GCSE English Literature Books

GCSE English Literature is often the first time children will read adult "literature" and the reading list can open their eyes to a new world of books. 

With different exam boards, each with their own list of set texts, there's a lot to keep track of for parents and teachers.

We've put together a list of all the set texts for the major exam boards. Each class will follow four modules: 19th Century Novels, Modern Prose, Shakespeare and Modern Drama, and there are plenty of brilliant study guides for all the GCSE English Literature books as well as GCSE English revision guides.

19th century novels

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 
(AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR, WJEC English Literature)

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
(AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR, WJEC English Literature)

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë 
(AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR English Literature)

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
(AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR English Literature)

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
(AQA, Edexcel, OCR English Literature)

Silas Marner - George Eliot
(Edexcel, Eduqas, WJEC English Literature)

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
(AQA, Edexcel English Literature)

War of the Worlds - HG Wells
(Eduqas, OCR English Literature)

The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle
(AQA English Literature)

study guides

modern prose

Lord of the Flies - William Golding
(AQA, CCEA, Edexcel, Eduqas, WJEC English Literature)

Anita & Me - Meera Syal
(AQA, CCEA, Edexcel, Eduqas, WJEC English Literature)

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 
(AQA, Eduqas, OCR, WJEC English Literature)

Animal Farm - George Orwell
(AQA, CCEA, Eduqas, OCR English Literature)

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
(CCEA, WJEC English Literature)

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
(CCEA, WJEC English Literature)

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle
(CCEA, WJEC English Literature)

About a Boy - Nick Hornby
(CCEA, WJEC English Literature)

Woman in Black - Susan Hill 
(Edexcel, Eduqas English Literature)

Boys Don't Cry - Malorie Blackman 
(Edexcel English Literature)

Coram Boy - Jarmila Gavin
(Edexcel English Literature)

Oranges are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
(Eduqas English Literature)

Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman
(AQA English Literature)

Things Fall Apart - China Achebe
(CCEA English Literature)

The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
(CCEA English Literature)

How Many Miles to Babylon? - Jennifer Johnston
(CCEA English Literature)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
(WJEC English Literature)

Heroes - Robert Cormier
(WJEC English Literature)

Resistance - Owen Sheers
(WJEC English Literature)

Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve - Danni Abse
(WJEC English Literature)

Chanda's Secrets - Allan Stratton
(WJEC English Literature)

study guides

shakespeare

study guides

modern drama TEXTS

study guides

For more reading inspiration, you may also like our blog 10 Modern Classics for Teens.