Classics books to give as gifts
Gift ideas for someone who reads classics. Every book starts a series or stands alone, and there's one book per author.
Out since 2025
Books in this genre first published last year or this year.
Sure bets
The books this genre's readers start from, for someone who hasn't read them yet.
- Hamlet
Hamlet
William Shakespeare188 pages · Out 1603
A prince sets out to avenge his father's murder and questions his own actions in the process.
- Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë318 pages · Out 1846
Obsessive love and revenge play out over generations on the Yorkshire moors.
- Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë480 pages · Out 1847
A governess at a remote manor house uncovers a secret and must decide where her loyalty lies.
- Moby Dick
Moby Dick
Herman Melville453 pages · Out 1851
A sailor recounts a whaling voyage obsessed with a great white whale.
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll133 pages · Out 1865
A girl falls down a rabbit hole into a world run by nonsense logic and odd rules.
- Crime and Punishment
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Notes on the sure bets are written with AI.
Know a book they loved? Get four gift ideas based on it. Book gift finder →
How we choose
- Books come from the genre's page on BookSense, never from paid placement.
- No later books in a series: a gift should be one the person can start with.
- One book per author, and nothing flagged for sexual content or violence that suits only some readers.