Books from United Kingdom

1
Jane Eyre
Emily Brontë
Orphan Jane Eyre works as a governess at Thornfield Hall, falls in love with its brooding owner Mr. Rochester, and discovers his terrible secret. Charlotte Brontë's debut novel was a landmark in the development of the literary protagonist with an inner life.
1847
2
Middlemarch
Emily Brontë
The interlocking lives of the inhabitants of a provincial English town in the 1830s, focusing on the idealistic Dorothea Brooke and the ambitious young doctor Tertius Lydgate. Virginia Woolf called it "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people."
1871
3
Lord of the Flies
William Golding
A group of British schoolboys stranded on a desert island after a wartime evacuation attempt to govern themselves — and descend into savagery. A disturbing allegory of the inherent darkness in human nature.
1954
4
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
The foundling Heathcliff's consuming passion for Cathy and his vengeance on those who separated them spans two generations in the wild Yorkshire moors. Emily Brontë's only novel is considered a unique achievement in English Romantic fiction.
1847
5
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens
The orphan Oliver, born in a workhouse, runs away to London and falls in with a gang of thieves led by Fagin. Dickens's second novel was a biting attack on the Poor Law of 1834 and the treatment of children in Victorian England.
1837
6
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, the novel follows lawyer Sydney Carton's self-sacrifice for the woman he loves. Famous for its opening line and one of the best-selling novels of all time.
1859
7
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
The orphan Pip is lifted from poverty by a mysterious benefactor and discovers that wealth and status do not bring happiness. Dickens's most personal novel and one of his finest achievements in plotting and characterisation.
1861
8
Animal Farm
George Orwell
The animals of Manor Farm overthrow their human farmer, only to find the pigs gradually becoming indistinguishable from their former oppressors. A precise allegory of the Russian Revolution and Stalinist betrayal.
1945
9
1984
George Orwell
Winston Smith works for the Party rewriting history in a totalitarian superstate called Oceania. His secret rebellion and doomed love affair with Julia end in the Ministry of Love. The novel gave the world "Big Brother," "doublethink," and "Newspeak."
1949
10
Emma
Jane Austen
The confident, clever Emma Woodhouse appoints herself matchmaker for the people around her, with disastrously misguided results. Austen described her protagonist as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like."
1815
11
Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen
Two sisters — the impulsive Marianne and the reserved Elinor — both suffer romantic disappointment and must find their way in a world where women's security depends entirely on marriage. Austen's first published novel.
1811
12
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
The witty Elizabeth Bennet navigates society's expectations of marriage while sparring with the proud Mr. Darcy. Austen's most popular novel combines romantic comedy with sharp social satire of rural English life.
1813