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The Great English Novels: A Personal View

Our maverick English Teacher and contrarian lists 160 works that define and illustrate the breadth and scope of what has become known as "The English Novel". Some attempt at historical perspective and importance has been made, but our compiler has felt free to add some writers of popular genre fiction that he particularly likes. He has followed common usage that defines the "English Novel" as being written in the English language by authors from the UK and the Republic of Ireland, plus the work of writers who have immigrated to the UK and identify themselves as "English writers ". Hence, Salman Rushdie is included, but Samuel Beckett is not. Any breach of national identity or political correctness is completely unintentional.
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1984 (George Orwell)
1984
1
George Orwell
Adam Bede (George Eliot)
Adam Bede
2
George Eliot
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley
3
Agnes Grey (Anne Brontë)
Agnes Grey
4
Anne Brontë
The Ambassadors (Henry James)
The Ambassadors
5
Henry James
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None
6
Agatha Christie
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
7
George Orwell
Ashenden (W. Somerset Maugham)
Ashenden
8
W. Somerset Maugham
Atonement (Ian McEwan)
Atonement
9
Ian McEwan
Barchester Towers (Anthony Trollope)
Barchester Towers
10
Anthony Trollope
Behold the Man (Michael Moorcock)
Behold the Man
11
Michael Moorcock
A Bend in the River (V.S. Naipaul)
A Bend in the River
12
V.S. Naipaul
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
13
Charles Dickens
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
14
Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Brideshead Revisited
15
Evelyn Waugh
Brighton Rock (Greene)
Brighton Rock
16
Greene
A Burnt Out Case (Greene)
A Burnt Out Case
17
Greene
The Castle of Otranto (Horace Walpole)
The Castle of Otranto
18
Horace Walpole
Childhood's End (Clarke)
Childhood's End
19
Clarke
The Children of Men (P.D. James)
The Children of Men
20
P.D. James
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
21
Anthony Burgess
A Coffin for Dimitrios (Ambler)
A Coffin for Dimitrios
22
Ambler
The Comedians (Greene)
The Comedians
23
Greene
A Dance to the Music of Time (Anthony Powell)
A Dance to the Music of Time
24
Anthony Powell
The Daughter of Time (Josephine Tey)
The Daughter of Time
25
Josephine Tey
The Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham)
The Day of the Triffids
26
John Wyndham
Decline and Fall (Evelyn Waugh)
Decline and Fall
27
Evelyn Waugh
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Dracula
28
Bram Stoker
Emma (Jane Austen)
Emma
29
Jane Austen
The End of the Affair (Graham Greene)
The End of the Affair
30
Graham Greene
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (John Cleland)
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
31
John Cleland
Far From the Madding Crowd (Hardy, Thomas)
Far From the Madding Crowd
32
Hardy, Thomas
Finnegan's Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegan's Wake
33
James Joyce
The Forsyte Saga (John Galsworthy)
The Forsyte Saga
34
John Galsworthy
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
35
Mary Shelley
The Golden Bowl (Henry James)
The Golden Bowl
36
Henry James
The Golden Notebook (Doris Lessing)
The Golden Notebook
37
Doris Lessing
The Good Soldier (Ford Madox Ford)
The Good Soldier
38
Ford Madox Ford
The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
39
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
40
Charles Dickens
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