A reading guide
18th century novels
These eighteenth-century novels introduce the travellers, rogues, lovers and letter writers of English and French fiction. Start with Candide for a young traveller's encounters with cruelty and disaster, then explore courtship, island survival or family misfortune.
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Where to start
Another way inThe Life and Adventures of Robinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeMedium level · 5–10 hChoose practical adventure: a shipwrecked sailor builds shelter, grows crops and makes routines that turn an isolated island into a home.
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The books
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| # | First published | Book | Kind | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1759 | CandideVoltaireMedium level · 2–5 h A hopeful young traveller encounters war, cruelty and religious persecution as his belief that everything happens for good meets disaster. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 2 | 1719 | The Life and Adventures of Robinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeMedium level · 5–10 h Island survival takes practical shape as a shipwrecked sailor salvages supplies, makes tools, grows crops and establishes daily routines. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 3 | 1722 | The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll FlandersDaniel DefoeMedium level · 5–10 h Beginning with her birth in prison, a woman recounts her pursuit of security through marriage and theft. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 4 | 1740 | Pamela, or Virtue RewardedSamuel RichardsonChallenging · 10–20 h Letters and journal entries follow a young servant protecting her safety and reputation against her wealthy employer's advances. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 5 | 1782 | Dangerous LiaisonsChoderlos de LaclosMedium level · 10–20 h Two French aristocrats turn seduction and deception into instruments of control, drawing other people into their private schemes. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 6 | 1759 | The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, GentlemanLaurence SterneChallenging · 10–20 h An attempted life story becomes a tangle of opinions, family history and explanations that repeatedly interrupt the narrator's progress. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 7 | 1778 | EvelinaFanny BurneyMedium level · 10–20 h Leaving a sheltered country upbringing, a young woman encounters unfamiliar social customs, embarrassing situations and unwanted attention. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 8 | 1771 | The Expedition of Humphry ClinkerTobias SmollettChallenging · 5–10 h Conflicting letters recount a Welsh family's tour of Britain, with encounters revealing differences among the travellers and their servants. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 9 | 1731 | Manon LescautAbbé PrévostMedium level · 2–5 h Love draws a young nobleman away from his planned future into flight, gambling, imprisonment and conflict with his family. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 10 | 1764 | The Castle of OtrantoHorace WalpoleMedium level · 2–5 h After a wedding-day death, a lord pursues his son's intended bride while she flees through the castle's hidden passages. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 11 | 1759 | Rasselas, Prince of AbyssiniaSamuel JohnsonChallenging · 2–5 h Restless despite his sheltered comfort, a prince leaves home with companions to discover what kind of life brings contentment. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 12 | 1766 | The Vicar of WakefieldOliver GoldsmithMedium level · 2–5 h A trusting country clergyman recounts his family's troubles as false friends and influential schemers disrupt their comfortable life. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
Questions
What are the best 18th century novels?
Candide, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and Evelina offer three contrasting starting points. Candide follows hopeful beliefs into encounters with disaster; The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe centres on island survival; Evelina follows a sheltered young woman into fashionable society. For aristocratic deception and seduction, choose Dangerous Liaisons.
Which was the first English novel?
There is no universally agreed first English novel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, is often treated as a landmark in the English novel's development rather than an uncontested beginning. Its story follows a shipwrecked sailor finding ways to feed, shelter and protect himself.
Which 18th century novels are short?
Candide, The Castle of Otranto and Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia are short choices, each taking about 4 hours. Choose Candide for a hopeful traveller meeting cruelty, The Castle of Otranto for a threatened bride and hidden passages, or Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia for a restless prince's search for contentment.
Where should I start with eighteenth-century fiction?
Start with Candide for travel and the collision between hopeful beliefs and harsh experience. For a story grounded in practical survival, choose The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. If social customs and embarrassment appeal more, Evelina follows a young woman leaving her sheltered upbringing for fashionable society.
What is an epistolary novel?
An epistolary novel tells its story through letters, sometimes alongside documents such as journal entries. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded uses letters and journal entries as a young servant resists her employer's advances. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker presents a Welsh family's British tour through conflicting letters.
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