Best Authors of All Time, Ranked
From the Beginning of Time Until 1900
According to
106 ranked
- 1William Shakespeare1564–1616 · England · 39 works1564–1616England39 works
- 2Fyodor Dostoevsky1821–1881 · Russia · 5 works1821–1881Russia5 works
- 3Dante Alighieri1265–1321 · Italy · 1 work1265–1321Italy1 work
- 4Sophoclesc. 496–406 BCE · Ancient Greece · 7 worksc. 496–406 BCEAncient Greece7 works
- 5Platoc. 428–c. 348 BCE · Ancient Greece · 5 worksc. 428–c. 348 BCEAncient Greece5 works
- 6Herman Melville1819–1891 · United States · 1 work1819–1891United States1 work
- 7Victor Hugo1802–1885 · France · 2 works1802–1885France2 works
- 8Aristophanesc. 446–c. 386 BCE · Ancient Greece · 7 worksc. 446–c. 386 BCEAncient Greece7 works
- 9Leo Tolstoy1828–1910 · Russia · 3 works1828–1910Russia3 works
- 10UnknownUnknown · Various · 13 worksUnknownVarious13 works
- 11Alexandre Dumas1802–1870 · France · 2 works1802–1870France2 works
- 12Charles Dickens1812–1870 · England · 3 works1812–1870England3 works
- 13AnonymousUnknown · Various · 2 worksUnknownVarious2 works
- 14Aeschylusc. 525–456 BCE · Ancient Greece · 5 worksc. 525–456 BCEAncient Greece5 works
- 15Virgil70–19 BCE · Ancient Rome · 3 works70–19 BCEAncient Rome3 works
- 16John Milton1608–1674 · England · 1 work1608–1674England1 work
- 17Jane Austen1775–1817 · England · 3 works1775–1817England3 works
- 18Aristotle384–322 BCE · Ancient Greece · 2 works384–322 BCEAncient Greece2 works
- 19Stendhal1783–1842 · France · 2 works1783–1842France2 works
- 20Henry Fielding1707–1754 · England · 1 work1707–1754England1 work
- 21François Rabelaisc. 1494–1553 · France · 1 workc. 1494–1553France1 work
- 22Jules Verne1828–1905 · France · 3 works1828–1905France3 works
- 23Euripidesc. 480–406 BCE · Ancient Greece · 3 worksc. 480–406 BCEAncient Greece3 works
- 24Homerc. 800–c. 701 BCE · Ancient Greece · 2 worksc. 800–c. 701 BCEAncient Greece2 works
- 25VyasaUnknown · India · 1 workUnknownIndia1 work
- 26Thomas Hardy1840–1928 · England · 1 work1840–1928England1 work
- 27Mark Twain1835–1910 · United States · 2 works1835–1910United States2 works
- 28Ramesh Menon1951–? · India · 1 work1951–?India1 work
- 29Henry James1843–1916 · USA · 2 works1843–1916USA2 works
- 30Charlotte Brontë1816–1855 · England · 1 work1816–1855England1 work
- 31Augustine of Hippo354–430 · Ancient Rome · 1 work354–430Ancient Rome1 work
- 32Aesopc. 620–c. 564 BCE · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 620–c. 564 BCEAncient Greece1 work
- 33Ivan Turgenev1818–1883 · Russia · 1 work1818–1883Russia1 work
- 34Gustave Flaubert1821–1880 · France · 2 works1821–1880France2 works
- 35Mosesc. 1400–c. 1280 BCE · Ancient Israel · 5 worksc. 1400–c. 1280 BCEAncient Israel5 works
- 36Johann Wolfgang von Goethe1749–1832 · Germany · 2 works1749–1832Germany2 works
- 37Joseph Conrad1857–1924 · England · 2 works1857–1924England2 works
- 38Nathaniel Hawthorne1804–1864 · United States · 1 work1804–1864United States1 work
- 39Matthewc. 4 BCE–c. 74 CE · Ancient Israel · 1 workc. 4 BCE–c. 74 CEAncient Israel1 work
- 40Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882 · United States · 1 work1803–1882United States1 work
- 41Louisa May Alcott1832–1888 · United States · 1 work1832–1888United States1 work
- 42Friedrich Nietzsche1844–1900 · Germany · 1 work1844–1900Germany1 work
- 43Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712–1778 · France · 1 work1712–1778France1 work
- 44Voltaire1694–1778 · France · 1 work1694–1778France1 work
- 45Charles Darwin1809–1882 · England · 1 work1809–1882England1 work
- 46Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1797–1851 · England · 1 work1797–1851England1 work
- 47Senecac. 4 BCE–65 CE · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 4 BCE–65 CEAncient Rome1 work
- 48Niccolò Machiavelli1469–1527 · Italy · 1 work1469–1527Italy1 work
- 49George Eliot1819–1880 · England · 1 work1819–1880England1 work
- 50Lucretiusc. 99–c. 55 BCE · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 99–c. 55 BCEAncient Rome1 work
- 51Daniel Defoec. 1660–1731 · England · 1 workc. 1660–1731England1 work
- 52Apuleiusc. 124–c. 170 · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 124–c. 170Ancient Rome1 work
- 53Thomas Hobbes1588–1679 · England · 1 work1588–1679England1 work
- 54Confucius551–479 BCE · China · 1 work551–479 BCEChina1 work
- 55Bram Stoker1847–1912 · Ireland · 1 work1847–1912Ireland1 work
- 56Marcus Tullius Cicero106–43 BCE · Ancient Rome · 1 work106–43 BCEAncient Rome1 work
- 57Geoffrey Chaucerc. 1343–1400 · England · 1 workc. 1343–1400England1 work
- 58Benjamin Franklin1706–1790 · United States · 1 work1706–1790United States1 work
- 59Petroniusc. 27–66 · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 27–66Ancient Rome1 work
- 60Thomas Paine1737–1809 · England · 1 work1737–1809England1 work
- 61John Bunyan1628–1688 · England · 1 work1628–1688England1 work
- 62Fernando de Rojasc. 1465–1541 · Spain · 1 workc. 1465–1541Spain1 work
- 63紫式部c. 973–c. 1014 · Japan · 1 workc. 973–c. 1014Japan1 work
- 64William Makepeace Thackeray1811–1863 · England · 1 work1811–1863England1 work
- 65Sapphoc. 630–c. 570 BCE · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 630–c. 570 BCEAncient Greece1 work
- 66Erasmus1466–1536 · Netherlands · 1 work1466–1536Netherlands1 work
- 67Arthur Conan Doyle1859–1930 · England · 1 work1859–1930England1 work
- 68Ovid43 BCE–c. 17 CE · Ancient Rome · 1 work43 BCE–c. 17 CEAncient Rome1 work
- 69Blaise Pascal1623–1662 · France · 1 work1623–1662France1 work
- 70René Descartes1596–1650 · France · 1 work1596–1650France1 work
- 71David Hume1711–1776 · Scotland · 1 work1711–1776Scotland1 work
- 72Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra1547–1616 · Spain · 1 work1547–1616Spain1 work
- 73Frederick Douglassc. 1818–1895 · United States · 1 workc. 1818–1895United States1 work
- 74Giovanni Boccaccio1313–1375 · Italy · 1 work1313–1375Italy1 work
- 75Michel de Montaigne1533–1592 · France · 1 work1533–1592France1 work
- 76Upton Sinclair1878–1968 · USA · 1 work1878–1968USA1 work
- 77Ford Madox Ford1873–1939 · England · 1 work1873–1939England1 work
- 78Sun Tzuc. 544–c. 496 BCE · China · 1 workc. 544–c. 496 BCEChina1 work
- 79Christopher Marlowe1564–1593 · England · 1 work1564–1593England1 work
- 80Lewis Carroll1832–1898 · England · 1 work1832–1898England1 work
- 81Alexander Pushkin1799–1837 · Russia · 1 work1799–1837Russia1 work
- 82Boethiusc. 480–524 · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 480–524Ancient Rome1 work
- 83Horatius65–8 BCE · Ancient Rome · 1 work65–8 BCEAncient Rome1 work
- 84Hesiodc. 750–c. 650 BCE · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 750–c. 650 BCEAncient Greece1 work
- 85Nikolai Gogol1809–1852 · Russia · 1 work1809–1852Russia1 work
- 86Marcus Aurelius121–180 · Ancient Rome · 1 work121–180Ancient Rome1 work
- 87Oscar Wilde1854–1900 · Ireland · 1 work1854–1900Ireland1 work
- 88Emily Brontë1818–1848 · England · 1 work1818–1848England1 work
- 89Lao Tzuc. 601–c. 531 BCE · China · 1 workc. 601–c. 531 BCEChina1 work
- 90Plutarchc. 46–c. 120 · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 46–c. 120Ancient Greece1 work
- 91Sigmund Freud1856–1939 · Austria · 1 work1856–1939Austria1 work
- 92Francesco Petrarca1304–1374 · Italy · 1 work1304–1374Italy1 work
- 93Luís de Camõesc. 1524–1580 · Portugal · 1 workc. 1524–1580Portugal1 work
- 94Harriet Beecher Stowe1811–1896 · USA · 1 work1811–1896USA1 work
- 95Henry David Thoreau1817–1862 · United States · 1 work1817–1862United States1 work
- 96Ulysses S. Grant1822–1885 · United States · 1 work1822–1885United States1 work
- 97Laurence Sterne1713–1768 · England · 1 work1713–1768England1 work
- 98Thomas Maloryc. 1415–c. 1471 · England · 1 workc. 1415–c. 1471England1 work
- 99Jonathan Swift1667–1745 · Ireland · 1 work1667–1745Ireland1 work
- 100Miyamoto Musashic. 1584–1645 · Japan · 1 workc. 1584–1645Japan1 work
- 101Karl Marx1818–1883 · Germany · 1 work1818–1883Germany1 work
- 102Herodotusc. 484–c. 425 BCE · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 484–c. 425 BCEAncient Greece1 work
- 103Baruch Spinoza1632–1677 · Netherlands · 1 work1632–1677Netherlands1 work
- 104Publius Cornelius Tacitusc. 56–c. 120 · Ancient Rome · 1 workc. 56–c. 120Ancient Rome1 work
- 105Thucydidesc. 460–c. 400 BCE · Ancient Greece · 1 workc. 460–c. 400 BCEAncient Greece1 work
- 106Wilkie Collins1824–1889 · England · 1 work1824–1889England1 work