Here is a List of 10 Best Classic Literature Books. Classical literature refers to the great masterpieces of Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations.
Author : Fyodor Dostoevsky
Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, a brilliant yet conflicted student lives in a rented room of a run-down apartment in St. Petersburg. Extremely handsome, proud and intelligent, Raskolnikov devises a peculiar theory about “intelligent” men being above law.To execute his theory, he contemplates committing a crime. He murders a cynical and an unscrupulous pawnbroker named Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta.The act compels Raskolnikov to negotiate and reconcile with his own moral dilemmas.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s incisive psychological analysis of his protagonist goes beyond Raskolnikov’s criminal act and covers his perilous journey from suffering to redemption.
First published in The Russian Messenger in monthly instalments during 1866, Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky’s second novel following his return from exile in Siberia, is a powerful revelation of the human condition. Is crime acceptable in the pursuit of a higher purpose.
Author : Jane Austen
When Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy for the first time at a ball, she writes him off as an arrogant and obnoxious man. He not only acts like an insufferable snob, but she also overhears him rejecting the very idea of asking her for a dance!
As life pits them against each other again and again, Darcy begins to fall for Elizabeth's wit and intelligence and Elizabeth begins to question her feelings about Darcy. When Darcy saves her youngest sister, Lydia, from a scandal, Elizabeth starts to wonder if her pride has prejudiced her opinion of Darcy.
Through this tale about two warring hearts, Austen weaves a witty satire about life in eighteenth century England. And though it was published more than two centuries ago, Pride and Prejudice continues to enthrall readers to this very day.
Author : Emily Brontë
First published in the year 1847; the present book 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë was considered controversial because its depiction of mental and physical cruelty was unusually stark; and it challenged strict Victorian ideals of the day regarding religious hypocrisy; morality; social classes and gender inequality.
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Author : Mary Shelley
The novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Marry Shelley is a very famous gothic novel and has sold many copies till date. It is a compelling book that has managed to grab the attention of audiences since day-one.
According to some, the monster of Frankenstein is symbolic of the industrialization that created havoc and destruction in Europe in the nineteenth century. However, according to others, it stands for the fears in the writer’s mind to changing times and new events.
The novel is often classified as gothic since it dwells on mystery and the supernatural world. The setting is that of dark, sublime and exotic, making the reader uneasy. And, the ‘double’ feature only adds to the mystery and the sensation for the reader. According to some critics in the past and present, this is the first extant scientific novel written in English language.
Author : Charles Darwin
The theory of natural selection constructed by Charles Darwin is comprised in his revolutionary work of scientific literature called the Origin of Species. This piece of work recounts his ideas on the process of evolution of living beings based on the process of natural selection and it laid down the foundation for evolutionary biology. Initially published for literary reasons, Charles Darwin's standing in the scientific circles drew attention to its contents. Inviting criticism from religious circles for its controversial conclusion, the Origin of Species was later accepted by the experts and several theories have been built upon it as addition to the field of evolutionary biology.
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Author : Franz Kafka
First published in 1915, Franz Kafka’s surrealist novella "The Metamorphosis" is widely acclaimed and one of the author’s best-known works. Kafka, a Jewish novelist and short-story writer, is regarded for his exploration of the fantastic. Kafka employs realism to depict his protagonists in bizarre circumstances. In "The Metamorphosis", Kafka incorporates themes of alienation and absurdity to convey narratives about isolated and anxious protagonists.
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Author : F. Scott Fitzgerald
It's the Roaring Twenties and New York City is the place to be. Everything can be purchased, everyone can be bought. But, can you make money erase your past?
As more and more people lose themselves to the lure of money, ironically the only person who remains unaffected is Jay Gatsby, the enigmatic host of the most extravagant parties.
In this definitive tale on American culture, Fitzgerald pits a chaste dream against the corrupting influences of wealth and comes up with an epic story that can only be defined as 'a Great American novel'.
Author : Lewis Carroll
Alice, an ordinary young girl craving for adventure, discovers a wonderland in her dreams.
On a warm summer day, sitting on a riverbank, Alice is bored and drowsy. Following a talking White Rabbit, she falls a long way down a rabbit-hole only to find herself in a dreamlike fantasy world.
Running into some of the most entertaining characters in English literature—The White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat and the King and Queen of Hearts—and being variously mistaken for a housemaid, a serpent, a volcano, a flower and a monster, all in the breath of a single afternoon, Alice is left intrigued and bewildered in equal measure.
If this is a magical world, where anything can happen,
how will Alice ever find her way back home?
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a whimsically inventive tale, still enchants the readers regardless of their age, with its exceptionally conjured up nonsense dream world and deliciously mad dialogues.
Author : Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
"First published in 1886, beyond good and evil by renowned German philosopher and thinker, Friedrich Nietzsche, expands on the philosophical ideas of his thus spake zarathustra. The book presents a sharp critique of morality and the tendency to view morality in binaries of good and evil, thus rejecting the concept of universal morality for all humankind. In this book, divided into nine parts, Nietzsche begins by exposing the deficiencies of the old philosophers, emphasising the need for free spirits, and strongly opposes the ideas of universal morality as propagated by religion, Anti-Semitism and feelings of nationalism. The ideas introduced in this book continue to influence and inspire philosophers all around the world."
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Author : George Orwell
Published in the summer of 1949, George Orwell’s nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most definitive texts of modern literature. Set in Oceania, one of the three inter-continental superstate that divided the world among themselves after a global war, Orwell’s masterful critique of the political structures of the time, works itself out through the story of Winston Smith, a man caught in the webs of a dystopian future, and his clandestine love affair with Julia, a young woman he meets during the course of his work for the government. As much as it is an entertaining read, nineteen Eighty-Four is also a brilliant, and more importantly, a timeless satirical attack on the social and political structures of the world.
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