100 Most Important Non-Fictions Worth Delving Into
Here, are 100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into for any competitive exam related to English Literature, like UGC NET, SET, TGT, PGT, PG ENTRANCES, etc.
1. King James Bible: The Authorised Version (1611)
2. The History of the World by Walter Raleigh (1614)
3. The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (1621)
4. The First Folio by William Shakespeare (1623) 36 plays
5. Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne (1624)
6. Areopagitica by John Milton (1644)
7. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651)
8. Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or A Brief Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns Lately Found in Norfolk by Sir Thomas Browne { Writers ‘ writer} (1658)
9. The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys (1660)
10. The Book of Common Prayer by Thomas Cranmer (1662)
11. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke (1689)
12. Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain by Daniel Defoe (1727)
13. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (1729)
14. A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume (1739)
15. A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson (1755)
16. Common Sense by Tom Paine (1776)
17. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776)
18. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire By Edward Gibbon (1776-1788)
19. The Diary of Fanny Burney (1778)
20. The Federalist Papers by ‘Publius’ (1788)
21. The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White (1789) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano By Olaudah Equiano (1789)
22. Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (1790)
23. The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD by James Boswell (1791)
24. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792)
25. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (1793)
26.The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin
Franklin (1793)
27. Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa by Mungo Park
(1799)
28. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb (1807)
29. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De
Quincey (1822)
30 An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah
Webster (1828)
31. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope
(1832)
32. Essays by RW Emerson (1841)
33. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave by Frederick Douglass (1845)
34. Household Education by Harriet Martineau (1848)
35. London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew
(1851)
36. Thesaurus by Dr Peter Mark Roget (1852)
37. Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1854)
38. The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell (1857)
39. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands
by Mary Seacole (1857)
40..On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (1859)
41. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859)
42. Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold (1869)
43. Nonsense Songs by Edward Lear (1871)
44. Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis
Stevenson (1879)
45. Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (1883)
46. Personal Memoirs by Ulysses S Grant (1885)
47. Brief Lives by John Aubrey, edited by Andrew Clark (1898)
48. The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
(1902)
49. De Profundis by Oscar Wilde (1905)
50.The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Du Bois (1903)
51 Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey (1918)
52. The American Language by HL Mencken (1919)
53. The Economic Consequences of the Peace by
John Maynard Keynes (1919)
54. Ten Days That Shook the World by
John Reed (1919)
55.The Waste Land by TS Eliot (1922)
56. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1929)
57. Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves (1929)
58.My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill
(1930)
59. Testament of Youth by
Vera Brittain (1933)
60. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale
Carnegie (1936)
61. The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron (1937)
62. Enemies of Promise by Cyril Connolly (1938)
63. How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher (1942)
64. Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth by Richard
Wright (1945
65. The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper (1945)
66.. Hiroshima by John Hersey (1946)
67. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr
Benjamin Spock (1946
68. The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper (1947)
69. The Great Tradition by FR Leavis (1948)
The controversial critic’s statement on English literature is an entertaining, often shocking, dissection of the novel, whose
effects are still felt to this day.
70. A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David (1950)
71. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1952/53)
A bleakly hilarious, enigmatic watershed that changed the
language of theatre and still sparks debate six decades on. An
absurdist masterpiece
72. The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin (1953)
73. The Nude: A Study of Ideal Art by Kenneth Clark (1956)
74. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (1955)
75. The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working-Class Life by
Richard Hoggart (1957)
76. The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith (1958)
77. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and EB White
(1959)
78.A Grief Observed by CS Lewis (1961)
79. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S Kuhn
(1962)
80. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)
81. The Making of the English Working Class by EP Thompson
(1963)
82. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963)
The book that ignited second-wave feminism captured
frustration of a generation of middle-class American housewives by daring to ask: “Is this all?”
83. Ariel by Sylvia Plath (1965)
The groundbreaking collection, revolving around the poet’s
fascination with her own death, established Plath as one of
the last century’s most original and gifted poets.
84.Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag (1966)
85. The Double Helix by James D Watson (1968)
86. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom by Nik Cohn (1969)
87. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer (1970)
The Australian feminist’s famous polemic remains a masterpiece of passionate free expression in which she challenges a woman’s role in society.
88. Awakenings by Oliver Sacks (1973)
89. North by Seamus Heaney (1975)
90.The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (1976)
91. Orientalism by Edward Said (1978)
This polemical masterpiece challenging western attitudes to
the east is as topical today as it was on publication.
92.The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (1979
93. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (1988)
94. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama (1995)
95.Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes (1998)
These passionate, audacious poems addressed to Hughes’s
late wife, Sylvia Plath, contribute to the couple’s mythology
and are a landmark in English poetry.
96. No Logo by Naomi Klein (1999)
Naomi Klein’s timely anti-branding bible combined a fresh
approach to corporate hegemony with potent reportage from
the dark side of capitalism.
99.The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2005)
100 . The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (2014)
Non-fiction in English literature encompasses a diverse array of works that provide a factual account of real events, people, or subjects. Unlike fiction, which relies on imagination and creativity, non-fiction aims to convey information and present truths. This genre is a vital component of literature, contributing to a deeper understanding of the world and its complexities.
Historically, non-fiction has been prevalent throughout English literature, dating back to classic works such as autobiographies, essays, and historical narratives. Prominent figures like Samuel Pepys, who documented his life in the renowned "Diary," and Thomas Paine, with his influential pamphlet "Common Sense," laid the foundation for non-fiction as a means of sharing personal experiences and shaping public discourse.
As English literature evolved, so did the scope of non-fiction. The 19th century witnessed the rise of the essay as a prominent form, with writers like Charles Lamb and Ralph Waldo Emerson contributing insightful reflections on various subjects. The Victorian era also saw the emergence of investigative journalism, exemplified by the works of muckrakers like Upton Sinclair, who exposed societal issues through literature.
The 20th century marked a proliferation of non-fiction genres, ranging from memoirs and biographies to scientific writings and self-help books. Writers like George Orwell, with his powerful social commentary in "Down and Out in Paris and London," and Rachel Carson, who raised environmental awareness through "Silent Spring," showcased the versatility and impact of non-fiction in literature.
In contemporary times, non-fiction continues to flourish, adapting to new mediums such as long-form journalism, narrative non-fiction, and creative non-fiction. Renowned authors like Malcolm Gladwell and Yuval Noah Harari have gained international acclaim for their ability to distill complex ideas into accessible narratives, contributing to a broader readership for non-fiction in English literature.
Ultimately, non-fiction serves as a mirror reflecting the multifaceted aspects of human existence, offering readers a lens through which to comprehend the past, engage with the present, and contemplate the possibilities of the future. Its enduring presence highlights the importance of truth-seeking and knowledge-sharing in the literary landscape.
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100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
100 Most Important Non-Fictions worth delving into
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