Short classics you can finish in a weekend
Famous books that are shorter than most people expect, from a girl down a rabbit hole to a party on Long Island.
Some classics have a reputation for being long. These do not deserve it. Each can be read in a weekend, and most in a single long afternoon.
They come from different centuries and very different writers, which makes them a good way to find out what kind of older book you enjoy.
The books
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll- English
- First published 1865
- Read online
- EPUB
- Audio
- Public domain
Lewis Carroll first told the story to the three Liddell sisters on a boat trip in July 1862. The book followed in 1865, with drawings by John Tenniel.
Open the book -
A Christmas Carol in Prose
Charles Dickens- English
- First published 1843
- Read online
- EPUB
- Audio
- Public domain
Published on 19 December 1843. On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old partner Jacob Marley and then by three spirits.
Open the book -
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass- English
- First published 1845
- Read online
- EPUB
- MOBI
- Audio
- Public domain
Frederick Douglass’s first autobiography, published in 1845, seven years after he escaped from slavery.
Open the book -
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad- English
- First published 1899
- Read online
- EPUB
- Audio
- Public domain
First printed in three parts in Blackwood’s Magazine in 1899. Marlow tells of his journey up a river in Africa to find a trader named Kurtz.
Open the book -
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald- English
- First published 1925
- Read online
- EPUB
- Audio
- Public domain
Published in April 1925. Nick Carraway watches his neighbour Jay Gatsby throw lavish parties on Long Island. In the United States the book entered the public domain on 1 January 2021.
Open the book
