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Guide 01
The Collection
American classics: where to start
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/books/Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-Mark-Twain by Mark Twain (1884). The novel Hemingway said all modern American literature comes from.
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale/books/Moby-Dick-Herman-Melville by Herman Melville (1851). Adventure, obsession and an encyclopedia of whaling.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave/books/Narrative-of-the-Life-of-Frederick-Douglass-an-American-Slave-Frederick-Douglass by Frederick Douglass (1845). Short, searing and essential.
The Souls of Black Folk/books/The-Souls-of-Black-Folk-W-E-B-Du-Bois by W. E. B. Du Bois (1903). The color line and double consciousness, in fourteen essays.
Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience/books/Walden-and-On-The-Duty-Of-Civil-Disobedience-Henry-David-Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau (1854). Living deliberately, and resisting unjust laws.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/books/The-Adventures-of-Tom-Sawyer-Complete-Mark-Twain by Mark Twain (1876). A river-town boyhood, turned into myth.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin/books/Autobiography-of-Benjamin-Franklin-Benjamin-Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (1791). The original self-made American story.
Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences 1815–1897/books/Eighty-Years-and-More-Elizabeth-Cady-Stanton by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1898). The women's-rights pioneer, in her own words.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow/books/The-Legend-of-Sleepy-Hollow-Washington-Irving by Washington Irving (1820).
America's first great ghost story.
Guide 02
About This Collection
About American classics
American literature found its voice in the nineteenth century, in Twain's vernacular, Melville's ambition and Thoreau's independence, and in the testimony of Frederick Douglass and the scholarship of W. E. B. Du Bois, who forced the country to look at itself. This collection mixes novels with memoirs and essays, because the American story has always been told in both.
Coming to the library
Readers ask us for The Great Gatsby (1925), The Scarlet Letter (1850), Little Women (1868–69), The Red Badge
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Questions about this shelf
What is the Great American Novel?
There's no single answer. Moby-Dick, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby are the most common picks.
Is The Great Gatsby free?
It entered the US public domain in 2021. It isn't in our library yet, but it's on our list.