ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Best free books for Kindle: 20 classics to read for free

Brush up on your classics with these best free Kindle books.

Best free books for Kindle: 20 classics to read for free
09 August 2023

Amazon's Kindle book store offers loads of books for free, hundreds of them, in fact. However, there are plenty of questionable romance reads and self-published novellas to wade through. Don't get us wrong, some of these are fantastic reads. But for the purpose of this list, we're only interested in hunting down the stone cold classic books you can get for free right now.

Classic books tend to be available for free when they fall our of copyright, which happens 70 years after an author's death in the UK. Copyright issues nixed, free editions of novels and other books are much more likely to appear on the Kindle store.

UPDATE: We have added a couple more all-time classics to our list, and they are easy reads rather than the kind of epic, leaden or difficult novels you always mean to read, but never do. Scroll down to find out more about Black Beauty and The Railway Children. You've probably heard of them, but have you read them? Now's the time.

In the list below you'll find our selection of the must-not-miss literary classics, from the likes of Charles Dickens and the Brontë clan, as well as some slightly newer picks, including George Orwell's always-prescient 1984.

Brush up on Stoker, lose yourself in some of the best children's stories from E. Nesbit and Anna Sewell, rediscover a classic you've avoided since school days or stumble on a new favourite. It's time to get downloading.

Please note: these are all free on the UK site - please check your country for availability. Some of the free titles require you to have a Prime subscription.

Best free Kindle books

Best free Kindle books

1. Robinson Crusoe, By Daniel Defoe

Download from Amazon now

Another title that fits the "What do you mean, you haven't read it?!" list. In addition to being a trader, journalist and spy, Daniel Defoe (no, not that Spider-Man guy) wrote several hundred novels - of which this is the most famous. Fleeing his parents' wishes for him to have a dull career, Crusoe boards a boat bound on a sea voyage from Hull. There follows a shipwreck, cannibals and the original wanderlust adventure.

73
33
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

2. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Download from Amazon now

You don't have to save this story for a turgid December (though it clearly befits a winter setting). A tale of moral improvement, social lessons and ghosts (he had to get the readers in somehow), A Christmas Carol is as relevant in the success-driven world of contemporary Britain as it was in 1843.

87
51
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

3. Dracula, by Bram Stoker

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

The definitive vampire novel, Stoker's seminal work has a hand (or fang) in pretty much every blood sucking story you've ever encountered. A monster of a book, even if it does tail off towards the end.

37
13
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

4. Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

Beginning to notice a theme here? The Victorians had a thing for supernatural yarns - and there are few better than Mary Shelley's timeless man-made monster. Philosophical, melancholic and downright terrifying, the idea for a twisted creature created from the flesh of the dead came to her when she was just 18-years-old.

53
29
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

5. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

Be honest - you're more familiar with the Muppet version than the original aren't you? Well now you've no excuses: Stevenson's tale of treasure, pirates and exploring the unknown still ripples with addictive prose and vivid imagery. Immediate escapism.

64
42
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

6. The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, By Robert Louis Stevenson

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

Another from the gothic canon, Stevenson's tale of a scientist who pushes the laws of nature too far still manages to grip modern readers. And it's a lot less camp than countless TV and film adaptations have made it.

48
26
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

7. The Great Gatsby, By F Scott Fitzgerald

Download from Amazon now

If you've been meaning to read the novel that inspired last year's glitzy big screen adaptation, now's your chance. Fitzgerald's novel plays out a little more mutely than Luhrmann's lavish offering, but it's still a superb window into the stale state of the 1920's American dream.

48
26
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

8. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

An American monster - Captain Ahab's obsession with the great white whale consumes his entire existence, leading to him putting his own life and that of his crew in danger as he hunts Moby Dick across the seas. A pub quiz necessity.

39
18
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

9. The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

Download from Amazon now

Less book, more "narrative poem" (or so our GCSE English lessons informed us), The Raven is a pillar of gothic literature. An unnamed narrator sits alone in his chamber when a rapping at the door heralds the entry of the eponymous raven. A lyrical read to add some atmosphere to your daily commute.

36
18
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

10. The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

Wilde's only novel is a dark, twisting affair, offset by his familiarly flowery prose. Pages drip with wit and intelligence, allowing readers to escape to the glow of Victorian high life before shattering them with some supernatural skulduggery. The only frustration of the ebook edition is that you can't dogear the pages with the best quotes.

48
32
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

11. The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

No, it's not a kid's book. Well - it is - but it's a seriously dark, poetically magnificent one thoroughly deserving of your mature attention. You play Pokémon GO for goodness sake. The story of Mowgli, the young orphan raised by wolves, is brimming with philosophical musings and ethical ponderings that are still razor sharp all these years on.

26
16
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

12. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

FREE (With Prime)
Download now from Amazon

A Study In Scarlet is one of the very best Sherlock Holmes stories. It's the first time we meet the detective and, alongside war veteran Watson, he's given a case to crack about a murder in Brixton. It's a two-part story about the murder then the murderer.

11
3
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

13. The Railway Children, By E. Nesbit

Download from Amazon now

The Railway Children is a classic children's story originally serialised back in 1905, but was then published as a book in the same year. It has since been adapted several times too, as a film, radio play and TV series. It follows the story of three siblings, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, who move to the countryside near a railway line when their father is wrongfully imprisoned.

1
0
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

14. The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

Download from Amazon now

You can pay for the complete works of Shakespeare, or just download this free version. This is largely a collection of plays, rather than novels, but with more than 5000 pages from the most famous writer of them all inside, it will keep you busy. Classics to start with include Othello, Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth.

2
1
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

15. Black Beauty, By Anna Sewell

Download from Amazon now

With more than 50 million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time. This classic novel is narrated by a horse, Black Beauty. The story follows his tumultuous life, from his early days as a carefree foal to a hardworking cab horse in Victorian England. He has different owners over the years, some kind and some cruel. The book is poignant, teaching readers about care for animals and empathy, which is why it's a fantastic book for all ages.

0
1
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

16. Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

The most famous of all of Thomas Mann's works is a novella in which a 50-year old man pursues a 14-year-old boy. It's a book about homosexual passion, and while it contains some autobiographical inspiration, Mann was in his 30s when the book was published.

2
5
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

17. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

FREE (With Prime)
Download now from Amazon

Not read Wuthering Heights? Rid your mind of the sloppy period romance you're no doubt conjuring up - Emily Brontë's dark, bold story of love and jealousy is a heart-wrenching brute of a novel. You'll need to schedule in a trip to the Yorkshire moors once you're done.

4
10
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

18. Three Men In a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

Fan of Withnail and I? Of course you are, you're cultured enough to be reading a free book list. Jerome's work is a feast of comic wit: three overworked Londoners decide a holiday is called for, and embark upon a boating trip up the River Thames to Oxford. Queue travel notes, humorous anecdotes and warm feelings of mirth.

27
39
Thanks for voting
Best free Kindle books

19. Around the World In 80 Days, by Jules Verne

FREE (With Prime)
Download from Amazon now

A work of science fiction written before the genre became obsessed with laser guns and aliens, Vern's classic transports you back to a time when explorers could actually find something they'd never seen before. Phileas Fogg gets in his balloon for an adventure around the world. We won't spoil you by saying how long it takes.

270
449
Thanks for voting

Pay nothing for a month!
Pay nothing for a month!
Get 30 days of Kindle Unlimited for free
Kindle Unlimited is Amazon's subscription service to e-books. Sign up and you a month free and access to thousands of titles.
Get the offer from Amazon now