What to read next
10 books like The Great Gatsby
Nick's attraction to Gatsby never cancels his judgment. The picks below take that appeal in different directions.
Read our review of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Best matches
Three strong places to start
If you only want three picks, start here.
Best overall
Fastest read
Best alternative
Choose by reading mood
Where to start
For the fastest read
Pride and Prejudice
BalancedFor the darkest read
The Picture of Dorian Gray
DarkFor the strongest romance
Jane Eyre
CentralFor the easiest entry
Great Expectations
ModerateThe full shortlist
Why each book belongs here
See what each pick shares with The Great Gatsby, and where it goes in a different direction.
1
Pride and Prejudice
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Different because
- Pride and Prejudice also connects love with money and status, but believes self-knowledge can create a viable partnership. Gatsby presents desire as projection and class mobility as a fatal illusion.
2
The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Different because
- The Picture of Dorian Gray offers more wit, decadence, and overt Gothic consequence. Choose Gatsby for restraint and social precision; choose Dorian Gray for moral corruption made supernatural.
3
To Kill a Mockingbird
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Different because
- To Kill a Mockingbird also uses a retrospective narrator to reconsider an American community, but centers childhood moral education and public injustice rather than adult longing and wealth.
4
Great Expectations
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
5
A Tale of Two Cities
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
6
David Copperfield
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
7
Oliver Twist
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
8
Bleak House
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
9
Jane Eyre
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Moderate
10
Moby-Dick
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Side-by-side
Pace, darkness, romance, and difficulty
| Book | Pace | Darkness | Romance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| Pride and Prejudice | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Moderate |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Moderate |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| Great Expectations | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| David Copperfield | Measured | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| Oliver Twist | Measured | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| Bleak House | Measured | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| Jane Eyre | Measured | Gentle | Central | Moderate |
| Moby-Dick | Measured | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
Keep exploring
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