The Daily Telegraph/ The Sunday Telegraph, 110 Best Books [2008]
186 entries: 174 monographical, 12 otherwise
Unrankedarranged topically
Of the three lists generated in recent years by collective personnel at major newspapers, the Telegraph's is closer to the Globe and Mail's in its decent coverage of Western literature, but also compares to the Guardian's in its inclusion of modern popular favorites. Some of those recent best sellers do not belong on a "great books" lists; they are too closely tied to contemporary events or tastes. Indeed, this list shows clearly the unfortunate side of publications getting into the habit of making book lists that cover all of literary history: as with lists of music albums, an excess of recent entries distracts from the stated purpose of the list and suggests excessive praise for those recent entries, when in fact the listmakers were unlikely to have wanted to make a bold claim about the significance of those works but rather simply aimed to include some suitable present-day companions to older works.
Homer
- Iliad
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B CGreek
- Odýsseia
The Odyssey
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B CGreek
Anthony Trollope
- The Warden
1855English
- Barchester Towers
1857English
- Doctor Thorne
1858English
- Framley Parsonage
originally published serially Jan. 1860-Apr. 1861 in Cornhill MagazineEnglish
- The Small House at Allington
originally published serially Sep. 1862-Apr. 1864English
- The Last Chronicle of Barset
originally published serially Dec. 1866-Jul. 1867English
- Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice
originally anonymously published 1813English
- Jonathan Swift
Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and Then a Captain of Several Ships
Gulliver's Travels
1726; revised 1735English
- Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
originally published under the pseudonym, Currer Bell, 1847English
- Leo Tolstoy
Voyna i Mir"
War and Peace
originally entitled 1805, published in part, 1865 and 1867; retitled and published in its entirety, 1869Russian
- Charles Dickens
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account)
originally published serially May 1849-Nov. 1850English
- William Makepeace Thackeray
Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero
originally published serially Jan. 1847-Jul. 1848English
- Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary
originally published serially Oct. 1856-Dec. 1856 in La Revue de ParisFrench
- George Eliot
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life
originally published serially Dec. 1871-Dec. 1872English
- William Shakespeare
Sonnets
1609; two sonnets originally published in The Passionate Pilgrim, 1599English
- Dante
La Divina Commedia
The Divine Comedy
originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21Italian
- Geoffrey Chaucer
Canterbury Tales
1478English
- William Wordsworth
The Prelude or, Growth of the Poet's Mind: An Autobiographical Poem
1850; earlier versions written 1799 and 1805English
John Keats
originally anonymously published Jan. 1820 in Annals of the Fine Arts; included in Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820English
originally published Jul. 1820 in Annals of the Fine Arts; included in Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820English
originally published in The Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of John Keats, 1848English
part of Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820English
part of Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820English
part of Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820English
'The Waste Land'
originally published Oct. 1922 in the CriterionEnglish
John Milton
- Paradise Lost
1667; revised 1674English
- William Blake
Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul
published in part, 1789, as Songs of Innocence; in its entirety, 1794English
William Butler Yeats
- The Collected Poems of W B Yeats
1933; expanded 1950; revised 1956; includes The Wind Among the Reeds [1899]; The Shadowy Waters [originally published May 1900 in the North American Review; revised for inclusion in Poems, 1899-1905; theatrical version published separately 1906; both versions included here]; Michael Robartes and the Dancer [1921]; The Tower [1928]; The Winding Stair [1929]; Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems [1932]; New Poems [1938]; selections from The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, 1889; The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, 1892; In the Seven Woods: Being Poems Chiefly of the Irish Heroic Age, 1904; The Green Helmet and Other Poems, 1910; Responsibilities, 1914; The Wild Swans at Coole, Other Verses and a Play in Verse, 1917, expanded 1919; A Full Moon in March, 1935; and Last Poems and Two Plays, 1939English
- The Wind Among the Reeds
1899English
- The Shadowy Waters
1900; originally published May 1900 in the North American Review; revised for inclusion in Poems, 1899-1905; theatrical version published separately 1906; both versions included in the author's collected poemsEnglish
- Michael Robartes and the Dancer
1920English
- The Tower
1928; originally published as Seven Poems and a Fragment, 1922; The Cat and the Moon, 1924; and October Blast, 1927English
- The Winding Stair
1929English
- Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems
1932English
- New Poems
1938English
Ted Hughes
2003; includes The Hawk in the Rain [1957]; Lupercal [1960]; Recklings [1966]; Crow [published as: Four Crow Poems, 1970; A Few Crows, 1970; Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow [1970--expanded 1971]; Crow Wakes, 1971; and as Hughes' part of Poems: Ruth Fainlight, Ted Hughes, Alan Silitoe, 1971--the Collected Poems version of Crow is counted as a monographic work, though in fact it has not been published on its own in such expanded form; in other words, the three shorter original monographic publications are not included in the master list]; Prometheus on His Crag [1973; revised for inclusion in Moortown, 1979]; Cave Birds [1975; expanded and revised 1978; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993]; Season Songs [1976; published in part, 1968, as Five Autumn Songs for Children's Voices; and as part of Spring Summer Autumn Winter, 1973; revised 1985]; Orts [1978; portions included as part of 'Earth-Numb' section of Moortown, 1979]; Moortown Elegies [1978; included in Moortown, 1979; expanded and retitled Moortown Diary, 1989]; Adam and the Sacred Nine [1979; revised for inclusion in Moortown, 1979]; Remains of Elmet [1979; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993; revised and entitled Elmet, 1994]; A Primer of Birds [1981; includes one poem from Crow Wakes, 1971]; River [1983; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993]; Flowers and Insects [1986]; Wolfwatching [1989; includes two poems from A Primer of Birds]; Capriccio [1990]; Rain-Charm for the Duchy [1992]; Birthday Letters [1998; published in part, 1995, in New Selected Poems 1957-1994]; Howls and Whispers [1998]; plus Tales From Ovid: Twenty-Four Passages From the Metamorphoses, 1997published in part in After Ovid: New Metamorphoses, 1994; selections from Wodwo, 1967; and Gaudete, 1977; 'Earth-Numb', originally published in the collection Moortown [1979]; plus sections entitled Early Poems and Juvenilia (1946-57); Uncollected (1957-59); Uncollected (1960-1967); Uncollected (1967-70); Uncollected (1971-73); Uncollected (1974-75); Uncollected (1976-77); Uncollected (1977-78); Uncollected (1979); Uncollected (1980-81); Uncollected (1981-83); Uncollected (1983-86); Uncollected (1987-89); Uncollected (1992-97); Uncollected (1997-98)]English
- The Hawk in the Rain
1957English
- Lupercal
1960English
- Recklings
1966English
- Crow
originally published as Four Crow Poems, 1970; A Few Crows, 1970; Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow, 1970, expanded 1971; Crow Wakes, 1971; and as Hughes’s portion of Poems: Ruth Fainlight, Ted Hughes, Alan Silitoe, 1971; only the author's Collected Poems, 2003, includes singular version of this workEnglish
- Prometheus on His Crag
1973; revised for inclusion in Moortown, 1979English
- Cave Birds
1975; expanded and revised 1978; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993English
- Season Songs
1976; published in part, 1968, as Five Autumn Songs for Children’s Voices; and as part of Spring Summer Autumn Winter, 1973; revised 1985English
- Orts
1978; portions included as part of 'Earth-Numb' section of Moortown, 1979English
- Moortown Elegies
1978; included in Moortown, 1979; expanded and retitled Moortown Diary, 1989English
- Adam and the Sacred Nine
1979; revised for inclusion in Moortown, 1979English
- Remains of Elmet
1979; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993; revised and entitled Elmet, 1994English
- A Primer of Birds
1981; includes one poem from Crow Wakes, 1971English
- River
1983; revised for inclusion in Three Books, 1993English
- Flowers and Insects
1986English
- Wolfwatching
1989; includes two poems from A Primer of BirdsEnglish
- Capriccio
1990English
- Rain-Charm for the Duchy
1992English
- Birthday Letters
1998; published in part, 1995, in New Selected Poems 1957-1994English
- Howls and Whispers
1998English
- Tales From Ovid: Twenty-Four Passages From the Metamorphoses
published in part in After Ovid: New Metamorphoses, 1994; in its entirety, 1997; English translations of selections from Ovid's MetamorphosesEnglish
- Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady
originally published serially Oct. 1880-Nov. 1881 in Macmillan's and Nov. 1880-Dec. 1881 in the Atlantic MonthlyEnglish
- Marcel Proust
À la Recherche du Temps Perdu
In Search of Lost Time; In Remembrance of Things Past
originally published in seven volumes, two of which originally published as two books each, 1913-27French
- James Joyce
Ulysses
published in part serially Mar. 1918-Dec. 1920 in the Little Review; in its entirety, 1922English
- Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls
1940English
Evelyn Waugh
- Men at Arms
1952English
- Officers and Gentlemen
1955English
- Unconditional Surrender
1961English
- Muriel Spark
The Ballad of Peckham Rye
1960English
John Updike
- Rabbit, Run
1960English
- Rabbit Redux
1971English
- Rabbit Is Rich
1981English
- Rabbit at Rest
1990English
- Gabriel García Márquez
Cien Anõs de Soledad
One Hundred Years of Solitude
1967Spanish
- Toni Morrison
Beloved
1987English
- Philip Roth
The Human Stain
2000English
- Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca
1938English
- Thomas Malory
Le Morte d'Arthur
1485; revised through sixth edition, 1634English
- Choderlos de Laclos
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
The Dangerous Liaisons
1782French
- Robert Graves
I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B C, Murdered and Deified A D 54
1934English
Mary Renault
- Fire From Heaven
1969English
- The Persian Boy
1972English
- Funeral Games
1981English
- Patrick O'Brien
Master and Commander
1969English
- Margaret Mitchell
Gone With the Wind
1936English
- Boris Pasternak
Dóktor Živágo
Doctor Zhivago
Italian translation, 1957; original Russian, 1958Russian
- Thomas Hardy
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented
published in part serially Jul.-Dec. 1891 in the GraphicEnglish
Jean Plaidy
- The Plantagenet Prelude
1976English
- The Revolt of the Eaglets
1977English
- The Heart of the Lion
1978English
- The Prince of Darkness
q978English
- The Battle of the Queens
1978English
- The Queen From Provence
1979English
- Edward Longsharks
1979; retitled The Hammer of the Scots, 2008English
- The Follies of the King
1980English
- The Vow on the Heron
1980English
- Passage to Pontefract
1981English
- The Star of Lancaster
1981English
- Epitaph for Three Women
1981English
- Red Rose of Anjou
1982English
- The Sun in Splendour
1982English
- Arthur Ransome
Swallows and Amazons
1930English
- C S Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1950English
- J R R Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings
published in three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King, 1954-5English
- Phillip Pullman
His Dark Materials
originally published in three volumes: Northern Lights, 1995 (U S title: The Golden Compass); The Subtle Knife, 1997; The Amber Spyglass, 2000English
- Jean de Brunhoff
Historie de Babar
1931French
- E Nesbit
The Railway Children
originally published serially in the London Magazine, 1905English
- A A Milne
Winnie-the-Pooh
published in part serially 1924-5; in its entirety, 1926English
J K Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
1997English
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
1998English
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
1999English
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2000English
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2003English
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2005English
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2007English
- Kenneth Grahame
The Wind in the Willows
1908English
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island
originally entitled Treasure Island or, The Mutiny of the Hispaniola, published serially 1891-92 in Young Folks under the pseudonym, Captain George NorthEnglish
- Mary Shelley
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
originally anonymously published 1818English
- Jules Verne
Vingt Mille Lieues Souls les Mers
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
1870French
- H G Wells
The Time Machine
1895English
- Aldous Huxley
Brave New World
1932English
- George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1949English
- John Wyndham
The Day of the Triffids
1951English
- Isaac Asimov
Foundation
1951; four of five chapters previously published: May 1942, as 'Foundation', in Astounding Science-Fiction; Jun. 1942, as 'Bridle and Saddle', in Astounding Science-Fiction; Oct. 1944, as 'The Wedge', in Astounding Science-Fiction; Aug. 1944, as 'The Big and the Little', in Astounding Science-FictionEnglish
- Arthur C Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968English
- Philip K Dick
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
1968English
- William Gibson
Neuromancer
1984English
- Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr. Ripley
1955English
- Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon
1930English
Arthur Conan Doyle
- A Study in Scarlet
originally published 1887 in Beeton's Christmas AnnualEnglish
- The Sign of the Four
originally published Feb. 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly MagazineEnglish
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1892; stories originally published Jul. 1891-Jun. 1892 in the StrandEnglish
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
1894; stories originally published 1892-3 in the StrandEnglish
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
1902; originally published serially Aug. 1901-Apr. 1902 in the StrandEnglish
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1905; stories originally published 1903-4 in the StrandEnglish
- The Valley of Fear
1915; originally published serially Sep. 1914-Feb. 1915 in the StrandEnglish
- His Last Bow: Some Later Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes
1917; stories originally published Sep. 1908-Dec. 1913 in the Strand; except one published Sep. 1917 in Collier's WeeklyEnglish
- The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
1927; stories originally published Oct. 1921-Apr. 1927 in the StrandEnglish
- Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep
1939English
- John le Carré
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
1974English
- Thomas Harris
Red Dragon
1981English
- Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder in the Calais Coach
1934English
'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'
originally published Apr. 1841 in Graham's Magazine; revised for inclusion in The Prose Romances of Edgar A Poe, 1843English
- Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White
originally published serially Nov. 1859-Aug. 1860 in All the Year RoundEnglish
- Elmore Leonard
Killshot
1989English
- Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie
published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894German
- Thomas Paine
The Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution
originally published in two volumes, 1791 and 1792English
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Du Contrat Social ou Principes du Droit Politique
The Social Contract
1762French
- Alexis de Tocqueville
De la Démocratie en Amérique
Democracy in America
originally published in two volumes, 1835 and 1840French
- Carl von Clausewitz
Vom Kriege
On War
1832German
- Niccolò Machiavelli
Il Principe
The Prince
1532Italian
- Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan or, The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil
1651English
- Sigmund Freud
Die Traumdeutung
The Interpretation of Dreams
1899German
- Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
1859English
Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers
published in 28 volumes, 1751-72French
- Robert M Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
1974English
- Richard Bach
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
1970English
- Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1979 novel based on 1978 radio playEnglish
- Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
2000English
- Naomi Wolf
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
1991; expanded 2002English
Delia Smith
- Delia's How to Cook Book One
1998English
- Delia's How to Cook Book Two
1999English
- Delia's How to Cook Book Three
2001English
- Peter Mayle
A Year in Provence
1989English
- David Pelzer
A Child Called 'It'
1995English
- Lynne Truss
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
2003English
- Ben Schott
Schott's Original Miscellany
2002English
- Edward Gibbon
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
originally published in six volumes: first, 1776; second-third, 1781; fourth-sixth, 1788English
- Winston Churchill
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
published in four volumes, 1956-58English
- Steven Runciman
A History of the Crusades
1951English
- Herodotus
Historiē
History
Fifth Century B CGreek
- Thucydides
History of the Peloponnesian War
early Fifth Century B CGreek
- T E Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
1922English
--
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Ninth-Twelfth centuriesEnglish
- Orlando Figes
A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924
1997English
- Simon Schama
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
1989English
- A J P Taylor
The Origins of the Second World War
1961English
- Augustine of Hippo
Confessionum Libri Tredecim
The Confessions of St. Augustine
written 397-98Latin
- Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
De Vita Caesarum
The Lives of the Twelve Caesars
written 121Latin
- Giorgio Vasari
Le Vite de' Più Eccellenti Pittori, Scultori, e Architettori da Cimabue Insino a' Tempi Nostri
The Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
1550; expanded 1568Italian
- Primo Levi
Se Questo è un Uomo
Survival in Auschwitz
1947Italian
- Siegfried Sassoon
Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man
1928English
- Lytton Strachey
Eminent Victorians
1918English
- Elizabeth Gaskell
A Life of Charlotte Brontë
1857English
- Robert Graves
Good-Bye to All That
1929; revised 1957English
- James Boswell
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
1791English
Alan Clark
- Diaries
1993English
- Diaries: Into Politics 1972-1982
2000English
- Diaries: The Last Diaries 1993-1999
2002English