Greater Books

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John Cowper Powys, One Hundred Best Books [1922]

126 entries: 110 monographical, 16 otherwise

Unranked—arranged topically

In the preface, Powys distances his project from the "the selections [of one hundred best books] already in existence. Those apparently are designed to stuff the minds of young persons with an accumulation of 'standard learning' calculated to alarm and discourage the boldest." He adds that he hopes to meet the "need of kindred minds; minds that read purely for the pleasure of reading, and have no sinister wish to transform themselves by that process into what are called 'cultivated persons'." So, by 1922 at the latest, dissent against the idea of "great books" has appeared, though not necessarily for the same reasons that led academics to rail against the reading plans of the second half of the century.

In turn, the book's introductory essay, 'Books and Reading', explains the author's distaste for reading plans and "the cult [...] of becoming a superior person by reading the best authors" with greater nuance. In short, he presents not a canon, but a list of his personal favorites, hoping that this "shameless subjectivity [...] will fling [... the] reader back upon his own inveterate prejudices." He hopes to achieve the "subtle fusion desirable between one's natural indestructible prejudices, and a certain high authoritative standard; a standard which we may name, for want of a better word, 'classical taste', and which itself is the resulting amalgam of all the finest personal reactions of all the finest critical senses, winnowed out, as it were, and austerely purged, by the washing of the waves of time." Though perhaps this perspective is a tad vague, his vision of our "natural" and "indestructible" reading habits especially requiring further elucidation, we are not surprised that Powys is the only "great books" listmaker who was principally a writer of creative fiction, as Kenneth Rexroth's contribution was not originally a list, but rather a series of essays). Also unsurprisingly, he and Rexroth are the only listmakers who have works of their own included in others' "great books" lists (save for Van Doren including his colleague Adler's Synopticon, which itself began as a guide to reading a set of "great books").

Each selection is followed by some paragraphs or pages in discussion. Powys often lists secondary critical, biographical, or historical works about the authors or works in question; these have not been included in the list. However, in some instances, I have included other primary literary works. As with the Newman, Dirda, Fadiman, Ward, and Van Doren lists, the works found in the list here that are not formally part of the author's list are included because the author speaks of them as highly as he does the books that he directly or primarily recommends. The most obvious of these is the Lewis Carroll entry, where Powys states, "Lack of space alone prevents us from including 'Through the Looking Glass' too." But—what lack of space? After all, several books included are not discussed in detail—or, in the cases of authors with several works listed, each work is not necessarily discussed in particular. So I have included Alice's sequel.

Another example: Regarding the Arnold Bennett entry, Powys writes, "Clayhanger with its sequels, Hilda Lessways and These Twain, makes up an imposing and convincing trilogy of middle-class life in the English Pottery Towns," but only Clayhanger is included in the section heading. Or, regarding The Importance of Being Earnest, listed in the section heading, he writes, "[it] is perhaps the gayest, least responsible, and most adorably witty of all English comedies; just as Salomé [not listed in the section heading] is the most richly colored and smoulderingly sensual of all modern tragedies." So why is the latter not listed? I include it.

  1. Homer

    2. Odýsseia
    The Odyssey
    ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B C—Greek

  2. Euripides

    3. Bakchai
    The Bacchae
    405 B C—Greek

  3. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus)

    4. Carmina
    Odes
    originally published in four volumes: first-third, 23 B C; fourth, 13 B C—Latin

  4. Catullus

    5. Poems
    First Century B C—Latin

  5. Dante

    6. La Divina Commedia
    The Divine Comedy
    originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21—Italian

  6. François Rabelais

    7. La Vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel
    originally published in five volumes: Les Horribles et Épouvantables Faits et Prouesses du Très Renommé Pantagruel Roi des Dipsodes, Fils du Grand Géant Gargantua, 1532; La Vie Très Horrifique du Grand Gargantua, Père de Pantagruel, 1534; Le Tiers Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1546; Le Quart Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1552; Le Cinquiesme et Dernier Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1564—French

  7. Voltaire
    Candide, ou L'Optimisme
    1759—French

    • William Shakespeare

    Selected works
    late Sixteenth-early Seventeenth centuries—English

    John Milton
    • Selected works

    8. Seventeenth Century—English

  8. Paradise Lost

    9. 1667; revised 1674—English

  9. Paradise Regained, a Poem, in IV Books, to Which Is Added Samson Agonistes

    10. 1671—English

    Thomas Browne
  10. Religio Medici

    11. 1643—English *Clasics*

  11. Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urns Lately Found in Norfolk

    12. 1658—English

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  12. Faust

    13. originally published in two volumes: first, Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil, published in part, 1790; in its entirey, 1808; revised 1829; second, Faust. Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil, 1832—German

  13. Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre

    14. Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
    1795-96—German

  14. Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, Oder Die Entsagenden

    15. Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, or the Renunciants
    1821; revised 1829—German

  15. Johann Peter Eckermann

    16. Gespräche mit Goethe
    originally published in three volumes: first and second, 1836; third, 1848—German

    Friedrich Nietzsche
  16. Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen

    17. Thus Spake Zarathustra
    originally published in four volumes, 1883-5—German

  17. Die Frühliche Wissenschaft

    18. The Gay Science; The Joyous Wisdom
    1882—German

  18. Ecce Homo: Wie Man Wird, Was Man Ist
    1908—German

    Heinrich Heine
    • "Prose works

    19. Nineteenth Century—German

  19. Geständnisse

    20. originally published 1854 in the first volume of Vermischte Schriften—German

  20. Hermann Sudermann

    21. Das Hohe Lied
    1908—German

  21. Gerhart Hauptmann
    Der Narr in Christo Emanuel Quint
    1910—German

    Henrik Ibsen
    • Plays

    22. Fadiman recommends several overlapping collections; late Nineteenth Century—Norwegian

  22. Vildanden

    23. The Wild Duck
    1885—Norwegian

  23. August Strindberg
    Le Plaidoyer d'un Fou
    German version, 1893; French original, 1895—French

    • Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Complete works
    Nineteenth Century—English

    Walt Whitman
    • Poems

    24. Nineteenth Century—English

  24. Leaves of Grass
    1855; expanded and revised through ninth edition, 1892—English

    • "Prose works"

    25. Nineteenth Century—English

  25. Edgar Lee Masters

    26. Spoon River Anthology
    1915—English

  26. Theodore Dreiser

    27. The Titan
    1914—English

  27. Miguel de Cervantes

    28. El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
    Don Quixote
    originally published in two volumes, 1605 and 1615—Spanish

  28. Victor Hugo

    29. Les Travailleurs de la Mer
    1866—French

    Honoré de Balzac
  29. Illusions Perdues

    30. Lost Illusions
    1837-43—French

  30. La Cousine Bette

    31. originally published serially Oct.-Dec. 1846 in Le Constitutionnel—French

  31. Le Père Goriot
    Father Goriot
    originally published serially Dec. 1834-Feb. 1835 in Revue de Paris—French

    • La Comédie Humaine

    collective name for 91 finished and 46 unfinished works; Nineteenth Century—French

    Guy de Maupassant
    • 'La Maison Tellier'

    part of Le Maison Tellier, 1881—French

    • 'Histoire d'une Fille de Ferme'

    originally published Mar. 1881 in La Revue Politique et Littéraire; included in Le Maison Tellier, 1881—French

    • 'Amour'

    32. originally published Dec. 1886 in Gil Blas; included in Le Horla, 1887—French

  32. Stendhal

    33. Le Rouge et le Noir, Chronique du XIXe Siècle
    The Red and the Black
    1830—French

    Anatole France
  33. Le Livre de Mon Ami

    34. 1885—French

  34. Les Opinions de Jérôme Coignard

    35. 1893—French

  35. L'Orme du Mail

    36. 1897—French

    Remy de Gourmont
  36. Une Nuit de Luxembourg

    37. 1912—French

  37. Litanies de la Rose

    38. 1892—French

  38. Paul Bourget

    39. Le Disciple
    1889—French

  39. Romain Rolland

    40. Jean Christophe
    published in ten volumes: L'Aube, 1904; Le Matin, 1904; L'Adolescent, 1904; La Révolte, 1905; La Foir sur la Place, 1908; Antoinette, 1908; Dans la Maison, 1908; Les Amies, 1910; Le Buisson Ardent, 1911; La Nouvelle Journée, 1912—French

    Gabriele D'Annunzio
  40. Il Trionfo Della Morte

    41. The Triumph of Death
    1894—Italian

  41. Il Fuoco

    42. The Flame of Life
    1900—Italian

    Fyodor Dostoevsky
  42. Prestuplénie i Nakazániye

    43. Crime and Punishment
    originally published serially Jan.-Dec. 1866 in Rússkij Véstnik—Russian

  43. Idiot

    44. originally published serially 1868-9 in Rússkij Véstnik—Russian

  44. Fyodor Dostoevsky

    45. Brat'â Karamazovy
    The Brothers Karamazov
    originally published serially 1880 in Rússkij Véstnik—Russian

  45. Unižennye i Oskorblënnye

    46. Humiliated and Insulted
    originally published 1861 in Vrémâ—Russian

  46. Besy

    47. Demons; The Devils; The Possessed
    1872—Russian

    Ivan Turgenev
  47. Nov'

    48. Virgin Soil
    1877—Russian

  48. Zapiski Ohotnika

    49. A Sportsman's Sketches
    originally published in Sovremennik, 1852—Russian

  49. Dvorânskoe Gnezdo

    50. Home of the Gentry; Liza
    originally published in Sovremennik, Jan. 1859—Russian

  50. Maxim Gorky

    51. Forma Gordeev
    The Man Who Was Afraid
    1899—Russian

  51. Anton Chekhov

    52. Čajka
    The Seagull
    1896—Russian

  52. Mikhail Artzybashev

    53. Sanin
    1907—Russian

    Laurence Sterne
  53. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

    54. originally published in nine volumes, 1759-67—English

  54. A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy

    55. 1768—English

  55. Jonathan Swift

    56. A Tale of a Tub
    1704; revised through fifth edition, 1710—English

    Charles Lamb
  56. Essays of Elia

    57. 1823; originally published serially in the London Magazine, 1820-25—English

  57. Last Essays of Elia

    58. 1833; originally published serially in the London Magazine, 1820-25—English

    Walter Scott
  58. Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer

    59. originally anonymously published 1815—English

  59. The Bride of Lamermoor

    60. originally anonymously published 1819—English

  60. The Heart of Midlothian

    61. originally anonymously published 1818—EnglishBaldinw*

  61. William Makepeace Thackeray

    62. The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Q. Anne. Written by Himself
    1852—English

  62. Charles Dickens

    63. Great Expectations
    originally published serially in All the Year Round, Dec. 1860-Aug. 1861—EnglishClassics*

  63. Jane Austen

    64. Pride and Prejudice
    originally anonymously published 1813—English

  64. Emily Brontë

    65. Wuthering Heights
    originally published 1847 under the pseudonym, Ellis Bell; revised 1850—English

  65. George Meredith

    66. The Adventures of Harry Richmond
    originally published serially Sep. 1870-Nov. 1871 in Cornhill Magazine—English

    Henry James
  66. The Ambassadors

    67. originally published serially 1903 in the North American Review—English

  67. The Tragic Muse
    originally published serially 1889-90 in the Atlantic Monthly—English

    • The Soft Side

    1900; 12 stories published in periodicals, previously uncollected in book form—English

    • The Better Sort

    68. 1903; includes The Beast in the Jungle and 10 other stories—English

  68. The Beast in the Jungle

    69. originally published as part of The Better Sort, 1903—English

  69. The Wings of the Dove

    70. 1902—English

  70. The Golden Bowl

    71. 1904—English

    Thomas Hardy
  71. Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented

    72. published in part serially Jul.-Dec. 1891 in the Graphic—English

  72. The Return of the Native

    73. originally published serially Jan.-Dec. 1878 in Belgravia, the Magazine of Fashion and Amusement—English

  73. The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character

    74. 1886—English

  74. Far From the Madding Crowd

    75. originally anonymously published serially in Cornhill Magazine, Jan.-Dec. 1874; revised 1895 and 1901—English

  75. Wessex Poems and Other Verses

    76. 1898—English

    Joseph Conrad
  76. Chance

    77. originally published serially 1912—English

  77. Lord Jim

    78. originally published serially Oct. 1899-Nov. 1900 in Blackwood's Magazine—English

  78. Victory
    1915—English

    • 'Youth'

    79. originally published in Blackwood's Magazine, Sep. 1898—English *Zene*

  79. Almayer's Folly

    80. 1895—English

    Walter Pater
  80. Marius the Epicurean

    81. 1885—English

  81. Studies in the History of the Renaissance

    82. 1873; ten essays, six of which originally published in the Fortnightly Review, 1869-71, two in the Westminster Review, 1867-68—English

  82. Imaginary Portraits

    83. four essays originally published 1885-87 in Macmillan's Magazine—English

  83. Gaston de Latour

    84. 1896—English

    George Bernard Shaw
  84. Man and Superman

    85. performed in part, 1905; in its entirety, 1915—English

  85. Fanny's First Play

    86. 1911—English

  86. Androcles and the Lion

    87. 1912—English

  87. Pygmalion

    88. 1913—English

  88. G K Chesterton

    89. Orthodoxy
    1908—English

    Oscar Wilde
  89. Intentions

    90. 1891; 'The Decay of Lying - An Observation' originally published Jan. 1889 in the Nineteenth Century; 'Pen, Pencil and Poison: A Study in Green'; 'The Critic as Artist', originally entitled 'The True Function and Value of Criticism: With Some Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing: A Dialogue', published Jul. and Sep. 1890 in the Nineteenth Century; 'The Truth of Masks: A Note on Illusion'—English

  90. The Importance of Being Earnest

    91. 1895—English

  91. Salomé

    92. 1893; English version, 1894—French

  92. De Profundis

    93. published in part, 1905; additional portions published 1913; in its entirety, 1949; revised 1962 and included in The Letters of Oscar Wilde—English

  93. The Soul of Man Under Socialism

    94. 1891—English

  94. Rudyard Kipling

    95. The Jungle Book
    1894—English

    Lewis Carroll
  95. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

    96. 1865—English

  96. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

    97. 1871—English

    John Galsworthy
  97. The Man of Property

    98. 1906—English

  98. The Country House

    99. 1907—English

  99. Fraternity

    100. 1909—English

  100. W Somerset Maugham

    101. Of Human Bondage
    1915—English

  101. Gilbert Cannan

    102. Round the Corner
    1913—English

  102. Vincent O'Sullivan

    103. The Good Girl
    1912—English

    Oliver Onions
  103. In Accordance With the Evidence

    104. 1910—English

  104. The Debit Account

    105. 1913—English

  105. The Story of Louie

    106. 1913—English

    Arnold Bennett
  106. Anna of the Five Towns

    107. 1902—English

  107. The Old Wives' Tale

    108. 1908—English

  108. Clayhanger

    109. 1910—English

  109. Hilda Lessways

    110. 1911—English

  110. These Twain
    1916—English

    --
    • The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1918

    111. originally entitled The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900, published 1900; revised and retitled 1939; edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch—English