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What are the world's greatest literary works?

Editor Eric

Editor Eric's flagship list presents the world's greatest works from ancient to recent times—from all countries, cultures and genres.

Also offered are comprehensive lists of the greatest novels, stories, poems, plays and other literary forms, plus the top works in the most popular genres of fiction, such as historical, crime and mystery, fantasy and science fiction.

Those who have asked for a more concise guide to the greatest literature get their wish with the Top 99 Works of Literature. Meanwhile, for those aiming to explore the world's literature in greater depth, The Really Long List of Great Literature has been created.

If you're interested in great literature from different parts of the world, you may also consult our growing number of "greatest" lists for specific countries and regions—twenty-three so far.

How was it done?

More than a quarter century of research among readers, writers, critics and scholars has gone into creating—and continually updating—Editor Eric's lists of great literature.

What makes these lists so authoritative? See "Creating the Greatest Literature of All Time" about the painstaking process of handcrafting the lists from among the world's most revered literary works.

Plus, click the links to the more than 600 critiques and other information on books, authors and adaptations of the world's greatest literature.

And keep reading.

Recent critiques

A.E. van Vogt photoBecoming more than human

The superman concept has had a steady run in science fiction. Since the genre's early days, great and mediocre writers have produced narratives around characters surpassing the natural limits constricting humanity—with or without the disturbing Nietzchean or fascist undertones. Readers have long been fascinated by imagining creatures like themselves becoming superhuman beings.... A.E. van Vogt

First edition coverThen and now in middling America

A century after its first publication, the story of George Babbitt can elicit reactions of both "This is so dated!" and "Just like today!" And often from the same readers. Sinclair Lewis's most influential novel, Babbitt, deftly satirizes the middle-class customs, political fashions and cultural artefacts of its time and place—namely the post-Great War years.... Rabbit, Run

Storm Island {Eye of the Needle) first editionWhat might have happened

A superior espionage novel can engage your sympathy with opposing characters. Although at the fantasy end of the thriller spectrum one can dreamily identify with a super-heroic agent, like James Bond, while cheering for the demise of a villainous mastermind out to destroy the world, the more sophisticated thriller portrays relatable figures on both sides.... Eye of the Needle

War and Peace first editionFrom Russia with love and death

After spending a good part of a summer living in and out of War and Peace, I was astounded to read that in his latter years Leo Tolstoy disdained it. The novel, whose title has become shorthand for monumentally great literature, was elitist, the author is supposed to have said. It presented a romantic entertainment for the aristocracy.... War and Peace

First edition coverIn praise of running away—and back

John Updike is most known for Rabbit, Run but it's not his best or best-reviewed novel. It's not even his best or best-reviewed novel in the book series it kicks off. That would be the sequel, Rabbit Redux, the one critics have called a masterpiece. Or possibly the third or fourth book in the series, Rabbit Is Rich and Rabbit at Rest.... Rabbit, Run

Collection including The Rocking-Horse Winner, 1932Rockin' the coming of age story

D.H. Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is one of those stories frequently found in school anthologies and taught to English literature students. Or at least it used to be. For educators, part of the story's classroom appeal may be that it features a child in a quasi-supernatural tale—unlike Lawrence's mainstream novels notorious for.... The Rocking-Horse Winner

Journey to the Centre of the Earth first US editionDisbelief happily suspended

The great thing about Jules Verne's stories of fantastic voyages is that they don't come across as fantastic. At least while we're reading, we believe we could—if we dared—fly across the world in a balloon, fire a rocket at the moon, travel under the seas...or plumb the depths of volcanoes toward the centre of the earth. Some of these trips we know.... A Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Sense and Sensibility 1899 editionFull-blown birth of the Austen novel

In the dichotomy suggested in the title, Jane Austen in her first published work comes down conclusively on the side of sense over sensibility. It's supposed to be a study of two marriageable sisters with the eldest, Elinor, presenting her case for calm common sense in relationships, while the other, Marianne, flaunts her flamboyantly romantic nature.... Sense and Sensibility

Castle Rackrent 1895 editionTales from the big Anglo-Irish house

It's to the credit of Castle Rackrent that it's usually taken to be a novel. By its meagre word count, the text constitutes a novella and—shorn of its introduction, footnotes and glossary—it is barely that. It verges on being a long story. But Maria Edgeworth's work reads like an old-style historical novel, perhaps the first such work.  It's often cited as the prime example of.... Castle Rackrent

Full menu of recent critiques >>

 

Genres and extras

Crime and mystery book coverCrime and mystery book coverThe greatest crime works of all time

Editor Eric's list of the greatest works of crime, mystery and detective fiction. Evidence from two hundred years of writing has been sifted and countless witnesses (readers, writers and critics) have been questioned to solve the mystery: what are the greatest stories and novels ever published in this still very popular genre?

Science fiction book coverScience fiction book coverThe greatest SF works of all time

Editor Eric's list of the greatest works of speculative and science fiction—the greatest SF stories and novels published on this planet at least. The earliest, believe it or not, was first printed in 1638 and involved a flight to the moon. The latest of the greatest take us well into the twenty-first century.

Fantasy book coverFantasy book coverThe greatest fantasy literature of all time

Editor Eric's list of the greatest works of fantasy, featuring the greatest stories and novels published in this burgeoning genre. The oldest works go back to ancient times and it's had a persistent following through the centuries. But it's really taken off in recent decades.

Movie sceneMovie sceneMovies (and TV series) for great book lovers

Faithful adaptations or completely different art form? A guide to more than 200 films, film series and television productions based on the greatest works of literature reviewed on these pages. From the serious to the silly, from the authentic to the awful.

Movie sceneMovie sceneThe Greatest Canadian Literature

The best novels, drama and poetry from writers in the Great White North, plus commentaries on selected books and Canadian authors. Canadian literature started obscurely in the early nineteenth century, but since the mid-twentieth century it's ranked among the best—and most acclaimed—in the world.
 

Features of note

How works were selected

Wondering what makes this list of great literature the most accurate and most comprehensive? What makes these books the best? Read Editor Eric's account of how the Greatest Literature of All Time list was researched, created, revised and recreated repeatedly over more than twenty years.

What's so great about these books?

Readers and critics can have widely diverging ideas about what makes a certain book good and another one not-so. How can we find agreement on which works are the greatest? What does "greatest" even mean? Can popular genre books be compared with literary masterpieces? How is a Greatest Literature of All Time list even possible?

Science fiction? Scifi? Speculative fiction? SF?

Whatever you call it— what is it? The story of the continuing struggle to define it. How Editor Eric settled on the criterion used for his greatest science fiction list.

Finding the best translations

Much of what you read in English was not written in English. Does it matter? (Short answer: Yes.) What makes the best translation?

Much ado about Shakespeare

Shakespeare's eyes

He's the greatest of course—at least most people think so. So Eric has a lot of offbeat material about the Bard to offer:

William Shakespeare: What was he really about?

The controversy: Was it Shakespeare who wrote Shakespeare's plays?

The histories: What he wrote—and what really happened

What they've said: Not all writers have thought Shakespeare's the best

And, after all that, the plays are still the thing:

HamletHenry IV, Part 1Julius CaesarKing LearMacbethOthelloThe Merchant of VeniceRomeo and JulietThe Tempest