Do you want to read more classics but don’t have a lot of time? Or are you worried classic novels are long and intimidating? All the books on this list are classics that come in under 200 pages and will help you reach your reading goals in no time!
Note: Exact page length will vary by edition, and the book may be over 200 pages due to extra material (introduction, notes, critical essays, etc.) or if the volume is a nice one with bigger font and larger spacing. However, the point is that all of these classics are fairly quick reads. Â (Click links to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page.)
20 Classics Under 200 Pages
- Beowulf by Anonymous
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
- The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Maggie, A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane
- The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Silas Marner by George Eliot
- A Room with a View by E. M. Forester
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
- Vandover and the Brute by Frank Norris
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
- Complete Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde
How many of these has you read? Do you have any other recommendations for short classics? Or classics that are approachable?
Pages Unbound | Book Reviews & Discussions 
I wasn’t aware that Frankenstein was under 200 pages. Every time I read it, it reads like a longer book (not boring, just that a lot happens in it). I’ve read 10, 10 on my TBR. Another classic under 200 pages, but might not be for everyone, is The Double by Dostoyevsky. It’s not hard per say, at least not harder than other Russian literature, but it’s very interesting.
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Frankenstein felt long to me, too. I’ll have to check out The Double!
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It’s an interesting read. The only drawback is that it’s Russian, so there are several names for the same characters.
But the story is interesting. 😉
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Yes, all the names do confuse me when I read Dostoevsky! Maybe I should keep a list!
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I try to do that. Especially when I venture to his bigger works.
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Of these I read Frankenstein and The Time Machine, but I started Heart of Darkness and I put it down. I think it was because I’m used to reading recent books that grip me early on. I still want to read it though, I wish it read like Frankenstein, like it didn’t feel like a classic !
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I did not enjoy Heart of Darkness either. I even forget what it is about!
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All I remember is a ship at the first paragraph. Nothing else, nada, zilch 😂
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Ship. Yup. That sounds about right! 😀
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Now you’re my partner of Partial Classic Amnesia 😂💙
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I LOVE Animal Farm! I expected it to be quite deep and political but I found it a really enjoyable and fun read on top of everything. Completely forgot I was even reading a classic!
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Sometimes I feel bad for enjoying Animal Farm because everything that happens is awful.
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But the writing is so good! 😀
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But…but…Boxer!!!!
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Hahaha okay fair enough 😂
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I loved Animal Farm! It was really interesting and engaging for me, and I loved the parallels within it, especially as the book moved forward.
I’ve also read The Stranger, but I found it a bit boring – I felt like it was really centred on Mersault. That was probably the point though haha…think it’s just a case of “not my kind of book”! :’)
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Same. I love Animal Farm but not The Stranger! But poor Boxer. 😦
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Well, now I’m a little embarrassed. The only two books I’ve read from this list are Animal Farm and Beowolf. (*blushes*) Most of the books I read are longer than 200 pages, unless you count novellas. But I did read Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane a couple years ago; it was beautiful and haunting, and it was just under 200 pages, I think.
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I admit I have not read much Caiman. I suppose I should try again sometime!
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I definitely want to read Animal Farm! I’m not much of a classic reader which I am a bit ashamed of really. I did read Beowulf aaggges ago but have no idea what it was about now
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Animal Farm is pretty good even though the events narrated are awful!
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This is a great list! Another classic that I think is under 200 pages is the Great Gatsby
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That is a good one, too!
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I started ‘Frankenstein’ a long time ago, but never finished it…I should probably do that at some point, but I worry that I will find it too creepy. From what I recall, it was interesting though.
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I think I’ve only read Frankenstein once. I didn’t love it but maybe if I try again I’ll see something new!
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I’ve only read a couple on this list and have never looked at these books from this perspective. Give me a great place to start with a future project in mind.
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Briana made the list and I was surprised I’d only read 12. I really thought I’d do better than just over half!!
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I’ve read 16, but the list is biased because I started compiling it by looking for short books that I own. 😄
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This is a super fun list! I’ve read 4 of these, but I am embarrassed to say that I’ve never even HEARD of 9 of these books!
I recognize all the authors, however. Which makes me wonder… how does one define what is a “classic” novel?
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Great list! I’ve read half of these, but I definitely want to get to the other half. The only book I can think of to add is The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka. Weird, but good.
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Fantastic list!! Love the books on here- some books I’ve read and quite a few I’ve been meaning to read! I’m surprised Frankenstein is on here, cos I didn’t realise it was that short-
I feel like that means it’s due a reread about now then since it’s so short 😉 I’d probably add Yellow Wallpaper (and my editions of Great Gatsby and Picture of Dorian Grey- but I don’t know if that’s the same for other editions).
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There are a few of these I still need to read and a couple I would like to ‘re-read. Thanks for the list. 🙂
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