Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular

One Hundred Best American Novels

The source of this list is "One Hundred Best American Novels, 1770 to 1985 (a Draft): A reading enthusiast's list" (David Handlin, August, 2014). This is the first of a pair of challenges derived from articles published in "The American Scholar".
The first 10 novels are those that Handlin likes the best. The remaining 90 novels are grouped by author. Refer to the source article at the link for the same list ordered by date. In his article, Handlin discusses his choices at some length.
Read More
1,435 users · 6,310 views
 
avg. score: 13 of 100 (13%)
required scores: 1, 4, 8, 12, 19 

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 3
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
1
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Moby-Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby-Dick
2
Herman Melville
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3
Mark Twain
The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane)
The Red Badge of Courage
4
Stephen Crane
The Ambassadors (Henry James)
The Ambassadors
5
Henry James
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
6
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
7
William Faulkner
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
8
Carson McCullers
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
9
Ralph Ellison
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
10
Cormac McCarthy
A Fool's Errand (Albion W. Tourgée)
A Fool's Errand
11
Albion W. Tourgée
The Magnificent Ambersons (Booth Tarkington)
The Magnificent Ambersons
12
Booth Tarkington
Hope Leslie: Or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (Catharine Maria Sedgwick)
Hope Leslie: Or, Early Times in the Massachusetts
13
Catharine Maria Sedgwick
Wieland (Charles Brockden Brown)
Wieland
14
Charles Brockden Brown
Home to Harlem (Claude McKay)
Home to Harlem
15
Claude McKay
Summer in Williamsburg (Daniel Fuchs)
Summer in Williamsburg
16
Daniel Fuchs
Nightwood (Djuna Barnes)
Nightwood
17
Djuna Barnes
White Noise (Don Delillo)
White Noise
18
Don Delillo
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
19
Edgar Allan Poe
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
20
Edith Wharton
The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton)
The House of Mirth
21
Edith Wharton
Looking Backward: 2000–1887 (Edward Bellamy)
Looking Backward: 2000–1887
22
Edward Bellamy
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
A Farewell to Arms
23
Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
24
Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
The Sun Also Rises
25
Ernest Hemingway
Wise Blood (Flannery O'Connor)
Wise Blood
26
Flannery O'Connor
McTeague (Frank Norris)
McTeague
27
Frank Norris
The Octopus: A Story of California (Frank Norris)
The Octopus: A Story of California
28
Frank Norris
The Quaker City, the Monks of Monk Hall (George Lippard)
The Quaker City, the Monks of Monk Hall
29
George Lippard
The Grandissimes (George Washington Cable)
The Grandissimes
30
George Washington Cable
The Coquette: Or, the History of Eliza Wharton (Hannah Webster Foster)
The Coquette: Or, the History of Eliza Wharton
31
Hannah Webster Foster
The Damnation of Theron Ware: Or Illumination (Harold Frederic)
The Damnation of Theron Ware: Or Illumination
32
Harold Frederic
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
Uncle Tom's Cabin
33
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Cliff-Dwellers (Henry Blake Fuller)
The Cliff-Dwellers
34
Henry Blake Fuller
The Bostonians (Henry James)
The Bostonians
35
Henry James
Princess Casamassima (Henry James)
Princess Casamassima
36
Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James)
The Portrait of a Lady
37
Henry James
The Wings of the Dove (Henry James)
The Wings of the Dove
38
Henry James
Redburn (Herman Melville)
Redburn
39
Herman Melville
The Confidence-Man (Herman Melville)
The Confidence-Man
40
Herman Melville
Page 1 of 3
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'One Hundred Best American Novels'
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN