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22 Apr 2025—22 Apr 2028
Overview
So we asked our readers to tell us about their favourite classic books. The resulting list of must-reads is a perfect way to find inspiration to start your classics adventure. There's something for everyone, from family sagas and dystopian fiction to romances and historical fiction.
Penguin's 100 Must-Read Classics
1 participant (100 books)
STARTS: 22 Apr 2025ENDS: 22 Apr 2028
Overview
So we asked our readers to tell us about their favourite classic books. The resulting list of must-reads is a perfect way to find inspiration to start your classics adventure. There's something for everyone, from family sagas and dystopian fiction to romances and historical fiction.
Challenge Books
97
The Woman in White
Wilkie Collins
We said: An eerie encounter on a moonlit road towards Hampstead Heath begins this gothic romp through country manors, secluded graveyards, and the horrors of Victorian asylums.
You said: So much plot! Fantastic characters. An irresistible villain and a mysterious secret. What's not to love?
98
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
We said: This deeply personal and unforgettable account of a day in the life at a Soviet labour camp in the 1950s is highly considered to be one of the greats of contemporary literature.
You said: Solzhenitsyn’s writing from personal experience of life/existence in a forced labour camp under Stalin's communist regime is a stark, brutal, masterpiece.
99
White Nights
Fyodor Dostoevsky
We said: One of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's underrated works, this short story is divided into six sections. With themes of loneliness and unrequited love told by a nameless narrator – it’s quintessential Dostoyevsky.
You said: This is an incredibly beautiful and uplifting book. Everyone should read it!
100
Hard Times
Charles Dickens, Jeff Nunokawa, Gage McWeeny
We said: Dickens uses the fictional town of Coketown and its inhabitants to explore the harsh realities of the Industrial Age and the importance of imagination in a world driven by fact.
You said: Pathos, humour, social comment, politic and incredibly well-drawn, believable characters.