Nibelungenlied Unknown 1200 German Middle high german
705 Oroonoko Aphra Behn 1688 British English
722 Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison 1992 American English
723 The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst 2004 British English
733 Arrow of God Chinua Achebe 1964 Nigerian English
737 The Custom of the Country Edith Wharton 1913 American English
739 The Return of the Native Thomas Hardy 1878 British English
742 The Crime of Father Amaro Eça de Queirós 1875 Portuguese Portuguese
747 Blonde Joyce Carol Oates 2000 American English
759 Thérèse Raquin Émile Zola 1867 French French
767 The Tree of Man Patrick White 1955 Australian English
789 The Piano Teacher Elfriede Jelinek 1983 Austrian German
792 A Kestrel for a Knave Barry Hines 1968 British English
803 Sophie's Choice William Styron 1979 American English