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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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Active Filters: Medieval Literature, Western European Literature
Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works
Oxford World's Classics
by Anselm, edited and introduction by Brian Davies and Gillian Evans
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Arthurian Romances
by Chrétien de Troyes
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Literature (Location: ZCLE-LIT)
Ascent of Mount Carmel
by St. John of the Cross
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.95
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$16.00
Basic Writings of St. Anselm
by St. Anselm of Canterbury
2nd edition from Open Court Publishing
Medieval Theology for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.99
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Seamus Heaney)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.95
Beowulf
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous, translated by R. K. Gordon
from Dover Publications
Medieval Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$3.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Burton Raffel
from Signet Classics
for 10th grade-adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by William Ellery Leonard and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Heritage Press
for 10th grade-adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Charles W. Kennedy
from Oxford University
for 10th grade-adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg
by Anonymous, translated by Charles W. Kennedy
from D. C. Heath and Company
for 10th grade-adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf the Warrior - MP Curriculum Package
by David M. Wright, Ian Serraillier
from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$35.06
Beowulf the Warrior - Student Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Beowulf the Warrior - Teacher Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
by Anonymous (translation by J. R. R. Tolkien)
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$30.00
Canterbury Quintet
by Geoffrey Chaucer
from Little Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Nevill Coghill)
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetry for 8th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.00
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Kolve V.A. & Glending Olson)
2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Peter Beidler)
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.99
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by David Wright
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.95
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by Donald Howard
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Chronicles
by Jean Froissart
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Ignatius Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Dante's Inferno
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Dante's Paradise
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Dante's Purgatory
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio
from Franklin Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio
Revised from Penguin Classics
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri (translation by John Ciardi)
from New American Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Henry Francis Cary)
from Wordsworth Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Melville Best Anderson and illustrated by William Blake
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick
Reprint from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$28.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$35.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and illustrated by Gustave Doré
from Chartwell Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Francis Cary and Illustrated by Umberto Romano
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy - Dorothy Sayers trilogy
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers and Barbara Reynolds
from Penguin Putnam
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$39.95
Divine Comedy I
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Divine Comedy II
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Divine Comedy III
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers & Barbara Reynolds
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Divine Comedy Volume 1: Inferno
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robert Pinsky
Revised from Farrar & Rinehart
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Divine Comedy Volume 2: Purgatory
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Divine Comedy Volume 3: Paradise
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
Revised from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Early Irish Myths and Sagas
by Jeffrey Gantz
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Penguin Classics
by Bede (translation by Leo Sherley-Price)
from Penguin Classics
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
by Bede (edited by Judith McClure & Roger Collins)
from Oxford University
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.95
Everyman and Other Miracle and Morality Plays
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous
from Dover Publications
Medieval Drama for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 $1.50 (9 in stock)
Gawain Poet Complete Works
by Anonymous
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
History of the Kings of Britain
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey of Monmouth
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fairy Tale for 10th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Dover Publications
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Penguin Classics
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempis
from Grosset & Dunlap
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempis
from Hendrickson Publishers
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Whitaker House
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
La Vita Nuova
by Dante Alighieri
from Dover Publications
Medieval Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$3.00 $1.50 (2 in stock)
Le Morte d'Arthur
Signet Classics
by Sir Thomas Mallory
from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.95
Le Morte d'Arthur
by Sir Thomas Malory
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Le Morte d'Arthur
Signet Classics
by Sir Thomas Mallory
from Random House
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of Abelard and Heloise
by Peter Abelard, Heloise
Revised from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Jeffrey Gantz
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Translated by Sioned Davies
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Marco Polo
by Marco Polo
from Book League of America
for Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Piers the Ploughman
by William Langland
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Portable Chaucer
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated & edited by Theodore Morrison
Revised from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Portable Dante
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Mark Musa
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.00
Prose Edda
by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Jean I. Young
2004 printing from University of California Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Purgatorio
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (abridged)
by Sir Thomas Mallory, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Rule of St Benedict
by St. Benedict & Timothy Fry, editor
from Penguin Classics
Devotional Material for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Rule of St. Benedict in English
by St. Benedict & Timothy Fry, editor
from Liturgical Press
Devotional Material for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Saga of the Volsungs
by Anonymous, Jesse L. Byock
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Selected Canterbury Tales
Dover Thrift Editions
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by J. U. Nicolson)
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie Weston
2nd edition from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.95
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Marie Borroff and edited by Laura Howes
2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by W. S. Merwin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Burton Raffel
Reprint from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Brian Stone
from Penguin Classics
for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Marie Borroff
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Bernard O'Donoghue
Reissue from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie L. Weston
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Ballantine Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Mariner Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.99
Song of Roland
Penguin Classics
by Dorothy Sayers, translator
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Song of the Cid
by Anonymous
Dual Language from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Summa of the Summa
by St. Thomas Aquinas, edited by Peter Kreeft
from Ignatius Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$25.50
Summa Theologica Selections
by Thomas Aquinas, edited by Anton C. Pegis
1st edition from Veritas Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00
Tale of the Cid: and Other Stories of Knights and Chivalry
by Andrew Lang
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
$9.95
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marco Polo
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marco Polo, Translated by W. Marsden, Revised and Edited by Peter Harris
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Two Lives of Charlemagne
Penguin Classics
by Einhard & Notker the Stammerer, translated by Lewis Thorpe
from Penguin Classics
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Two Lives of Charlemagne
Penguin Classics
by Einhard & Notker the Stammerer, translated by David Ganz
from Penguin Classics
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Vinland Sagas
by Anonymous
from Penguin Classics
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England
by John Allen Giles
from BiblioLife
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$39.99
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England
by John Allen Giles
from BiblioLife
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England
by John Allen Giles
from Legare Street Press
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$32.95
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