The Greatest Western Drama 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
10 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 1877 Russian Russian
13 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 British English
16 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 1960 American English
18 The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky 1880 Russian Russian
20 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert 1857 French French
32 Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf 1925 British English
40 Les Misérables Victor Hugo 1862 French French
41 On the Road Jack Kerouac 1957 American English
71 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 British English
73 The Portrait of a Lady Henry James 1881 American English
92 The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton 1920 American English
106 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
109 In Cold Blood Truman Capote 1966 American English
117 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 1891 British English
125 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
128 The Stories of Anton Chekhov Anton Chekhov 1900 Russian Russian
129 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
131 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British English
141 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh 1945 British English
168 Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald 1934 American English
170 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 1937 American English
176 The End of the Affair Graham Greene 1951 British English
183 The Jungle Upton Sinclair 1906 American English
186 Bonjour Tristesse Francoise Sagan 1954 French French
188 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 British English
192 Persuasion Jane Austen 1817 British English
195 An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 1925 American English
207 Zorba the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis 1946 Greek Greek
211 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
217 The House of Mirth Edith Wharton 1905 American English
221 White Teeth Zadie Smith 2000 British English
227 Women in Love D. H. Lawrence 1920 British English
237 The Corrections Jonathan Franzen 2001 American English
244 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith 1943 American English
253 Look Homeward, Angel Thomas Wolfe 1929 American English
260 Song of Solomon Toni Morrison 1977 American English
263 The Tartar Steppe Dino Buzzati 1940 Italian Italian
271 The Awakening Kate Chopin 1899 American English
273 The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni 1827 Italian Italian
279 The Secret History Donna Tartt 1992 American English
285 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
302 The Lost Estate Henri Alain-Fournier 1913 French French
307 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
329 History Elsa Morante 1974 Italian Italian
332 Clarissa Samuel Richardson 1748 British English
336 Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser 1900 American English
337 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
339 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British English
341 The Human Comedy Honoré de Balzac 1830 French French
343 The Sonnets William Shakespeare 1609 British English
352 The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith 1766 British English
362 Wise Blood Flannery O'Connor 1952 American English
365 Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin 1833 Russian Russian
366 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
383 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
386 La Regenta Clarín 1884 Spanish Spanish
387 Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens 1864 British English
397 Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel 2009 British English
401 Celestina Or The Tragic-Comedy Of Calisto And Melibea Fernando de Rojas 1499 Spanish Spanish
409 My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante 2012 American Italian
410 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham 1944 British English
420 The Human Stain Philip Roth 2000 American English
421 A Visit From The Goon Squad Jennifer Egan 2010 American English
424 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
428 Death Of A Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 American English
432 Lost Illusions Honoré de Balzac 1837 French French
434 The Fountainhead Ayn Rand 1943 American English
437 Passing Nella Larsen 1929 American English
451 Hiroshima John Hersey 1946 American English
453 I, Claudius Robert Graves 1934 British English
454 The Sea, The Sea Iris Murdoch 1978 British English
488 The Shipping News Annie Proulx 1993 Canadian English
490 Ethan Frome Edith Wharton 1911 American English
492 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Robert Tressell, Peter Miles 1914 British English
502 Another Country James Baldwin 1962 American English
504 Her Lover Albert Cohen 1968 Swiss French
509 Sanctuary William Faulkner 1931 American English
514 Speak, Memory Vladimir Nabokov 1951 American English
523 Fortunata and Jacinta Benito Pérez Galdós 1887 Spanish Spanish
524 A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving 1989 American English
526 Gormenghast Mervyn Peake 1950 British English
529 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
533 Cousin Bette Honoré de Balzac 1846 French French
539 So Long, See You Tomorrow William Maxwell 1980 American English
555 The Lady with the Dog Anton Chekhov 1899 Russian Russian
560 Sula Toni Morrison 1973 American English
572 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
574 The Known World Edward P. Jones 2003 American English
575 I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith 1948 British English
588 The Pillars Of The Earth Ken Follett 1989 British English
589 Bel Ami Guy de Maupassant 1885 French French
591 Stories of Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant 1880 French French
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
622 Elective Affinities Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1809 German German
627 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe 1604 British English
629 Titus Groan Mervyn Peake 1946 British English
642 Testament Of Youth Vera Brittain 1933 British English
651 Manhattan Transfer John Dos Passos 1925 American English
652 Dispatches Michael Herr 1977 American English
655 Stories of Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway 1987 American English
668 Rabbit Redux John Updike 1971 American English
674 Far from the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy 1874 British English
686 Rabbit Is Rich John Updike 1981 American English
691 Excellent Women Barbara Pym 1952 British English
692 The Hive Camilo José Cela 1951 Spanish Spanish
699 The Nibelungenlied Unknown 1200 German Middle high german
704 Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote 1958 American English
705 Oroonoko Aphra Behn 1688 British English
717 A Sport and a Pastime James Salter 1967 American English
720 The Professor's House Willa Cather 1925 American English
729 Thérèse Desqueyroux François Mauriac 1927 French French
734 Loving Henry Green 1945 British English
737 The Custom of the Country Edith Wharton 1913 American English
742 The Crime of Father Amaro Eça de Queirós 1875 Portuguese Portuguese
754 If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem William Faulkner 1939 American English
758 Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury 1957 American English