Book reading levels: which classics you can read at B1, B2 or C1
We estimated every word in 20 English classics and 7 French, Spanish and German originals with Solaread’s word-difficulty model, and labelled each book at every level from A1 to C2.
Short answer
None of the 20 is just right at B1. The closest are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (6.9 new words per 100), Alice in Wonderland (7.1) and Dracula (7.8): a little hard, but readable with glosses. At B2, 3 of the 20 are just right.
English classics, easiest first
- The Wonderful Wizard of OzB1 6.9 · B2 3.6 · just right from B2
- Alice in WonderlandB1 7.1 · B2 4.4 · just right from B2
- DraculaB1 7.8 · B2 4.9 · just right from B2
- The Secret GardenB1 8.3 · B2 5.2 · just right from C1
- The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesB1 8.5 · B2 5.2 · just right from C1
- Pride and PrejudiceB1 8.6 · B2 5.2 · just right from C1
- Peter PanB1 9.1 · B2 5.7 · just right from C1
- Anne of Green GablesB1 9.5 · B2 6.1 · just right from C1
- The Picture of Dorian GrayB1 9.6 · B2 6.1 · just right from C1
- Treasure IslandB1 9.7 · B2 6.2 · just right from C2
- The Great GatsbyB1 9.7 · B2 6.1 · just right from C1
- Little WomenB1 10.2 · B2 6.4 · just right from C2
- Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeB1 10.2 · B2 6.4 · just right from C2
- A Christmas CarolB1 10.7 · B2 7.0 · just right from C2
- The Time MachineB1 11.7 · B2 7.4 · just right from C2
- Jane EyreB1 12.0 · B2 7.9 · just right from C2
- Wuthering HeightsB1 12.1 · B2 8.0 · just right from C2
- Heart of DarknessB1 12.2 · B2 8.1 · just right from C2
- FrankensteinB1 12.7 · B2 7.9 · just right from C2
- The Call of the WildB1 13.1 · B2 8.6 · just right from C2
New words per 100 at B1 and B2. The labels follow Solaread’s difficulty scale: Easy means knowing 98 of every 100 words, Just right 95, A little hard 90, and below that Too hard.
Reading the original in French, Spanish or German
- Don Quixote in SpanishB1 7.4 · B2 5.1 · just right from C1
- The Metamorphosis in GermanB1 7.8 · B2 4.5 · just right from B2
- The Three Musketeers in FrenchB1 8.8 · B2 5.4 · just right from C1
- The Count of Monte Cristo in FrenchB1 9.0 · B2 5.2 · just right from C1
- The Phantom of the Opera in FrenchB1 9.2 · B2 5.3 · just right from C1
- Candide in FrenchB1 10.8 · B2 6.8 · just right from C2
- Madame Bovary in FrenchB1 12.8 · B2 8.1 · just right from C2
Levels here are the reader’s level in the book’s own language.
Questions
What is a book’s reading level?
Here it is the share of words in the whole book that a reader at each level will probably not know. Solaread calls a book Easy when a reader knows 98 of every 100 words, Just right at 95, A little hard at 90, and Too hard below that.
Which English classics can a B1 reader read?
None of the 20 is just right at B1. The closest are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (6.9 new words per 100), Alice in Wonderland (7.1) and Dracula (7.8): a little hard, but readable with glosses.
Read any of them with help only where you need it
Import a free EPUB. Solaread marks the words you probably don’t know, at your level.