Classics
Read Classics Classics in English
79 classics books at CEFR A2 to C2 — learn English by reading the stories worth reading. Select any word for an instant translation, listen to the narration read the page aloud, and save the vocabulary you meet. Pick your level and start with a free sample.
What are the best classics classics to read in English as a learner?
The best classics classics for English learners are the well-known titles you can read in the original — start with The Trojan Horse, Orpheus and Eurydice and Perseus and Medusa. Each one is labelled with a CEFR level, any word you do not know is one selection away from a translation, and the narration reads the page aloud while it highlights the words.
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Level B2–C2MysteryThe Complete Sherlock HolmesDeduction, fog and gaslight — the complete canon of the world's first consulting detective.
Level C2ClassicsThe Complete Works of William ShakespeareThe classic poetry novel by William Shakespeare.
Level B2–C2AdventureThe Count of Monte CristoBetrayed and imprisoned, Edmond Dantès escapes to engineer a decade-spanning revenge.
Level C2ClassicsThe Expedition of Humphry ClinkerThe classic epistolary novel by Tobias Smollett.
Level B2–C2ClassicsThe Great GatsbyJazz-Age longing on Long Island, and the green light across the bay.
Level C2ClassicsThe History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, CompleteThe classic romance novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Level C2PoetryThe Lady of the LakeThe classic romance novel by Walter Scott.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe Man Who Was Thursday: A NightmareThe classic mystery novel by G.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe MoonstoneThe classic mystery novel by Wilkie Collins.
Level C1–C2GothicThe Mysteries of UdolphoThe classic mystery novel by Ann Ward Radcliffe.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe Mystery of Edwin DroodThe classic mystery novel by Charles Dickens.
Level C1–C2GothicThe Picture of Dorian GrayA portrait ages while its beautiful owner does not — Wilde’s only novel.
Level C2PhilosophyThe PrinceThe classic historical novel by Niccolò Machiavelli.
Level B2–C1HistoricalThe Prince and the PauperThe classic historical novel by Mark Twain.
Level C2PoetryThe Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verseThe classic fantasy novel by Valmiki.
Level C1–C2ClassicsThe Scarlet LetterThe classic historical novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Level C2GothicThe Turn of the ScrewThe classic mystery novel by Henry James.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe Woman in WhiteThe classic mystery novel by Wilkie Collins.
Level B2–C1AdventureTreasure IslandThe classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Level B2–C2Science FictionTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeaCaptain Nemo's submarine Nautilus carries its captives across the world's oceans.
Level B2–C2AdventureTwenty years afterThe classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas.
Level C2ClassicsUlyssesThe classic novel by James Joyce.
Level C2ClassicsWar and PeaceTolstoy's sweeping epic follows five aristocratic families through the Napoleonic Wars, weaving personal drama with grand historical events to create one of literature's greatest p…
Level C1–C2ClassicsWhite nights, and other storiesThe classic classics novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Level C1–C2GothicWuthering HeightsThe classic gothic novel by Emily Brontë.
Level C2PhilosophyThe City of God, Volume IThe classic work of philosophy and theology by Saint Augustine of Hippo.
Level C1–C2PhilosophyThe Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana: Translated From the Sanscrit in Seven Parts With Preface, Introduction and Concluding RemarksThe classic romance novel by Vatsyayana.
Level C2HistoricalThe Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the GreatThe classic historical novel by Arrian.
Level B1–B2Children'sA Little PrincessWealthy, imaginative Sara Crewe is left penniless at her London boarding school and made a servant — yet keeps her kindness and courage against all odds.
Level B1–B2Children'sHeidiOrphaned Heidi is sent to live with her gruff grandfather on a Swiss mountain, and her sunny spirit warms everyone she meets — a heart-warming Alpine classic.
Level B1–B2Children'sThe Secret GardenSour, lonely Mary Lennox is sent to a great Yorkshire house and discovers a locked, hidden garden — and brings it, and herself, and a sickly boy, back to life.