English Language Literature Notes Toward a Canon
This list is, and will forever be, incomplete. This is a sample of what ought to be read and taught, but it is not a syllabus or curriculum for any particular class, course, or educational institution.
It is an attempt to acknowledge those texts which merit study. Given the fragmentary nature of this list, the omission of any particular text should not be understood as a decision against that text.
At the same time, general trends and tendencies may discernible in this list, and the reader may venture some extrapolations. As the title indicates, catalogue is limited to works composed in English; it is not a World Literature inventory.
It is not limited to English Literature, but rather acknowledges that English Language Literature has been written in variety of territories and cultures. This list will be expanded from time to time.
Some items will perhaps evoke no surprise, because they are established in the cannon. Others may seem novel or unexpected.
Author: John Steinbeck Title: The Moon is Down
Author: William Shakespeare Title:
Author: Elizabeth Goudge Title: The White Witch Title: The Dean’s Watch
Author: Jane Austen Title: Pride and Prejudice Title: Sense and Sensibility
Title: Isaac Asimov Title: I, Robot
Author: P.G. Wodehouse Title:
Author: Mary Shelley Title: Frankenstein Title: The Last Man
Page 1 Author: C.S. Lewis Title: Till We Have Faces
Author: Dashiell Hammett Title: The Maltese Falcon Title: The Thin Man
Author: Raymond Chandler Title: The Big Sleep
Author: Charles Dickens Title: A Tale of Two Cities
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien Title: The Hobbit Title: The Lord of the Rings Title: The Silmarillion
Author: Aldous Huxley Title: Brave New World
Author: Evelyn Waugh Title: Love Among the Ruins
Author: Robert Hugh Benson Title: The Lord of the World
Author: Anthony Burgess Title: The Wanting Seed
Author: Jean Raspail Title: The Camp of the Saints
Author: Robert Frost Title: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Title: The Song of Hiawatha Title: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Page 2 Author: Paul Gallico Title: The Snow Goose
Author: Bruce Marshall Title: The White Rabbit
Author: G.A. Birmingham Title: The Simpkins Plot
Author: Charles Reade Title: The Cloister and the Hearth
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle Title: Micah Clarke Title: Sir Nigel Title: The White Company
Author: Harold Bell Wright Title: Helen of the Old House
Page 3