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 B2–C2AdventureRoughing ItThe classic adventure novel by Mark Twain.
Level C1–C2RomanceSense and SensibilityThe classic romance novel by Jane Austen.
Level C2AdventureThe Adventures of Roderick RandomThe classic adventure novel by T.
Level B2–C2RomanceThe Blue Lagoon: A RomanceThe classic romance novel by H.
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 B2–C2RomanceThe Enchanted AprilThe classic romance novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim.
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 B2–C2MysteryThe Green MummyThe classic mystery novel by Fergus Hume.
Level C2ClassicsThe History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, CompleteThe classic romance novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Level C1–C2RomanceThe History of Sir Richard Calmady: A RomanceThe classic romance novel by Lucas Malet.
Level C1–C2HistoricalThe Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By HimselfThe classic historical novel by Olaudah Equiano.
Level C1–C2HorrorThe King in YellowThe classic mystery novel by Robert W.
Level C2PoetryThe Lady of the LakeThe classic romance novel by Walter Scott.
Level C1–C2HistoricalThe Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, CompleteThe classic classics novel by John Forster.
Level C1–C2RomanceThe Love Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft to Gilbert ImlayThe classic romance novel by Mary Wollstonecraft.
Level C1–C2MysteryThe Man Who Was Thursday: A NightmareThe classic mystery novel by G.
Level C1–C2HorrorThe Monk: A RomanceThe classic horror novel by M.
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 B2–C2GothicThe Phantom of the OperaThe classic mystery novel by Gaston Leroux.
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 C1–C2RomanceThe Red Lily — CompleteThe classic romance novel by Anatole France.
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–C2AdventureThe Yeoman AdventurerThe classic romance novel by George W.
Level C1–C2AdventureTravels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846The classic adventure novel by James Richardson.
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 B2–C2RomanceUnder the Red Dragon: A NovelThe classic mystery novel by James Grant.
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 C2PhilosophyThus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and NoneThe classic philosophy novel by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
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 C1–C2HistoricalThe IliadThe classic historical novel by Homer.
Level C2PhilosophyEcce Homo: Complete Works, Volume SeventeenThe classic philosophy novel by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
Level B2–C2Adventure25 Principles of the PlayaA newcomer's guide to Burning Man — 25 hard-won principles, learned in the dust.
Level C1–C2HistoricalThe Diary of Samuel Pepys — CompleteThe classic historical diary by Samuel Pepys.
Level C2HistoricalThe Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the GreatThe classic historical novel by Arrian.