Adventure books have always been a very popular facet of literature for very good reasons- people like reading about exciting events that are out of the ordinary. After all we generally read books for entertainment, and a really gripping adventure story can immerse you in an exciting world full of interesting characters. The popularity of adventure writing is not a recent phenomenon either- whilst The Odyssey and The Iliad are technically epic poems rather than books, the fact that they are still popular stories around 2800 years after they were first written is a testament to how much people tend to like adventure stories.

When mass literacy was growing in the 19th century, so did the demand the entertaining books, and many very famous authors made their name in writing adventure books. Jules Verne’s “A Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, “Twenty Thousand leagues Under the Sea” and “Around the World in Eighty Days” are classic examples, all published between 1864 and 1873. If you are interested in reading adventure books, which many people are, here are a few classic examples that you might like to try.

James Bond
Ian Flemings James Bond novels have been shoved form the spotlight by the more widely known film franchise, but the 12 novels that Fleming created are a great series of adventure books.

Treasure Island was written by Robert Louis Stevenson and was first published in 1883, a classic adventure of treasure and piracy.

Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe and was first published in 1719, and tells the story of a man shipwrecked, after a life out at sea. During his stay on the island he encounters captives, cannibals and mutineers before returning home to England.

The Swiss Family Robinson was written by Johann David Wyss, a Swiss pastor and his book was first published in 1812. The book tells the tale of a family shipwrecked upon an island and tells of their adventure in making their island hospitable.

The Lost World was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who also famously wrote the Sherlock Holmes series. The book was released in 1912, and tells the tale of a reporter who visits the Amazon basin to confirm stories of dinosaurs, though he finds himself fighting a race of ape-men.