''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'' is a

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

reference book compiled by over one hundred literary critics worldwide and edited by

Peter Boxall Peter John Boxall is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. Background and early life Peter Boxall was brought up on a farm in Victoria. From year nine, he went to boarding school at Ballarat Grammar. He attained a Master ...

, Professor of English at Sussex University, with an introduction by

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

. Each title is accompanied by a brief synopsis and critique briefly explaining why the book was chosen. Some entries have illustrations. This book is part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd.

The list

The list contains 1001 titles and is made up of novels, short stories, and short story collections. There is also one pamphlet (''

A Modest Proposal ''A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick'', commonly referred to as ''A Modest Proposal'', is a Juvenalian satirical essay wr ...

''), one book of collected text ('' Adjunct: An Undigest''), and one graphic novel (''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...

''). The most featured authors on the 2006 list are

J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African–Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in ...

and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

with ten titles each. There was a major revision of 280 odd titles in 2008. The clear shift within the list has been the removal of ~300 works almost entirely by English-language authors who have more than one title on the original list in favour of lesser known works, often by non-English-language writers. The 2010 revised and updated edition of the book is less Anglocentric and lists only four titles from Dickens and five from Coetzee, who has the most of any writer on the list. It also includes a collection of essays by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, '' The Rebel''. Minor changes of fewer than 20 books were made in 2010 and 2012.

Editions

* ''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'', edited by Dr. Peter Boxall, Universe Publishing, United Kingdom, 2006 9781844-34178. First Edition * ''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'', edited by Dr. Peter Boxall, Universe Publishing, New York, 2006 9780789314206 * ''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'', edited by Dr. Peter Boxall, Universe Publishing New York, 2008 9781844036141 * ''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'', edited by Dr. Peter Boxall, Universe Publishing New York, 2010 9780789320391 * ''1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'', edited by Dr. Peter Boxall, Universe Publishing New York, 2012 9781844037407

References

{{Authority control Top book lists Books about books Cassell (publisher) books 2006 books