List of book titles taken from literature

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For titles taken from works by William Shakespeare, see List of works titled after Shakespeare.

Many authors will use quotations from literature as the title for their works. This may be done as a conscious allusion to the themes of the older work or simply because the phrase seems memorable. The following is a partial list of book titles taken from literature. It does not include phrases altered for parody.

Work Author Literary reference
Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner Bible: 2 Samuel 19:4
A che punto è la notte
(literally, "At which point is the night") 		Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini Bible: Isaiah 21:11
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan Aldous Huxley Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Tithonus"
Ah, Wilderness! Eugene O'Neill Edward FitzGerald (trans.), Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Alien Corn (play) Sidney Howard John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale"
"The Alien Corn" (short story) W. Somerset Maugham John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale"
All Passion Spent Vita Sackville-West John Milton, Samson Agonistes
All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren Anon., "Humpty Dumpty"
Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea Michael Morpurgo Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
An Acceptable Time Madeleine L'Engle Bible: Psalm 66:13
Antic Hay Aldous Huxley Christopher Marlowe, Edward II
Arms and the Man George Bernard Shaw Virgil, Aeneid
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner Homer, Odyssey
Behold the Man Michael Moorcock Bible: John 19:5
Beneath the Bleeding Val McDermid T. S. Eliot, East Coker
Beyond the Mexique Bay Aldous Huxley Andrew Marvell, "Bermudas"
Blithe Spirit Noël Coward Percy Bysshe Shelley, "To a Skylark"
Blood's a Rover James Ellroy A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, Poem IV ("Reveille")
Blue Remembered Earth Alastair Reynolds A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, Poem XL
Blue Remembered Hills Rosemary Sutcliff A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, Poem XL
Bonjour Tristesse Françoise Sagan Paul Éluard, "À Peine Défigurée"
Brandy of the Damned Colin Wilson George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Brown Stephen Vincent Benét, "American Names"
Butter In a Lordly Dish Agatha Christie Bible: Judges 5:25
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept Elizabeth Smart Bible: Psalm 137:1
Cabbages and Kings O. Henry Lewis Carroll, "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
Captains Courageous Rudyard Kipling traditional "The ballad of Mary Ambree"
Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Carrion Comfort"
A Catskill Eagle Robert B. Parker Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
The Children of Men P. D. James Bible: Psalm 90:3
Clouds of Witness Dorothy L. Sayers Bible: Hebrews 12:1
A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting
Consider Phlebas Iain M. Banks T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Consider the Lilies Iain Crichton Smith Bible: Matthew 6:28
Cover Her Face P. D. James John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
The Cricket on the Hearth Charles Dickens John Milton, Il Penseroso
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of Silver Blaze"
The Daffodil Sky H. E. Bates Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Maud"
Dance Dance Dance Haruki Murakami W. H. Auden, "Death's Echo"
A Darkling Plain Philip Reeve Matthew Arnold, "Dover Beach"
Death Be Not Proud John Gunther John Donne, Holy Sonnets X
The Doors of Perception Aldous Huxley William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Down to a Sunless Sea Lin Carter Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan
Down to a Sunless Sea David Graham Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan
"Dulce et Decorum est" Wilfred Owen Horace, Odes iii 2.13
Dying of the Light George R. R. Martin Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night"
East of Eden John Steinbeck Bible: Genesis 4:16
Ego Dominus Tuus W. B. Yeats Dante, La Vita Nuova
Endless Night Agatha Christie William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"
Everything is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Eyeless in Gaza Aldous Huxley John Milton, Samson Agonistes
An Evil Cradling Brian Keenan Quran 13:18 (trans. Arthur John Arberry)
Fair Stood the Wind for France H. E. Bates Michael Drayton, Ballad of Agincourt
Fame Is the Spur Howard Spring John Milton, "Lycidas"
A Fanatic Heart Edna O'Brien W. B. Yeats, "Remorse for Intemperate Speech"
The Far-Distant Oxus Katharine Hull and Pamela Whitlock Matthew Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum
A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway George Peele, "A Farewell to Arms (To Queen Elizabeth)"
Far From the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Fear and Trembling Søren Kierkegaard Bible: Philippians 2:12
For a Breath I Tarry Roger Zelazny A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, Poem XXXII
For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway John Donne, Meditation XVII
Frequent Hearses Edmund Crispin Alexander Pope, "Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady"
From Here to Eternity James Jones Rudyard Kipling, "Gentlemen-Rankers"
The Getting of Wisdom Henry Handel Richardson Bible: Proverbs 4:7
A Glass of Blessings Barbara Pym George Herbert, "The Pulley"
The Glory and the Dream William Manchester William Wordsworth, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality"
The Golden Apples of the Sun Ray Bradbury W. B. Yeats, "The Song of the Wandering Angus"
The Golden Bowl Henry James Bible: Ecclesiastes 12:6
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell Ernest Dowson, "Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynara"
The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Julia Ward Howe, "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Great Work of Time John Crowley Andrew Marvell, "An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland"
The Green Bay Tree Louis Bromfield Bible: Psalm 37:35
A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Have His Carcase Dorothy L. Sayers Homer, Iliad (trans. William Cowper)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers William Sharp, "The Lonely Hunter"
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things JT LeRoy Bible: Jeremiah 17:9
His Dark Materials Philip Pullman John Milton, Paradise Lost
The House of Mirth Edith Wharton Bible: Ecclesiastes 7:4
How Sleep the Brave H. E. Bates William Collins, "How Sleep the Brave"
How Sleep the Brave James H. Hunter William Collins, "How Sleep the Brave"
How Sleep the Brave John Briley William Collins, "How Sleep the Brave"
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Sympathy"
I Sing the Body Electric! Ray Bradbury Walt Whitman, "I Sing the Body Electric"
I Will Fear No Evil Robert A. Heinlein Bible: Psalm 23:4
If I Forget Thee Jerusalem William Faulkner Bible: Psalm 137:5
If Not Now, When? Primo Levi Pirkei Avot 1:13
In a Dry Season Peter Robinson T. S. Eliot, "Gerontion"
In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu Bible: 1 Corinthians 13:12
In Death Ground David Weber and Steve White Sun Tzu, The Art of War
In Dubious Battle John Steinbeck John Milton, Paradise Lost
An Instant in the Wind André Brink Hart Crane, "The Broken Tower"
It's a Battlefield Graham Greene Alexander William Kinglake, The Invasion of the Crimea, Vol. 6
Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson Bible: Romans 9:13
O Jerusalem! Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins Bible: Psalm 137:5
Jesting Pilate Aldous Huxley Francis Bacon, Of Truth
The Last Enemy Richard Hillary Bible: 1 Corinthians 15:26
The Last Temptation Val McDermid T. S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral
The Lathe of Heaven Ursula K. Le Guin Zhuangzi, Book XXIII, paragraph 7
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men James Agee Bible: Ecclesiasticus 44:1
Lilies of the Field William Edmund Barrett Bible: Matthew 6:28
This Lime Tree Bower Conor McPherson Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison"
The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst William Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty
The Little Foxes Lillian Hellman Bible: Song of Songs 2:15
Little Hands Clapping Dan Rhodes Robert Browning, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"
A Little Learning Evelyn Waugh Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
Look Homeward, Angel Thomas Wolfe John Milton, "Lycidas"
Look to Windward Iain M. Banks T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land
The Man Within Graham Greene Thomas Browne, Religio Medici
Many Waters Madeleine L'Engle Bible: Song of Songs 8:7
A Many-Splendoured Thing Han Suyin Francis Thompson, "The Kingdom of God"
The Mermaids Singing Val McDermid T. S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
The Millstone Margaret Drabble Bible: Matthew 18:6
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side Agatha Christie Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott"
Moab Is My Washpot Stephen Fry Bible: Psalm 60:8
The Monkey's Raincoat Robert Crais Matsuo Bashō, Sarumino
Monstrous Regiment Terry Pratchett John Knox, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
A Monstrous Regiment of Women Laurie R. King John Knox, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
The Moon by Night Madeleine L'Engle Bible: Psalm 121:6
Mother Night Kurt Vonnegut Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, Part One
The Moving Finger Agatha Christie Edward FitzGerald (trans.), Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock
Mr Standfast John Buchan John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress
Nectar in a Sieve Kamala Markandaya Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Work without Hope"
The Needle's Eye Margaret Drabble Bible: Matthew 19:24
Nine Coaches Waiting Mary Stewart Cyril Tourneur, The Revenger's Tragedy
No Country for Old Men Cormac McCarthy W. B. Yeats, "Sailing to Byzantium"
No Highway Nevil Shute John Masefield, The Wanderer
Noli Me Tangere José Rizal Bible: John 20:17
No Longer at Ease Chinua Achebe T. S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi
Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal H. E. Bates Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal"
Number the Stars Lois Lowry Bible: Psalm 147:4
Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham Baruch Spinoza, Ethics
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck Robert Burns, "To a Mouse"
Oh! To be in England H. E. Bates Robert Browning, "Home Thoughts From Abroad"
The Other Side of Silence André Brink George Eliot, Middlemarch
The Painted Veil W. Somerset Maugham Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Lift Not The Painted Veil Which Those Who Live"
Pale Kings and Princes Robert B. Parker John Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci"
The Parliament of Man Paul Kennedy Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Locksley Hall"
Paths of Glory Humphrey Cobb Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
A Passage to India E. M. Forster Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"
O Pioneers! Willa Cather Walt Whitman, "Pioneers! O Pioneers!"
Postern of Fate Agatha Christie James Elroy Flecker, "The Gates of Damascus"
Precious Bane Mary Webb John Milton, Paradise Lost
The Proper Study Isaac Asimov Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
Quo Vadis Henryk Sienkiewicz Bible: John 13:36 (Vulgate translation)
Recalled to Life Reginald Hill Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Recalled to Life Robert Silverberg Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Ring of Bright Water Gavin Maxwell Kathleen Raine, "The Marriage of Psyche"
The Road Less Traveled M. Scott Peck Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
A Scanner Darkly Philip K. Dick Bible: 1 Corinthians 13:12
"Shall not Perish" William Faulkner Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
The Skull Beneath the Skin P. D. James T. S. Eliot, "Whispers of Immortality"
The Soldier's Art Anthony Powell| Robert Browning, "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"
Some Buried Caesar Rex Stout Edward FitzGerald (trans.), Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Specimen Days Michael Cunningham Walt Whitman's prosework
The Stars' Tennis Balls Stephen Fry John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein Bible: Exodus 2:22
"Such, Such Were the Joys" George Orwell William Blake, "The Echoing Green"
A Summer Bird-Cage Margaret Drabble John Webster, The White Devil
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway Bible: Ecclesiastes 1:5
Surprised by Joy C. S. Lewis William Wordsworth, "Surprised by Joy"
A Swiftly Tilting Planet Madeleine L'Engle Conrad Aiken, "Morning Song of Senlin"
Taming a Sea Horse Robert B. Parker Robert Browning, "My Last Duchess"
Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale'"
Terrible Swift Sword Bruce Catton Julia Ward Howe, "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
That Good Night N. J. Crisp Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night"
That Hideous Strength C. S. Lewis David Lyndsay, Ane Dialog
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe W. B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"
This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald Rupert Brooke, "Tiare Tahiti"
Those Barren Leaves Aldous Huxley William Wordsworth, "The Tables Turned"
Thrones, Dominations Dorothy L. Sayers John Milton, Paradise Lost
Tiger! Tiger! (alternative title of The Stars My Destination) Alfred Bester William Blake, "The Tyger"
"Tiger! Tiger!" Rudyard Kipling William Blake, "The Tyger"
A Time of Gifts Patrick Leigh Fermor Louis MacNeice, "Twelfth Night"
Time of our Darkness Stephen Gray Lawrence Binyon, "For the Fallen"
A Time to Kill John Grisham Bible: Ecclesiastes 3:3
Time To Murder And Create Lawrence Block T. S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
Tirra Lirra by the River Jessica Anderson Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott"
To a God Unknown John Steinbeck Rigveda Book X
To Sail Beyond the Sunset Robert A. Heinlein Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Ulysses"
To Say Nothing of the Dog Connie Willis Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
To Your Scattered Bodies Go Philip José Farmer John Donne, Holy Sonnets VIII
The Torment of Others Val McDermid T. S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages
Unweaving the Rainbow Richard Dawkins John Keats, "Lamia"
Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress
Vile Bodies Evelyn Waugh Bible: Philippians 3:21
The Violent Bear It Away Flannery O'Connor Bible: Matthew 11:12 (Douay translation)
Waiting for the Barbarians J. M. Coetzee Constantine P. Cavafy, "Waiting for the Barbarians"
Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life John Neal Horace Greeley, Recollections of a Busy Life[1]
The Waste Land T. S. Eliot Jessie Weston, From Ritual to Romance
The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler Bible: Joshua 23:14 (as rephrased in John Wesley's Explanatory Notes)
The Way Through the Woods Colin Dexter Rudyard Kipling, "The Way Through the Woods"
The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith Bible: Isaiah 61:6
What's Become of Waring Anthony Powell Robert Browning, "Waring"
When the Green Woods Laugh H. E. Bates William Blake, "Laughing Song"
Where Angels Fear to Tread E. M. Forster Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
The Widening Gyre Robert B. Parker W. B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"
Wildfire at Midnight Mary Stewart Cyril Tourneur, The Revenger's Tragedy
The Wind's Twelve Quarters Ursula K. Le Guin A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, Poem XXXII
The Wings of the Dove Henry James Bible: Psalm 55:6
The Wives of Bath Susan Swan Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
The World, the Flesh and the Devil Mary Elizabeth Braddon Book of Common Prayer
The Yellow Meads of Asphodel H. E. Bates Alexander Pope, "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day"

References[]

  1. ^ Richards, Irving T. (1933). The Life and Works of John Neal (PhD). Harvard University. p. 1250, n. 3. OCLC 7588473.
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