Books
The classic novels behind our tees: a short, spoiler-light overview of each book, who it is for and why it is still worth reading.
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen's 1813 comedy of manners follows Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy through first impressions, pride and money in Regency England.
Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll's 1865 nonsense classic sends young Alice down a rabbit hole into a world of shifting size, odd logic and unforgettable characters.
Dracula
Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic novel, told through letters and diaries, follows a group of friends who hunt Count Dracula across Europe.
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel follows the four March sisters growing up in New England during and after the American Civil War.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Twelve short stories published in 1891–92 introduced readers to Sherlock Holmes's method of observation and deduction, narrated by Dr Watson.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Conan Doyle's 1905 collection brings Sherlock Holmes back after his apparent death, with thirteen new cases narrated by Dr Watson.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel follows Nick Carraway's summer among the wealthy on Long Island and the mystery of Jay Gatsby.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde's only novel (1890, expanded 1891) follows a beautiful young man whose portrait ages while he stays young, and what that costs him.
Moby-Dick
Herman Melville's 1851 novel follows Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of a white whale, as told by the sailor Ishmael.
The Call of the Wild
Jack London's 1903 novella follows Buck, a domestic dog taken to the Klondike gold rush and forced to become a sled dog.
Don Quixote
Cervantes's two-part novel (1605 and 1615) follows an ageing gentleman who becomes a knight-errant, and his squire Sancho Panza.
The Call of Cthulhu
H. P. Lovecraft's 1928 short story pieces together evidence of an ancient cosmic entity and is a founding text of cosmic horror.
War and Peace
Tolstoy's epic (1865–69) follows several Russian families through the Napoleonic wars, mixing private lives with history.
Around the World in Eighty Days
Jules Verne's 1872 adventure follows Phileas Fogg's wager to circle the globe in eighty days, with his valet Passepartout.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Brothers Grimm's collected folk tales, first published in 1812, include Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and Snow White in their German forms.
The King in Yellow
Robert W. Chambers's 1895 story collection centres on a fictional play that drives its readers to despair, a forerunner of weird fiction.
The Iron Heel
Jack London's 1908 dystopian novel presents a manuscript from the future describing a ruthless oligarchy and the socialist revolt against it.
The Sea-Wolf
Jack London's 1904 novel follows a refined literary critic rescued by the brutal captain Wolf Larsen aboard a sealing schooner.
Martin Eden
Jack London's 1909 semi-autobiographical novel follows a sailor who educates himself to become a writer and finds success hollow.
The Scarlet Plague
Jack London's 1912 post-apocalyptic novella has an old man tell his grandsons how a plague destroyed civilisation in 2013.