Classic Literature

Revisit the classic novels you read (or didn't) in school with reviews, analysis, and study guides of the most acclaimed and beloved books from around the world.

  • Girl reading book by lamp light
    The 10 Most-Banned Classic Novels
  • Albert Camus And Torun Moberg
    A List of Every Nobel Prize Winner in English Literature
  • Full Frame Shot Of Books In Shelves
    Literature Definitions: What Makes a Book a Classic?
  • A hardcover book closed and unread on a windowsill
    Why We Don't Read
  • Aulos Player Vase at the Louvre
    Roman Theater
  • An open Bible with the story of Noah's Ark
    The Meaning of Myths, Folklore, Legends, and Fairy Tales
  • Mark Twain Portrait
    A Brief Overview of American Literary Periods
  • Achilles sacrificing to Zeus for Patroclus' safe return
    The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry
  • Statue of Ovid, symbol of the city of Sulmona (Italy)
    Individual Summaries of Ovid: the Amores Book I
  • "Playing Cupids" - wall painting (60-79 AD) from Herculaneum, House of the Deer
    Poets of Latin Love Elegy
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    Controversial and Banned Books
  • Books burning
    Banned Books: History and Quotes
  • Woman reading a book on a couch
    5 Famous Classic Italian Writers
  • Latin poet Vergil (70 BC-19 BC), wood engraving, published 1864
    The Augustan Age
  • The Catcher in the Rye book cover
    How "The Catcher in the Rye" Finally Got an E-Book Edition
  • The Victorian Royal Family, 1887.
    The Victorian Period Was a Time of Change
  • Anne of Green Gables actor walking down country road, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
    Why “Anne of Green Gables” May Wind Up the Most Adapted Book in History
  • A collection of classic books.
    What's the Difference Between Classical and Classic Literature?
  • Culture
    How to Get Rid of a Musty Smell in Books
  • Aeschylus - Greek Playwright
    Aeschylus: Greek Tragedy Writer Profile
  • Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
    What Is a Modern Classic in Literature?
  • Whalers in action, wood engraving, published in 1869
    Every Character in Moby Dick
  • Agatha Christie
    5 Secrets Hidden in Agatha Christie’s Novels
  • Detail of Roman mosaic depicting tragic mask with leaves and fruit
    Ancient Greek Tragedy
  • Antique Books
    101 Classics to Get You Started
  • Mt. Olympus
    Places in the Iliad
  • Lysistrata and Other Plays
    Banned Plays Through History
  • 5 Unconventional Heroines From Classic Literature
  • Head of Hercules. Roman, Imperial period, 1st century A.D.
    All About the 12 Labors of Hercules
  • Tacitus - obverse side of coin
    Introduction to the Agricola by Tacitus
  • Americans in Paris: a Literary Anthology
    Top 5 Books About American Writers in Paris
  • Aristophanes
    Aristophanes' Lysistrata
  • first appearance of oedipus
    Plot Summary of the Episodes and Stasima of "Oedipus Tyrannos," by Sophocles.
  • Mosaic with Theatrical Masks, from Villa Adriana, Lazio
    Ancient Greek Comedy
  • An Explanation of the Term "Trojan Horse"
  • Stack of books on a wooden table.
    How Much Are Your Books Worth?
  • Aesop's Fable of the Crow and the Pitcher
  • Virgil's "The Aeneid"
    Virgil Quotations With English Translations
  • Nemesis
    19 Epic Terms to Know from Homeric Epic
  • 13 Odd Facts About Edgar Allan Poe
  • Jonathan Swift illustration
    Reading Quiz on "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
  • A first edition of The Great Gatsby on a glass counter
    'The Great Gatsby' Quiz
  • Are Literature and Fiction the Same?
  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German
    Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German Writer and Statesman
  • Agatha Christie writing at her desk at a typewriter
    Biography of Agatha Christie, English Mystery Writer
  • Biography of William Golding, British Novelist
  • Portrait Franz Kafka
    Biography of Franz Kafka, Czech Novelist
  • Henry Miller
    Biography of Henry Miller, Novelist
  • Mary Shelley, 1831
    Biography of Mary Shelley, English Novelist, Author of 'Frankenstein'
  • Close-up black and white photo of Roald Dahl
    Biography of Roald Dahl, British Novelist
  • Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky
    Biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist
  • Black-and-white photo of Colette sitting at a writing desk with her pen in hand
    Biography of Colette, French Author
  • Portrait Of Novelist Aldous Huxley
    Biography of Aldous Huxley, British Author, Philosopher, Screenwriter
  • A January 28, 2010 photo shows a copies
    Biography of J. D. Salinger, American Writer
  • Vladimir Nabokov
    Biography of Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-American Novelist
  • C.S. Lewis
    Biography of C.S. Lewis, British Writer
  • An undated photo of Irishman James Joyce
    Biography of James Joyce, Influential Irish Novelist
  • Photograph of Sylvia Plath in front of a bookshelf
    Biography of Sylvia Plath, American Poet and Writer
  • Henry David Thoreau
    Biography of Henry David Thoreau, American Essayist
  • Head and shoulders of Ralph Waldo Emerson
    Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Essayist
  • Victor Hugo sitting on a stoop among leaves
    Biography of Victor Hugo, French Writer
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