Historical

Read Historical Classics in English

39 historical books as graded readers — learn English by reading the stories worth reading. Tap any word for an instant translation, hear natural audio narration, and save the vocabulary you meet. Pick your level and start with a free chapter.

What are the best historical classics to read in English as a learner?

The best historical classics for English learners are graded readers of well-known titles — start with War and Peace, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself and Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy: Volume 3 (of 3). Each is rewritten at a clear CEFR level with tap-to-translate, audio narration and saved vocabulary, so you read a real story while building English at your own pace.

39
graded readers
2479
chapters in total
39
free samples to start
Historical graded readers — chapters and CEFR level
TitleChaptersLevel
War and Peace365C2
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself12C1
Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy: Volume 3 (of 3)4C2
Oliver Twist, Vol. 2 (of 3)17C1
Under the Red Dragon: A Novel61B2
Kidnapped30B2
David Copperfield64C1
Eighty Years and More; Reminiscences 1815-189729C1
Catriona30B2
Roughing It79B2
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor75C1
The Iliad1C2
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult1C1
Les Misérables372C2
The Prince and the Pauper33B2
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude50C1
The Love Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft to Gilbert Imlay77C1
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 184631C1
The Scarlet Letter24C1
The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2)44C2
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave11C1
Great Expectations59C1
The Yeoman Adventurer26B2
The Prince26C2
The Lady of the Lake190C2
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin19C1
The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete132C1
A Tale of Two Cities45C1
Life on the Mississippi60B2
Twenty years after90B2
Middlemarch86C2
The Count of Monte Cristo117B2
The Great Gatsby9B2
The City of God, Volume I1C2
Modern English biography, volume 2 (of 4), I-Q1C1
The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete1C1
The Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great205C2
The Roll of Honour, Volume 1 : $b A biographical record of all members of His Majesty's naval and military forces who have fallen in the war1C1
That Which Hath Wings: A Novel of the Day1C1
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39 books

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