50 Beloved Books: The Ultimate List of Classic Literature

A couple weeks ago, readers submitted their favorite classic books to be published in this week's post. I wanted to thank each and every one of the people who submitted for contributing to this list. I couldn't have done it without you.

Before I go on, I wanted to add that, because I received submissions of many classic books from a variety of genres, I decided it would most organized to place each book in one of four sections: Traditional Fiction Classics, Non-fiction Classics, Children's Classics, and Modern Classics.

Some of the distinctions between categories are more blurred than others and can be argued differently; some books overlap into more than one of these categories. These categories aren't meant to define the books; rather, they are meant so that the list can be arranged in a format that is more easily accessible to readers than a rather long list of 50 items.

Now, dear reader, read on. :)

Traditional Fiction Classics

1. The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)

   
   

2. Persuasion (Jane Austen)

   
   

3. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

   
   

4. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

   
   

5. The Silmarillion (J. R. R. Tolkien)

   
   

6. Sense & Sensibility (Jane Austen)

   
   

7. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)

   
   

8. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

   
   

9. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

   
   

10. Les Misérables (Victor Hugo)

    
    

11. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

    
    

12. Emma (Jane Austen)

    
    

13. The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas)

    
    

14. Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)

    
    

15. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

    
    

16. The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)

    
    

17. Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen)

    
    

18. Dracula (Bram Stoker)

    
    

19. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

    
    

Non-fiction Classics

1. Hinds' Feet on High Places (Hannah Hurnard)

   
   

2. Mere Christianity (C. S. Lewis)

   
   

3. Stepping Heavenward (Elizabeth Prentiss)

   
   

4. Night (Elie Wiesel)

   
   

5. The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

Modern Classics

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

   
   

2. The Giver (Lois Lowry)

   
   

3. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

   
   

4. Ranger's Apprentice (John Flanagan)

   
   

5. The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall)

   
   

6. The Vanderbeekers (Karina Yan Glaser)

   
   

7. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (Maryrose Wood)

   
   

8. Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)

   
   

9. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

   
   

10. Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling)

    
    

11. 1984 (George Orwell)

Children's Classics

1. The Little House series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

   
   

2. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

   
   

3. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)

   
   

4. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

   
   

5. The Chronicles of Narnia series (C. S. Lewis)

   
   

6. The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)

   
   

7. Mary Poppins (P. L. Travers)

   
   

8. The Golden Name Day (Jennie Lindquist)

   
   

9. Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

   
   

10. A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

    
    

11. Heidi (Johanna Spyri)

    
    

12. Short Stories by Oscar Wilde

    
    

13. The Boxcar Children (Gertrude Chandler Warner)

    
    

14. Five Children and It (E. Nesbit)

    
    

15. The Light Princess (George MacDonald)

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Did you like this list? Should I do more of these types of posts? How many of these books have you read? How many on this list are you looking forward to read? I would love to read any thoughts that you have!