The short answer: the best classic book gift for most readers is a Penguin Clothbound Classic, and The Count of Monte Cristo in Robin Buss’s translation is the one to buy. For a bigger gift, choose the seven-book Jane Austen Clothbound set. If they would rather listen, give an Audible gift membership.
Which classic book gift should you buy?
The best single hardcovers
The Count of Monte Cristo, Penguin Clothbound
Revenge, prison, buried treasure and a very long plan. Few classics are easier to recommend to a reader who says they do not read classics. This edition uses Robin Buss’s translation in a Coralie Bickford-Smith cloth design, and it fits the whole story into one 1,276-page hardcover.
Anna Karenina, Penguin Clothbound
A strong choice for someone who loves a big love story. It carries the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation, which won the PEN/Book of the Month Club Translation Prize, and it runs 864 pages.
Crime and Punishment: two hardcovers, two translators
The Penguin Clothbound edition uses David McDuff’s translation. The Everyman’s Library hardcover uses Pevear and Volokhonsky. Choose the Clothbound for its looks, or read our Crime and Punishment guide if the translation matters most to them.
The Brothers Karamazov, Everyman’s Library
The right gift for the reader who has already finished Crime and Punishment. This hardcover has the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation with an introduction by Malcolm Jones.
The Divine Comedy, Everyman’s Library
Allen Mandelbaum’s translation puts all three parts in one hardcover, with notes and 42 drawings selected from Botticelli. It suits anyone who wants one Dante on the shelf.
The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
Norton’s 592-page hardcover is the first choice for someone who wants a modern Homer rather than a decorative one.
English favorites in the Clothbound line
For a smaller gift, these three match the design of the box sets below, so they also work as the start of a collection.
- Pride and Prejudice, for almost anyone
- Jane Eyre, for a reader who likes a darker romance
- Great Expectations, for a Dickens starter
The best box sets
Jane Austen: The Complete Works, Penguin Clothbound
Seven hardcovers: the six novels plus Love and Friendship. The cloth bindings and foil-stamped designs make this the gift for a true Austen reader.
The Brontë Sisters, Penguin Clothbound
Four hardcovers: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Villette.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Knickerbocker Classics
All four novels and 56 short stories, with a cloth binding, ribbon marker and slipcase. It is the easy choice for a mystery reader.
The Iliad and The Odyssey, Robert Fagles
Penguin’s boxed set pairs both epics in Fagles’s translations, for the reader who wants Homer complete.
Little Black Classics Box Set
Penguin released this box of 80 short paperbacks for its 80th birthday, with writers from Sappho and Ovid to Chekhov and Austen. It suits someone who likes to sample. Choose the Penguin listing, since a second listing comes from another publisher.
Listen to it
An Audible gift membership lets the reader pick their own classics, so you cannot choose a book they already own. Listings show gifts of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. You can send it by email on a date you choose, or print it to hand over. See Audible gift memberships.
Two great first listens:
- Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, read by Stephen Fry. About 72 hours of the complete Holmes stories, with introductions written and read by Fry. Listen on Audible.
- Pride and Prejudice, read by Rosamund Pike. Unabridged, 11 hours 35 minutes, from Audible Studios. Listen on Audible.
If you would rather try Audible yourself first, new members can usually start with a free trial. See Audible membership options.
Common questions
What is a good classic book to give as a gift?
The Count of Monte Cristo for a reader who wants a story, and Pride and Prejudice for a reader who wants charm. Both come in Penguin Clothbound hardcovers.
What should I buy for someone who already owns the classics?
Buy a better copy of a book they love, or a translation they have not read. An Audible gift membership also avoids duplicates.
Do Penguin Clothbound Classics all use the same translator?
No. Each title has its own, so check the listing. Crime and Punishment uses David McDuff, while Anna Karenina uses Pevear and Volokhonsky.
Can you give Audible as a gift?
Yes. If the person is already a member, listings show the gift credits are added at once, and gift credits stay active for a year.
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