CEFR C2 · Proficient
Read Proficient Classics in English (C2)
103 books graded at CEFR C2 (proficient) — learn English by reading the stories worth reading at exactly your level. Tap any word for an instant translation, listen to the narration, and save the vocabulary you meet. Start with a free sample.
What are the best C2 books to read in English?
The best C2 books to read in English are well-known classics whose own language sits at that level — start with Sonnets from the Portuguese, Oliver Twist and The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Each is the complete book, labelled CEFR C2 (proficient), with tap-to-translate, narration and saved vocabulary, so you read a real story while building the English you actually meet in it.
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Level C2RomanceSonnets from the PortugueseA weary singer finds her solitary world transformed by a princely heart whose music and presence awaken deep love and longing, defying distance, fate, and even death itself.
Level C1–C2ClassicsOliver TwistBorn into hardship in a grim workhouse, an infant named Oliver Twist faces a harsh world from his very first breath.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeA reserved lawyer investigates a sinister door linked to a chilling tale of a ruthless man trampling a child in a quiet London street, unveiling dark secrets lurking beneath the ci…
Level C1–C2MysteryThe Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-BurglarAboard a transatlantic steamship, passengers learn that the elusive gentleman-burglar Arsène Lupin is hiding among them, sparking intrigue and suspicion during a five-day voyage fi…![Cover of Love and Freindship [sic] by Jane Austen](https://dsx1pat3ljtul.cloudfront.net/books/da4g61ae2hvc73bmvsu0.webp)
Level C2RomanceLove and Freindship [sic]A young woman recounts her tumultuous life through letters, revealing beauty, talent, and misfortune in a quiet Welsh valley.
Level C2ClassicsThe Brothers KaramazovThe classic classics novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Level C1–C2Science FictionA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtThe classic science-fiction novel by Mark Twain.
Level B2–C2Science FictionA Honeymoon in SpaceThe classic science-fiction novel by George Chetwynd Griffith.
Level B2–C2RomanceA Romance of Billy-Goat HillThe classic romance novel by Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice.
Level C2PhilosophyThe Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2)The classic historical novel by George Gillespie.
Level C1–C2ClassicsA Tale of Two CitiesThe classic historical novel by Charles Dickens.
Level C1–C2RomanceA pair of blue eyesThe classic romance novel by Thomas Hardy.
Level B2–C2AdventureAdventures of Huckleberry FinnThe classic adventure novel by Mark Twain.
Level C2RomanceAnna KareninaThe classic romance novel by Leo, graf Tolstoy.
Level C1–C2HistoricalAutobiography of Benjamin FranklinThe classic historical novel by Benjamin Franklin.
Level C2PhilosophyBeyond Good and EvilThe classic philosophy novel by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
Level C1–C2AdventureBidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in SolitudeThe classic mystery novel by Austin Bidwell.
Level C2PhilosophyBiographia LiterariaThe classic philosophy novel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Level C1–C2RomanceCamille (La Dame aux Camilias)The classic romance novel by Alexandre Dumas.
Level C1–C2RomanceCarmenThe classic mystery novel by Prosper Mérimée.
Level B2–C2AdventureCatrionaThe classic romance novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Level C1–C2ClassicsCranfordThe classic classics novel by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell.
Level C1–C2ClassicsCrime and PunishmentThe classic mystery novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Level C1–C2ClassicsDavid CopperfieldThe classic classics novel by Charles Dickens.
Level C1–C2HorrorDraculaLetters and journals trace a vampire's voyage from the Carpathians to London.
Level C1–C2HistoricalEighty Years and More; Reminiscences 1815-1897The classic historical novel by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Level C2RomanceEloisa : $b or, A series of original lettersThe classic romance novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Level C2PoetryErotica RomanaThe classic romance novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Level B2–C2HorrorFrankensteinA young scientist builds a living being from death — and abandons what he makes.
Level B2–C2MysteryFriday, the Thirteenth: A NovelThe classic mystery novel by Thomas William Lawson.
Level C1–C2ClassicsGreat ExpectationsThe classic classics novel by Charles Dickens.
Level C1–C2AdventureGulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the WorldThe classic adventure novel by Jonathan Swift.
Level C2ClassicsHistory of Tom Jones, a FoundlingThe classic classics novel by Henry Fielding.
Level C1–C2RomanceJane Eyre: An AutobiographyThe classic romance novel by Charlotte Brontë.
Level B2–C2AdventureKidnappedThe classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Level C1–C2MysteryLady Audley's SecretThe classic mystery novel by M.
Level C2ClassicsLes MisérablesThe classic historical novel by Victor Hugo.
Level C2PhilosophyLeviathanThe classic historical novel by Thomas Hobbes.
Level B2–C2HistoricalLife on the MississippiThe classic adventure novel by Mark Twain.
Level C1–C2RomanceLorna Doone: A Romance of ExmoorThe classic romance novel by R.
Level C1–C2RomanceManon LescautThe classic romance novel by abbé Prévost.
Level C2ClassicsMiddlemarchThe classic romance novel by George Eliot.
Level C2AdventureMoby Dick; Or, The WhaleThe classic adventure novel by Herman Melville.
Level C1–C2HistoricalNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American SlaveThe classic historical novel by Frederick Douglass.
Level C2PhilosophyOn LibertyThe classic philosophy novel by John Stuart Mill.
Level C1–C2MysteryPaul Clifford — CompleteThe classic mystery novel by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton.
Level C1–C2RomancePride and PrejudiceWit, pride and slow-burning love in the drawing rooms of Regency England.
Level C2RomanceRomeo and JulietThe classic romance novel by William Shakespeare.