The Guardian's 50 key moments in English literature, from Marlowe to JK Rowling

1.
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice 4.29 avg rating — 4,634,398 ratings
2.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) 4.47 avg rating — 11,066,490 ratings
3.
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights 3.90 avg rating — 1,959,577 ratings
4.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four 4.20 avg rating — 5,227,749 ratings
5.
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Shakespeare's Sonnets 4.25 avg rating — 110,531 ratings
6.
Middlemarch
Middlemarch 4.03 avg rating — 174,997 ratings
7.
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland 4.03 avg rating — 395,723 ratings
8.
Walden or, Life in the Woods
Walden or, Life in the Woods 3.78 avg rating — 200,865 ratings
9.
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby 3.93 avg rating — 5,732,514 ratings
10.
Moby Dick
Moby Dick 3.56 avg rating — 602,865 ratings
11.
The Waste Land and Other Poems
The Waste Land and Other Poems 4.22 avg rating — 72,701 ratings
12.
On the Road
On the Road 3.61 avg rating — 438,567 ratings
13.
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood 4.09 avg rating — 710,465 ratings
14.
The Complete Works
The Complete Works 4.48 avg rating — 57,543 ratings
15.
The Life of Samuel Johnson
The Life of Samuel Johnson 3.80 avg rating — 5,264 ratings
16.
Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are 4.25 avg rating — 1,043,072 ratings
17.
David Copperfield
David Copperfield 4.04 avg rating — 253,123 ratings
18.
North and South
North and South 4.15 avg rating — 179,609 ratings
19.
The Origin of Species
The Origin of Species 4.01 avg rating — 120,201 ratings
20.
The Moonstone
The Moonstone 3.91 avg rating — 97,261 ratings
21.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray 4.13 avg rating — 1,783,383 ratings
22.
Ulysses
Ulysses 3.77 avg rating — 138,362 ratings
23.
The Complete Plays
The Complete Plays 4.07 avg rating — 2,783 ratings
24.
Areopagitica
Areopagitica 3.85 avg rating — 2,546 ratings
25.
Pepys's Later Diaries
Pepys's Later Diaries 4.13 avg rating — 15 ratings
26.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding 3.86 avg rating — 17,032 ratings
27.
A Journal of the Plague Year
A Journal of the Plague Year 3.56 avg rating — 11,579 ratings
28.
Gulliver’s Travels
Gulliver’s Travels 3.59 avg rating — 293,945 ratings
29.
A Dictionary of the English Language: An Anthology
A Dictionary of the English Language: An Anthology 4.22 avg rating — 116 ratings
30.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 3.92 avg rating — 26,302 ratings
31.
The Prelude
The Prelude 3.88 avg rating — 4,155 ratings
32.
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage 3.66 avg rating — 2,255 ratings
33.
Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets
Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
34.
The Holy Bible: King James Version
The Holy Bible: King James Version
by: Anonymous
4.44 avg rating — 308,900 ratings
35.
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence 4.54 avg rating — 3,815 ratings
36.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 3.85 avg rating — 89,890 ratings
37.
The French Revolution: A History
The French Revolution: A History 3.89 avg rating — 1,058 ratings
37.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 3.83 avg rating — 641,515 ratings
39.
The American Scholar: Self-Reliance, Compensation
The American Scholar: Self-Reliance, Compensation 3.66 avg rating — 592 ratings
40.
The Complete Poems
The Complete Poems 4.08 avg rating — 2,462 ratings
41.
Peter Pan
Peter Pan 4.03 avg rating — 367,010 ratings
42.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 3.92 avg rating — 239,385 ratings
43.
Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)
Casino Royale (James Bond, #1) 3.74 avg rating — 92,727 ratings
44.
Birthday Letters
Birthday Letters 3.89 avg rating — 10,288 ratings
45.
The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress 4.07 avg rating — 154,169 ratings
46.
The Way of the World
The Way of the World 3.32 avg rating — 4,328 ratings
47.
Poetical Works of Thomas Hood
Poetical Works of Thomas Hood 3.96 avg rating — 24 ratings
48.
Vertigo
Vertigo really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5,935 ratings