In 1899, The Daily Telegraph of London offered its readers a list of the “100 Best Novels in the World,” as assessed by the editor and a small committee of consultants. Although compiled at the end of the 19th Century, the list is not limited to that century. Allan Massie has a good essay comparing the 1899 list to a similar list compiled by The Daily Telegraph in 1999.
I have been halfheartedly (more like deci-heartedly) working on this list for a couple of years now. Inspired by Rebecca Reid’s Classics Circuit – described as “A Blog Tour of Classic Authors” – and a lively discussion on Wuthering Expectations about “overrated” books, I am adding this list to my List of Lists, with the hopes that I will then devote more attention to it.
Those few I have read are in red. Those on my TBR shelf are in blue. Several are out of print or otherwise hard to find, so I am resigned to the fact that I will never finish all these books. Which isn't such a bad thing -- those Victorians sure did love their seafaring tales!
The Tower of London by W. H. Ainsworth
Old St Paul's by W. H. Ainsworth
Windsor Castle by W. H. Ainsworth
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
Pere Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
A Window in Thrums by J. M. Barrie
The Golden Butterfly by Walter Besant and James Rice
Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood
Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Deemster by Hall Caine
Valentine Vox by Henry Cockton
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Last of the Mohicans by J. Fenimore Cooper
The Pathfinder by J. Fenimore Cooper
The Prairie by J. Fenimore Cooper
Mr Isaacs by F. Marion Crawford
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Firm of Girdlestone by Conan Doyle
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
Mary Barton by Mrs Gaskell
The Aide de Camp by James Grant
The Romance of War James Grant
Gabriel Conroy by Bret Harte
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo
Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Two Years Ago by Charles Kingsley
Alton Locke by Charles Kingsley
Hypatia by Charles Kingsley
The Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn by Henry Kingsley
Soldiers Three by Rudyard Kipling
Guy Livingstone by George Lawrence
Harry Lorrequer by Charles Lever
Charles O'Malley by Charles Lever
The Atonement of Leam Dundas by E. Lynn Linton
Handy Andy by Samuel Lover
Rory O'More by Samuel Lover
Last of the Barons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Night and Morning by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Rienzi by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The Caxtons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The King's Own by Captain Frederick Marryat
Peter Simple by Captain Frederick Marryat
Jacob Faithful by Captain Frederick Marryat
Midshipman Easy by Captain Frederick Marryat
Diana of the Crossways by George Meredith
John Halifax, Gentleman by D. M. Mulock
Under Two Flags by Ouida
It is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade
Peg Woffington and Christie Johnstone by Charles Reade
Hard Cash by Charles Reade
The Headless Horseman by Captain Mayne Reid
Virginia of Virginia by Amelie Rives
The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner
Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott
Cruise of the Midge by Michael Scott
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott
Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott
Woodstock by Sir Walter Scott
The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott
Frank Fairlegh by Frank E. Smedley
Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett
Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett
On the Face of the Waters by Mrs F. A. Steel
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (reviewed here)
Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour by Robert Smith Surtees
The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue
The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Newcomes by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
Robert Elsmere by Mrs H. Ward
£10,000 a Year by Samuel Warren
The Wide, Wide World by Elizabeth Wetherell
Market Harborough by G. J. Whyte-Melville
Inside the Bar by G. J. Whyte-Melville
East Lynne by Mrs Henry Wood
NOTE
Last updated on July 17, 2016.
OTHERS WITH THIS LIST
Wuthering Expectations
My Reader's Block
If you have adopted this list, please leave a comment with a link to any related posts -- progress reports, reviews, similar or personal lists, etc. -- and I will add the link below.
What a great list! There are so many books on there that I haven't heard of, but it is great to see some books remaining on the list after 100 years. I might try to find one or two of the lesser known books and see what they're like - thank you for bringing it to my attention!
ReplyDeleteThis list is A. Scream.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably mention it sometime. It's killing me, killing me. I counted 22 that I've read, by the way. None by Ainsworth
If you read anything by Ainsworth, I'll be very interested! There must be some powerfully tiresome books on this list.
Farmlane -- Glad you like this list. Let me know if you read any of the more random books.
ReplyDeleteAR -- I thought you would get a kick out of this one. You have probably read more than any living person.
I don't know why I have an Ainsworth book on my shelves -- I think I found it and read it in high school, but remember nothing about it. I'm sure there's a reason no one has heard of many of these books.
Only 8 read for me...AR killed. I'm especially disappointed there are two Tobias Smolletts on there and neither is Humphry Clinker! Hmph.
ReplyDeletethis is so awesome! I love it. It's very fun to see which books still hang around after 100 years. And I'm curious to see which ones hang around in another 100.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by how many of these I've not even heard of. I've apparently only read six (will be seven after my planned reading of East Lynne this fall and possibly eight if I get to Oliver Twist).
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick one that I can guarantee I will never read ... Tom Cringle's Log. What a dreadful title and its "classics of naval fiction" designation holds no interest for me.
This is hilarious. Okay... not hilarious... amusing. Incredibly amusing. Take, for instance, the omission of Thackery's "Vanity Fair". True, not a splendid book, but that is what's remember today (I'm still not sure why). Or where is the ubiquitously popular "Wuthering Heights"? Another book apparently deemed "not good enough" at the turn of the century. How exactly did it end up so popular today? But where is "War and Peace"? I haven't read "Anna Karenina" yet, but "War and Peace" remains one of the greatest books I've ever read... Says a lot about the changes in the last 100 years, no?
ReplyDeleteA truly fascinating list.
AnCh, the wave of Russian translations was just hitting England at this point, and given the questionable quality of many of those English translations, I give the Daily Telegraph editors a pass on the Russian issue. They were ignorant, yes, but without Russian there wasn't much they could do about it.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Wuthering Heights? Serious criticism of E. Brontë's works did not begin until the 1920s. Modernists found her especially interesting. Her critical esteem dates from that period. Her popularity, a separate issue, has as much to do with the 1939 movie as anything else.
This is terrific information, and I have shared it with others at Novels, Stories, and More. I'm now intrigued about the idea of reading everything on the list that I had previously overlooked. That, however, might be more than a person in the 21st century ought to attempt.
ReplyDeleteAmateur Reader, I guess the case of "Wuthering Heights" goes to show that modern complaints that people only read certain books because of the movies are actually based on a fairly old concept. Take that, criticizers of the modern age!
ReplyDeleteThat said, a reread of this list is making me realize just how many of my favorite pre-20th century books are missing. Hmph.
This list is seriously whacked. Did the English not get "Huckleberry Finn"? Twain was one of the most famous men in the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great comments. This is a list that stirs up discussion.
ReplyDeleteAnd special thanks to Amateur Reader and R.T. for posting it on your blogs!
What a cool list! I've read 5.5 (I read the abridged version of Les Mis in high school). I HIGHLY recommend The Moonstone which I see is on your To Read list. My bookclub read it a couple of years ago and it was great. You can really see how Collins influenced both Conan Doyle and Christie.
ReplyDeleteCarin -- Thanks for visiting. Glad you like this list. It is an intriguing one, for sure! Moonstone is definitely moving quickly to the top of my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this list. I've read 12 of them and I'm hoping to get a few more under my belt before the end of the year. I've blogged about it.
ReplyDeleteKatrina
Katrina -- How fun that you are working on this list. Leave a link to your progress report or other post and I will add it to my post -- if you want.
ReplyDeleteWill only admit that some of my favorite novels are on this list. Thanks for finding and posting it.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's quite a list. I've only read six of these. There are several on the TBR pile (and I'm in the middle of trying to read The Woman in White...after loving The Moonstone, I didn't think it would be quite such a struggle). But what really knocks me for a loop is...I actually OWN The Caxtons by Lytton. I picked it up because it's a cool little first edition...that I thought I might get around to reading someday. I may have to move it up the list just to see if it really is all that.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see what I can do with this list. Here's my page for it. Any books from here on out, I'll be adding reviews (linked to this page): http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/p/daily-telegraphs-1899-list-of-best-100.html
ReplyDeleteGreat list---thanks! I'm adding it to my challenges for the year. http://www.belleslibrary.com/2016/12/100-best-of-1899.html
ReplyDelete