List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

The Literary 100: The Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time

Something much less frivolous than my recent challenges. This is an epic challenge (not least in terms of the time it took to assemble). It is derived from "The Literary 100, Revised Edition: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time" (Daniel S.Burt, 2009).
The authors are ranked in descending order. I have chosen 2 representative works for each of them (except for Sappho, in which case I have inserted Erica Jong's "Sappho's Leap " into the 2nd spot (176). The chosen works might not have been mentioned in the source book.
Read More
1,552 users · 8,810 views
 
made by Markd9528
avg. score: 32 of 200 (16%)
required scores: 1, 11, 20, 31, 49 
type to search

How many have you read or seen?

Page 1 of 5
King Lear (William Shakespeare)
King Lear
1
William Shakespeare
The Tempest (William Shakespeare)
The Tempest
2
William Shakespeare
The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)
The Divine Comedy
3
Dante Alighieri
La Vita Nuova (Dante Alighieri)
La Vita Nuova
4
Dante Alighieri
The Iliad (Homer)
The Iliad
5
Homer
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
6
Homer
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
7
Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
8
Leo Tolstoy
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
9
Geoffrey Chaucer
Troilus and Criseyde (Geoffrey Chaucer)
Troilus and Criseyde
10
Geoffrey Chaucer
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
11
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
12
Charles Dickens
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
13
James Joyce
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
14
James Joyce
Paradise Lost (John Milton)
Paradise Lost
15
John Milton
L'allegro, Il Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas (John Milton)
L'allegro, Il Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas
16
John Milton
Aeneid (Virgil)
Aeneid
17
Virgil
Georgics (Virgil)
Georgics
18
Virgil
Faust (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
Faust
19
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
The Sorrows of Young Werther (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
The Sorrows of Young Werther
20
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra)
Don Quixote
21
Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
Exemplary Stories (Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra)
Exemplary Stories
22
Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
23
Murasaki Shikibu
The Diary of Lady Murasaki (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Diary of Lady Murasaki
24
Murasaki Shikibu
Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)
Oedipus Rex
25
Sophocles
Antigone (Sophocles)
Antigone
26
Sophocles
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
27
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
28
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
29
William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
30
William Faulkner
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
31
Marcel Proust
Days of Reading (Marcel Proust)
Days of Reading
32
Marcel Proust
Collected Poems by William Butler Yeats
Collected Poems by William Butler Yeats
33
The Collected Plays of W. B. Yeats
The Collected Plays of W. B. Yeats
34
Eugene Onegin (Aleksandr Pushkin)
Eugene Onegin
35
Aleksandr Pushkin
The Captain's Daughter (Alexander Pushkin)
The Captain's Daughter
36
Alexander Pushkin
The Waste Land (T. S. Eliot)
The Waste Land
37
T. S. Eliot
Prufrock and Other Observations (T. S. Eliot)
Prufrock and Other Observations
38
T. S. Eliot
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
39
Jane Austen
Persuasion (Jane Austen)
Persuasion
40
Jane Austen
Page 1 of 5
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'The Literary 100: The Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time'
Novelists and Playwrights CJ Found Out He Didn't Like
Novelists and Playwrights CJ Found Out He Didn't Like
106
46
Guy's Literary Fiction 400: Literary Fiction Classic and Contemporary
Guy's Literary Fiction 400: Literary Fiction Classic and Contemporary
1,012
418
Literary Hub: Reviews of Literary Fiction
Literary Hub: Reviews of Literary Fiction
346
167
The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time
The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time
1,908
52
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
1,523
73
The 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
The 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
892
99
The 24 Most Influential Horror Novels of All Time
The 24 Most Influential Horror Novels of All Time
570
24
The Most Influential Science Fiction Books of All Time
The Most Influential Science Fiction Books of All Time
550
10
23 of the Most Influential Fantasy Books of All Time
23 of the Most Influential Fantasy Books of All Time
509
23
Bookriot's 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
Bookriot's 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
479
99
The 10 Most Influential Books of All Time According to Everyday Chirp
The 10 Most Influential Books of All Time According to Everyday Chirp
463
10
20 of the Most Influential Historical Fiction Books of All Time
20 of the Most Influential Historical Fiction Books of All Time
445
20
Bookriot's Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Bookriot's Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
388
54
The 20 Most Influential Memoirs of All Time
The 20 Most Influential Memoirs of All Time
331
20
The 20 Most Influential Picture Books of All Time
The 20 Most Influential Picture Books of All Time
210
20
Some of the Most Influential Asian American Literature of All Time
Some of the Most Influential Asian American Literature of All Time
207
26
Goodreads' Top 100 Literary Novels of All Time
Goodreads' Top 100 Literary Novels of All Time
17,956
100
Literary Hub's 50 of the Greatest Summer Novels of All Time
Literary Hub's 50 of the Greatest Summer Novels of All Time
1,353
50
The 30 Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
The 30 Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
354
60
Books Mentioned on USA Today's 100 Black Novelists and Fiction Writers You Should Read
Books Mentioned on USA Today's 100 Black Novelists and Fiction Writers You Should Read
327
232
Asian American Novels and Novelists
Asian American Novels and Novelists
291
56
Hannah's 50 Latest Female Novelists
Hannah's 50 Latest Female Novelists
276
50
International Women's Day - 19th Century Women Novelists
International Women's Day - 19th Century Women Novelists
264
10
Novelists Pick Books to Inspire, Uplift, and Offer Escape
Novelists Pick Books to Inspire, Uplift, and Offer Escape
237
25
10 Great Novelists and Their Novels by William Somerset Maugham
10 Great Novelists and Their Novels by William Somerset Maugham
176
10
Last 100 Female Novelists Read
Last 100 Female Novelists Read
128
100
The Observer New Review's Best New Novelists 2024
The Observer New Review's Best New Novelists 2024
63
10
Beatniks, Hippies, and Whackos - Writers and Poets of the Counterculture
Beatniks, Hippies, and Whackos - Writers and Poets of the Counterculture
1,062
100
Poets You Should Read Part 1
Poets You Should Read Part 1
273
52
Beats, Hipsters, Freaks and Poets--Shay's (Well)-Spent Youth in Books
Beats, Hipsters, Freaks and Poets--Shay's (Well)-Spent Youth in Books
217
40
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