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Foundational Texts

A curated collection of the major beats of Western and World storytelling—the epics, myths, and verses that shaped how we tell stories today.

Ancient World Medieval Renaissance
Iliad ~750 BCE Odyssey ~725 BCE Aeneid ~19 BCE Metamorphoses 8 CE Beowulf ~850 CE 1001 Nights ~900 CE Shahnameh ~1000 CE Genji ~1000 CE Tain ~900 CE Inferno ~1314 CE Canterbury ~1390 CE Paradise Lost 1667
750 BCE 1 CE 1000 CE 1667 CE

Core Collection

❧ Penguin Clothbound Classics ❧
The Iliad book cover To Buy

The Iliad

Homer ~750 BCE

The foundational text of Western literature. Established the epic form, heroic values, and the tragic consequences of war.

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The Odyssey book cover To Buy

The Odyssey

Homer ~725 BCE

Created the archetypal journey narrative. Introduced the concept of the flawed, cunning hero and the homecoming story.

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The Aeneid book cover To Buy

The Aeneid

Virgil 29–19 BCE

Rome's national epic, consciously modelled on Homer. Introduced the idea of epic as political foundation myth.

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Metamorphoses book cover Owned

Metamorphoses

Ovid 8 CE

The definitive collection of Greek and Roman mythology. Source text for Shakespeare and Renaissance painters.

In Collection
Tales from 1001 Nights book cover To Buy

Tales from 1001 Nights

Anonymous ~800–1400 CE

Gave the world Sinbad, Aladdin, and Ali Baba. Pioneered the frame narrative with Scheherazade's survival storytelling.

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Inferno book cover To Buy

Inferno

Dante Alighieri 1308–1320

Synthesised classical and Christian traditions. Created the modern popular conception of Hell.

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The Canterbury Tales book cover To Buy

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer 1387–1400

Established English as a literary language. Pioneered the frame narrative with multiple voices and social satire.

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Paradise Lost book cover To Buy

Paradise Lost

John Milton 1667

The great English-language epic. Gave Satan psychological depth and made him literature's most compelling villain.

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Possible Additions

Selected Editions
Beowulf book cover To Buy

Beowulf

trans. J.R.R. Tolkien ~700–1000 CE

The foundational text of English literature. Tolkien's own translation with commentary.

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The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikibu
To Buy

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu ~1000–1012 CE

Often called the world's first novel. Pioneered psychological realism and interiority.

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The Táin trans. Kinsella
To Buy

The Táin Bó Cúailnge

trans. Thomas Kinsella ~700–1100 CE

Ireland's national epic. Preserves pre-Christian Celtic mythology and warrior culture.

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The Shahnameh Ferdowsi
To Buy

The Shahnameh

Ferdowsi 977–1010 CE

The Persian national epic—50,000 couplets. As central to Iranian culture as Homer is to the West.

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