people sitting in a library

Independent literature reference

Literature Library

Browse complete, independently researched study guides. AP and IB markers record curriculum relevance; unfinished research never appears as a public guide.

311 completed study guides
WorkAuthorFormPublishedReferences
FrankensteinMary ShelleyNovel1818; revised 1831
AP FRQ 3
Gargantua and PantagruelFrançois RabelaisFive-book comic novel cycle1532–1564
Additional classroom reference
GhostsHenrik IbsenThree-act play1881
AP FRQ 3
GilgameshAnonymousMesopotamian epic poem preserved on clay tabletsSecond to first millennia BCE
Additional classroom reference
GitanjaliRabindranath Tagore (Thakur)Lyric poetry collection; English self-translations in prose-poem form1910 Bengali collection; 1912 English Song Offerings
IB PRL recommended authorEditorial IB-author selection
Go Tell it on the MountainJames BaldwinNovel1953
AP FRQ 3
Going After CacciatoTim O'BrienWar novel1978
AP FRQ 3
Great ExpectationsCharles DickensBildungsromanSerialized 1860–1861; book edition 1861
AP FRQ 3
Gulliver’s TravelsJonathan SwiftProse satire and fictional travel narrative1726
AP FRQ 3Additional classroom reference
HamletWilliam ShakespeareTragedyFirst quarto 1603; major early texts 1604/05 and 1623
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended authorEditorial IB-author selection
Hard TimesCharles DickensIndustrial social novel1854
AP FRQ 3
Heart of DarknessJoseph ConradFrame novellaSerialized 1899; book form 1902
AP FRQ 3
Henry VWilliam ShakespeareHistory play1600
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended author
HomecomingHarold PinterTwo-act drama1965
AP FRQ 3
House Made of DawnN. Scott MomadayNovel1968
AP FRQ 3
In the Lake of the WoodsTim O'BrienNovel1994
AP FRQ 3
J.B.Archibald MacLeishVerse drama based on the Book of Job1958
AP FRQ 3
Jane EyreCharlotte BrontëBildungsroman and Gothic novel1847
AP FRQ 3
JasmineBharati MukherjeeNovel1989
AP FRQ 3
Joe Turner’s Come and GoneAugust WilsonTwo-act play1988
AP FRQ 3
Joseph AndrewsHenry FieldingComic novel1742
AP FRQ 3
Jude the ObscureThomas HardyNovel1895
AP FRQ 3
Julius CaesarWilliam ShakespearePolitical tragedyAround 1599
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended authorAdditional classroom reference
King LearWilliam ShakespeareTragedyAround 1605–1606
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended authorEditorial IB-author selection
Lady Windermere’s FanOscar WildeFour-act comedy1892
AP FRQ 3
Light in AugustWilliam FaulknerNovel1932
AP FRQ 3
Linden HillsGloria NaylorNovel1985
AP FRQ 3
Long Day’s Journey into the NightEugene O'NeillFour-act play1956
AP FRQ 3
Lord JimJoseph ConradNovel first serialized in 1899–19001900
AP FRQ 3
Lord of the FliesWilliam GoldingNovel1954
AP FRQ 3
Love MedicineLouise ErdrichNovel-in-stories1984; revised editions differ
AP FRQ 3
LysistrataAristophanesAncient Greek comedy411 BCE
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended authorEditorial IB-author selection
M. ButterflyDavid Henry HwangPlay1988
AP FRQ 3
MacbethWilliam ShakespeareTragedyAround 1606
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended author
Madame BovaryGustave FlaubertNovel1856–1857
AP FRQ 3
Maggie: A Girl of the StreetsStephen CraneNovella1893
AP FRQ 3Additional classroom reference
Main StreetSinclair LewisSatirical social novel1920
AP FRQ 3
Major BarbaraGeorge Bernard ShawPlayFirst performed 1905; published 1907
AP FRQ 3
Mansfield ParkJane AustenNovel1814
AP FRQ 3
MedeaEuripidesTragedyFirst performed 431 BCE
AP FRQ 3Additional classroom reference
MiddlemarchGeorge EliotNovelIssued in parts 1871–1872; book edition 1872
AP FRQ 3
MiddlesexJeffrey EugenidesNovel2002
AP FRQ 3
Moby DickHerman MelvilleNovel1851
AP FRQ 3
Moll FlandersDaniel DefoeNovel1722
AP FRQ 3
Monkey BridgeLan CaoNovel1997
AP FRQ 3
Mother Courage and Her ChildrenBertolt BrechtPlay1939
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended authorEditorial IB-author selection
Mrs. DallowayVirginia WoolfNovel1925
AP FRQ 3
Mrs. Warren’s ProfessionGeorge Bernard ShawPlay1898
AP FRQ 3
Much Ado About NothingWilliam ShakespeareComedy1600
AP FRQ 3IB PRL recommended author
Murder in the CathedralT. S. EliotVerse drama1935
AP FRQ 3

AP markers show works named in historical Question 3 prompts; they are not a required AP reading list. IB markers identify recommended authors, while the titles here are independent reading suggestions rather than works prescribed by the IB.