Sometimes the brilliance of a novel can’t truly be seen until many years after it was written. There are many books and authors that were ahead of their time, and that covered topics and ideas that society wasn’t quite ready for yet.
These may not have sold well upon first release, but have come to be appreciated for their greatness decades later. Here are some of the most prolific and debated novels ever published, which went on to be applauded as ahead of their time.
Top 12 Novels Ahead of Their Time
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
When it was published in 1962 it was extraordinary shocking - covering divisive subjects of violence and drugs, and generally quite bleak in tone. It wasn’t actually widely accepted until after the movie was released. This was an influential novel telling a story of a dark dystopian future, which at times is a frightening depiction of good and evil and the grey in between.
You might also love: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien
Inventive and funny, this 1932 novel is renowned for a wicked sense of humour and for playing on the traditional model of what a novel should be. This is the story of a writer writing about another writer, whose characters rebel against him in some clever and bizarre ways. This is an intelligent story that has become a modern classic.
You might also love: Murphy by Samuel Beckett
Ulysses by James Joyce
Ulysses has been called a major achievement in 20th-century literature. Based loosely on The Odyssey, it tells the story of a number of people across a single day in Dublin in 1904. Filled with fun, exciting and at times vulgar characters, the author plays with some extraordinary styles of writing and storytelling in this book.
You might also love: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
1984 by George Orwell
When 1984 was published in 1949 it was a nightmarish tale of the future, which scarily became more and more prophetic as the years passed. Even if you haven’t read this novel before, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid its effect on modern culture. Through this novel, we were introduced to Big Brother and a society in which nothing the citizens do is private anymore.
You might also love: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Published in 1847 under a male pseudonym, this classic was highly controversial at the time for its description of mental illness, physical cruelty, and criticism of religion, class, and a woman’s expected place in society. Essentially a love story, Wuthering Heights is a story of deeply flawed characters and their hold on each other’s minds and hearts.
You might also love: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is a simple yet unforgettable tale set in a small town in Alabama, which became a popular and critical success almost instantly. This is now a very well known story of a crisis of conscience and a lawyer who was doing the best to raise his children right in a difficult world and time. It won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to be made into an Academy Award-winning film.
You might also love: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Written when Shelley was just 18, this novel was a very early example of horror, science fiction, and the possibilities and dangers of modern technology. This is a witty story from a strong female voice, considered to be quite hard-hitting and politically challenging upon its release in 1818.
You might also love: Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka
I am cheated a little here because this one isn’t really a novel, but a collection of Kafka’s best and boldest stories. Renowned for getting people thinking and arguing, the point of view in these stories is quite innovative, and would go on to influence a great many writers in the future.
You might also love: Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Stowe was one of the first American writers to raise public awareness of the cruelty of slavery, and this book was largely discredited in the South when it was published.
It was controversial and has been often used since as an educational and enlightening novel showing how things were done at the time of writing. But it is also a really great adventure story and well worth a read.
You might also love: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Written in 1899, this was a revolutionary story of infidelity, in a time when considering such acts would make proper members of society turn white. Uninhibited and beautifully written, this novel was one of the first to discuss a female protagonist seeking physical pleasure through love and sex.
You might also love: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This was one of the first novels to place a black woman front and centre as a powerful protagonist - seeking identity, independence, and fulfilment not just a role as a wife or mother. It was poorly received upon release but has over time become well-loved and lauded for being an important novel about strength of race and gender.
You might also love: Native Son by Richard Wright
Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
You probably remember discovering this one for yourself when you were a tween, but at the time it was written, this novel was a rare honest depiction of how your body and mind changes with puberty.
This novel, and most of Blume’s others written in the 1970s were fresh and inspiring for young women at the time, and connected with girls in a way that nothing had before.
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