10 Most Influential Fiction Books to read.

Top Influential Fictional Works that have left a lasting impression upon us.

The First Folio by William Shakespeare- This is a very famous work by the world-famous dramatist and poet, William Shakespeare. It was a work published by two of the dramatist’s friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell in 1623. It contains many of Shakespeare’s major plays which have survived to date. We are lucky to be reading these major plays in our college education. Without the hard work of Heminges and Condell, we would not even have gotten to know about any of Shakespeare’s plays.

2. The Bible by Various Authors- One of the holiest books in the religion of Christianity, The Bible originally had only the Old Testament. With revisions and newer editions, The Bible got expanded into two Testaments: Old and New. The Old Testament contains the creation of Earth by God and the rise and fall of Jews, while the New Testament focuses on the life and death of Jesus Christ.

3. The Odyssey by Homer- Another classic by the Greek writer Homer, this is the story of the rise and fall of the city of Troy. It is a poem that traces the battle that took place in Troy. It is a set of 2 poems, the first of which is the Iliad which recounts the story of the ten-year siege of Troy by the Greek coalition of states. The Odyssey, on the other hand, focuses on the journey of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca after he loses Troy.

4. Epic of Gilgamesh- This work by an unknown author is one of the classic poems of the Mesopotamian age. It is a collection of 5 Sumerian poems that describe Gilgamesh, King of Uruk. It is one of the oldest works in literature dating back to 2100 BCE. Many modern scholars have reworked the poem successfully out of the twelve surviving tablets.

5. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes- This is a novel in two volumes published in 1605 and 1615. It follows the life of a wanderer Don Quixote and is a picaresque novel by Cervantes. Cervantes was the modern exact contemporary of William Shakespeare. This has been one of the most influential novels firstly written in Spanish and then translated into English. Readers have continued to be enthralled by this magnificent novel time and again.

6. The Dream of The Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin- This is one of China’s most classical novels by Xueqin that revolves around the times of the Qing Dynasty. It is a semi-autobiographical novel in which the author has narrated his family saga during the Qing Dynasty.

7. Oedipus the King by Sophocles- This is a classical Greek Tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 430 BCE. It is the story of Oedipus who unknowingly fulfills a prophecy wherein he kills his father, Laius, and takes his mother, Jocasta as his queen. But Oedipus doesn’t know that she is his mother. In psychology as well, we have the Oedipus complex, which is a childhood phenomenon wherein the boy usually hates his father for coming in between him and his mother. Boys grow a sort of infatuation for their mothers and become angry when their fathers interfere in the relationship. For girls, it is the Electra complex, in which they hate their mothers for the same.

8. Paradise Lost by John Milton- Milton’s Paradise Lost takes on The Bible as its muse and narrates the story of the Fall of Man from Heaven to Earth. The poem has two narrators in Adam and Satan. Satan was once one of the good angels of God but due to his misbehavior against the Creator, he is sent down to Hell along with the other angels who supported him in his rebellion.

9. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll- This story was first published in 1865 by Carroll whose original name was Charles Dodgson. He was a mathematician by profession but decided to devote his time to writing stories for children. This is the wonderful journey of Alice who visits different worlds in a wonderland while chasing a rabbit. Children have loved this story through generations and it continues to inspire a sense of wonder and joy in them.

10. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer- The 29 tales of people going on a pilgrimage is perhaps one of the most loved novels of Geoffrey Chaucer. Written in Old English, it may be a bit hard to understand. It is usually included in college syllabuses of BA and MA English Literature. The travelers in which Chaucer is also a character, go on from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. These stories are written in verse form between 1387-1400.

So, these are our top 10 picks in influential fiction of all time. You may like to read some of these titles for yourself or your little ones. These have certainly left a big mark on our fictional world and will continue to do so for generations more to come