Literature by Genre

Since Aristotle, man has been busy classifying things. Adam was the classification pioneer (naming the animals), but it was the Greek philosopher who turned it into an art form, an obsession, and an intellectual sport. We've had 2300 years to get better at it, and today a book isn't just a "book": it's a novel, or a treatise, or a poem, or a drama. But it isn't even just a novel, anymore—it's a satire, or historical fiction, or science fiction, or a philosophical novel, or an autobiographical collection of short stories set in a dystopian near-future.

There may be no examples of the last type, but genres (rather than being confusing, as some claim) are invaluable guides to navigating the endless stream of books that flows through our bookstores, libraries, and online distribution centers. For instance, you know just by hearing the phrase "romance novel" there won't be much quality in any section so named, and if the normal romance novel is to be shunned, you can be certain the growing field of paranormal romance fiction will be even more useless.

I will not take this opportunity to describe each and every genre we've included in our selection; that's what the sidebar is for. However, before you dismiss the genre distinctions as useless generic terminology, consider what they can do. If you've just finished a book by Jane Austen, or Tim O'Brien, or Rudyard Kipling, and want to read similar books but don't know where to start, you could start by looking at other books included in their respective genres.

Some of the genres are pretty basic. Obviously, if you want to read poetry you aren't going to look under Novels. Well, you might, but you'd be mostly out of luck. Others, like Epic & Saga, can be much more helpful for more specific searches—our Epic & Saga category includes 42 items; our Literature & Adult Fiction includes 2,397.

Most of the books found here are for older students or adults (though that doesn't mean younger readers can't enjoy most of them as well, as long as you preview and discuss each title with them). For kid-oriented reading, check out our Fiction category. The genres there are even more specific, partly because there are more obvious distinctions beween different kinds of children's literature, and partly because we've spent more time bringing in specifc titles for young readers. That in no way means we've ignored our selection for adults and high schoolers.

In fact, we're pretty proud of it. Not every book is worth reading; we've tried to limit those on our shelf to ones that are. To make it easier for you to find the sort of book you want to read, we've given most of the titles genres. Sure, it's often fun to lazily browse bookstore shelves or websites, but let's face it—somtimes you just need to find the next book that's going to provide your fiction fix, and you don't have time to research the whole broad genre that happens to be your favorite. Reader, we salute you, and offer you: Literature by Genre.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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129 Items found Print
Active Filters: 19th Century Literature, 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Richard Lebenson
from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Books of Wonder
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Barry Moser
from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Paul Geiger
from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Blushing Rose Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Roberta Paflin
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Rainbow Classics
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Annotated Hans Christian Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Annotated Hans Christian Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator)
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in Eighty Days
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Around the World in Eighty Days
Books of Wonder
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Barry Moser
from William Morrow & Company
Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
At the Back of the North Wind
Macmillan Classics
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Harvey Dinnerstein
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At the Back of the North Wind
New Children's Classics
by George MacDonald, illustrated by George & Doris Hauman
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Charles Mozley
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maria Kirk
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Frank C. Pape
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ben-Hur
Signet Classics
by Lew Wallace
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
from Heritage Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Black Arrow
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Black Arrow
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.95
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frances Brundage
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Bold Dragoon
by Washington Irving, illustrated by James Daugherty
1960 printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 5th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Classic Fairy Tales
by Peter Opie & Iona Opie
from Oxford University
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Classic Stories of Edgar Allen Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
from Barnes & Noble
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Classic Tales of Oscar Wilde
by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Egmont
for 3rd-8th grade
Cloister and the Hearth
by Charles Reade, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Heritage Press
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Complete Fairy Tales
Penguin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Penguin Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.00
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Wilhelm Grimm, Jacob Grimm
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
by Emily Dickinson
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$23.99
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
David Balfour
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Action/Adventure for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
ECL: Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Al Davidson
from BiblioLife
for 4th-8th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Don Irwin
from Classic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Black Beauty
Educator's Classic Library
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Michael Rios
from Classic Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Time Machine & Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells, illustrated by Dick Cole
from Classic Press
Science Fiction/Dystopian literature for 7th-Adult
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Emily Dickinson On Love
by Emily Dickinson
from Barnes & Noble
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
Favorite Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
International Collectors Library
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
from International Collectors Library
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
Five Weeks in a Balloon
by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland and illustrated by Edouard Riou
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Frankenstein
Whole Story Series
by Mary Shelley
from Viking Press
Horror for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Frankenstein
Everyman's Library
by Mary Shelley
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Horror for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.00
Frankenstein
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mary Shelley
from Dover Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Frankenstein
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mary Shelley, illustrated by Larry Schwinger
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Frankenstein
Portland House Illustrated Classics
by Mary Shelley, illustrated by Lynd Ward and Aristides Ruiz
from Portland House
Horror for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
from Living Book Press
Horror for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Frankenstein - Annotated
The World View Library
by Mary Shelley, edited by Ben Quine
from The World View Library
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gifts of the Child Christ - 2 Volume Set
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 5th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Great Expectations (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Lucille Corcos
from Heritage Press
for 4th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, selected & edited by Louis & Bryna Untermeyer and illustrated by Lucille Corcos
from Easton Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Leather Bound Collectible Books (Location: VIN-LEA)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Readers #4
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
1954 printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 1
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 2
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 3
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 4
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Translated by Erik Christian Haugaard
1983 Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books
for 2nd-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00
Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Illustrated by Sidney Paget
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 7th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells, illustrated by Louis Strimpl
from SeaWolf Press
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Jane Eyre
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Charlotte Bronte, illustrated by Richard Lebenson
1st edition from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Great Illustrated Classics
by Jules Verne
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Jungle Book
Whole Story Series
by Rudyard Kipling
from Viking Press
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Eric Kincaid
from Brimax Books
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Books
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Jungle Books
Macmillan Classics
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Robert Shore
from Macmillan
Animal Stories for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Kidnapped
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
Kidnapped
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth and Graham Oakley
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
King Solomon's Mines
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by H. Rider Haggard
Reader's Digest ed from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
125th anniversary edition from Great Light Publications
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Books of Wonder
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from HarperCollins
for 5th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens
from Simon and Schuster
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Little Men
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Louisa May Alcott
from Reader's Digest
for 4th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Lorna Doone (abridged)
by R. D. Blackmore, illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from American Education Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Lorna Doone (adapted)
by R. D. Blackmore, adapted by Jordan, Berglund & Washburne, illustrated by Alexander Key
Reprint from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
New Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volume 3
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
from Oxford University
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.95
Pride and Prejudice (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Jane Austen, Abridged by Linda Jennings
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Prince and the Pauper
Portland House Illustrated Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Franklin Booth
from Portland House
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Puck of Pook's Hill
by Rudyard Kipling
from Echo Library
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Puck of Pook's Hill & Rewards and Fairies
by Rudyard Kipling
from Oxford University
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine
by Mark Twain & Philip Stead
First Edition from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for 4th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
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