Almost 8 million ebooks were downloaded from Project Gutenberg in April, over twice as many as a year ago. Two books that entered Top 20 are related to plagues.
project gutenberg is a leading source of free public domain ebooks (meaning you can get them legally), and it turns out that many people spent their time during lockdown downloading and reading more books than ever.
You are reading: Top free e books
The site provides useful statistics on e-book downloads, this month’s top 100 e-books, where you can see the most popular titles based on the number of times they have been downloaded or read online. We use the wayback machine to visit archived versions of this page to learn which books were the most popular during the worst month of the coronavirus pandemic.
Project Gutenberg’s free eBook catalog contains over 60,000 titles. As of April 2020, it has been downloaded 7,914,647 times. compare it to the average number of 3 million. for example, in April 2019, the total number of downloads was 3,249,936.
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pride and prejudice by jane austen is the most downloaded project gutenberg book of all time. In April alone, it was downloaded nearly 66,000 times. Books that are always on the list are Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, and a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories.
When you look at the list of the top 100 most downloaded e-books, you notice that two books ranked higher than normal. One is a collection of works by Edgar Allan Poe, including “Mask of the Red Death,” a short story that follows Prince Prospero’s attempts to avoid a dangerous plague by hiding in his abbey. the book ranked second in April, with more than 60 thousand downloads.
A Diary of the Plague Year is a non-fiction work by Daniel Defoe, which is a detailed account of the Great Plague of London in 1665. With 42,000 downloads, the book was the sixth most popular free e-book in the world. the gutenberg project in april 2020.
project gutenberg provides interesting charts visualizing the top free downloads. The graph presenting downloads by file type clearly shows that the most popular format is html, which is chosen by up to two-thirds of users.
In practice, choosing html means that the file is being opened in a browser. It’s worth noting that a surprisingly high number of users still read ebooks online without the help of dedicated apps and devices.
The second most popular format is epub (13.5% of downloads), followed by “other formats” (over 6%). the mobi format, dedicated to kindle applications and e-readers, is in fourth place, with 5.8% of downloads.
how to download free project gutenberg ebooks
You can download Project Gutenberg e-books to any e-reader or book-reading app. just remember a simple rule regarding which file format to select:
- download the “mobi” format – for e-readers and kindle apps (such as kindle for ipad and iphone or kindle for android tablets and smartphones).
- download the “epub” format, for any other devices and applications, such as the apple books application for ipad & iphone, kobo e-readers and apps, nook, google play books and all e-readers.
You can quickly access the content of each book by clicking on the “html” option. in fact, the html viewer is a way to read free project gutenberg books online, on a computer, tablet, and even a smartphone (since the site is optimized for mobile devices).
You don’t need to download any apps or buy a dedicated device to start reading a great literary classic whenever you have a few free minutes.
the most popular free e-books
The 20 most downloaded free e-books during the coronavirus pandemic
number of downloads between April 1 and 30, 2020, according to the archived page of the gutenberg project.
1. Pride and Prejudice
jane austen
It’s worth rereading before moving on to Seth Grahame-Smith’s mix of pride, prejudice, and zombies. The world’s beloved novel of manners is set in rural England in the early 19th century and follows the relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and her love interest, Mr. fitzwilliam darcy.
When Darcy overcomes his pride and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice, they surrender to their love for each other.
number of downloads: 65,755
⇢ download
2. the works of edgar allan poe, the raven edition
edgar allan poe
This 5-volume edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe contains famous tales, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, as well as the narrative poem The Raven.
Also included is Poe’s only novel, the Narrative by Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.
number of downloads: 60,534
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3. alice adventures in wonderland
lewis carroll
The novel is one of the most creative works of fiction in English, loved by children and adults alike. tells the story of a girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures.
The characters and images of Alice in Wonderland have been highly influential around the world, inspiring countless works of pop culture.
number of downloads: 49,850
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4. frankenstein
mary shelley
Published in 1818, this famous classic novel follows a young scientist who creates a frighteningly intelligent creature. the book combines elements of the gothic novel and the romantic movement, and is considered one of the first true science fiction stories.
many people refer the name “frankenstein” to the monster itself. are you among them?
number of downloads: 48,392
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5. the importance of being serious
oscar wilde
Wilde’s most popular play was first performed on Valentine’s Day 1895 at St. james theater in london.
This popular comedy of manners pokes fun at Victorian traditions and social mores, the nature of marriage, and the pursuit of love within the constraints of morality.
number of downloads: 42,487
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6. a journal of the plague year
daniel defoe
See Also: 11 Best Books on Social Justice | The Manual
Initially presented as a work of non-fiction, the book is an account of the experiences of a man in the year 1665, during the great plague of London, the last plague epidemic in that city.
defoe goes to great lengths for a verisimilitude effect, identifying specific neighborhoods, streets, and even houses affected by the bubonic plague.
number of downloads: 42,282
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7. et dukkehjem (a doll’s house)
henrik ibsen
A Doll’s House is an English translation of Ibsen’s popular three-act play which takes place in a Norwegian town in the 1870s.
The play is about the fate of a married woman, Nora Helmer, who lacked reasonable opportunities to fulfill herself in a male-dominated world and ultimately leaves her family at the end of the play.
number of downloads: 37,033
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8. the yellow wallpaper
charlotte perkins gilman
This short story was first published in 1892 and is considered an important early work of feminist literature, dealing with attitudes towards women’s mental and physical health at the time.
The story is a collection of journal entries written by a young upper-middle-class woman, probably named Jane, whose husband has rented an old mansion for the summer. Giving up other rooms in the house, the couple moves into the upstairs nursery.
number of downloads: 33,767
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9. the call of the wild
jack london
The classic adventure novel is set in Yukon, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. The central character, a dog named Buck, is stolen from his home and sold as a sled dog.
the male becomes increasingly feral in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs.
number of downloads: 33,691
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10. a modest proposal
jonathan quick
Swift’s satirical essay, published anonymously in 1729, suggests that the impoverished Irish could alleviate their economic problems by selling their children as food to wealthy ladies and gentlemen.
In English script, the phrase “a modest proposal” is conventionally an allusion to this style of serious satire.
number of downloads: 33,128
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11. a tale of two cities
charles dickens
First published in 1859, Dickens’ famous historical novel (and one of the best-selling novels of all time) is set in Paris and London before and during the French Revolution and Reign of Terror at the turn of the century. xviii. .
We follow doctor manette during his 18-year imprisonment in the bastille and his release to live in london with his daughter lucie.
number of downloads: 31,839
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12. ion
plato
in a 6,500-word dialogue (one of the shortest written by plato), the titular ion discusses with socrates whether the rhapsode, a performer of poetry, performs his performance because of his skill and knowledge or by virtue of possession divine. .
number of downloads: 31,817
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13. the strange Case of the doctor. jekyll and mr. skin
robert louis stevenson
a gothic novel set in london at the end of the eighteenth century. The story follows a lawyer, Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. henry jekyll, and evil edward hyde.
The novel is a powerful and influential work on the interplay of good and evil. since publication in 1886, the phrase “jekyll and hyde” refers to people with an unpredictable dual nature.
number of downloads: 30,838
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14. treasure island
robert louis stevenson
Treasure Island, one of the most frequently dramatized novels, was first published in 1883 and is noted for its atmosphere, characters, and action.
The novel’s influence on popular perceptions of pirates is enormous, with elements such as treasure maps, tropical islands, and one-legged sailors carrying parrots on their shoulders.
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number of downloads: 29,102
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15. the adventures of sherlock holmes
arthur conan doyle
from the gutenberg project you can download an original collection of short stories about the world’s most famous detective.
First published in 1892, the book includes such stories as “A Scandal in Bohemia”, “A Case of Identity”, “The Blue Anthrax Adventure”, and “The Five Orange Pips”. All the stories had previously been published in twelve monthly issues of the Strand magazine, and are narrated in the first person from the point of view of Dr. watson.
number of downloads: 27,566
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16. anthem
ayn rand
A dystopian fiction novel by Russian-American writer Ayn Rand takes place in the future when humanity has entered another dark age.
Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. A young man known as Equality 7-2521 goes on a rampage while conducting secret scientific research.
number of downloads: 27,231
⇢ download
17. moby-dick
herman melville
A classic novel by Herman Melville tells the story of Ahab, captain of the Pequod whaling ship,’s obsessive quest to exact revenge on the giant white sperm whale that on the ship’s previous voyage bit off Ahab’s leg at the knee.
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d. h. Lawrence called Moby-Dick “one of the weirdest and most wonderful books in the world” and “the best book about the sea ever written.”
number of downloads: 26,566
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18. the adventures of huckleberry finn
check two
This highly popular novel by Mark Twain is a direct sequel to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. the book begins at st. Petersburg, the fictional city in Missouri, where Huck and Tom have earned a considerable sum of money as a result of their previous adventures.
The book is notable for its colorful depiction of people and places along the Mississippi River. set in a pre-war southern society, it is a satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
number of downloads: 26,533
⇢ download
19. the adventures of tom sawyer
check two
The first book in a series of stories about Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn was published in 1876 and is considered a masterpiece of American literature.
This lively childhood adventure story, set in st. petersburg, missouri, talks about racism, childhood, and the importance of loyalty and courage, no matter the cost.
number of downloads: 26,494
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20. little women
louisa mayalcott
Loosely based on the lives of Louisa May Alcott and her sisters, the novel follows four sisters and their mother who live in a poverty-stricken Massachusetts neighborhood. the author details her transition from childhood to adulthood.
In Little Women, Alcott created a new literary format, combining romantic children’s fiction with elements of sentimental novels.
number of downloads: 25,447
⇢ download
all book covers: wikimedia commons.
Top 50 Most Downloaded eBooks: April 2020
number of downloads between April 1 and 30, 2020.
- pride and prejudice by jane austen (65755)
- the works of edgar allan poe, the raven edition of edgar allan poe (60534)
- the adventures of alice in wonderland by lewis carroll (49850)
- frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (48392)
- The Importance of Being Serious: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde (42487)
- A Plague Year Diary by daniel defoe (42282)
- et dukkehjem. english by henrik ibsen (37033)
- charlotte perkins gilman’s yellow wallpaper (33767)
- jack london’s call of the wild (33691)
- jonathan swift’s modest proposal (33128)
- charles dickens’s tale of two cities (31839)
- platon’s ion (31817)
- the strange case of dr jekyll and mr. hyde by robert louis stevenson (30838)
- the treasure island of robert louis stevenson (29102)
- the adventures of sherlock holmes by arthur conan doyle (27566)
- ayn rand anthem (27231)
- moby dick; or, the whale by herman melville (26556)
- the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain (26533)
- the adventures of tom sawyer by mark twain (26494)
- little women by louisa may alcott (25447)
- metamorphosis by franz kafka (23709)
- the portrait of dorian gray by oscar wilde (21444)
- walden, and on the duty of civil disobedience by henry david thoreau (20822)
- grimm’s fairy tales by jacob grimm and wilhelm grimm (20086)
- bram’s dracula stoker (20051)
- great expectations by charles dickens (19723)
- emma by jane austen (19381)
- the hound of the baskervilles by arthur conan doyle ( 18429)
- peter pan by j. meter. barrie (18208)
- graf leo tolstoy’s war and peace (18050)
- jane eyre: an autobiography of charlotte brontë (18018)
- a prose carol ; being a christmas ghost story by charles dickens (17855)
- heart of darkness by joseph conrad (17600)
- giovanni boccaccio’s decameron by giovanni boccaccio (16724)
- the secret garden by frances hodgson burnett (16687)
- the awakening and a selection of short stories by kate chopin (16536)
- ulysses by james joyce (16310) </li
- the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne (16149)
- anne of green gables de l. meter. montgomery (15428)
- the prince. english by niccolò machiavelli (15090)
- the wonderful wizard of oz by l. frank baum (14947)
- beowulf: an anglo-saxon epic poem (14526)
- james joyce dubliners (14340)
- memoirs, correspondence and miscellaneous, of the thomas jefferson jefferson papers (14199)
- edgar allan poe’s mask of the red death (14163)
- the count of monte cristo, illustrated by alexandre dumas (14016)
- frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (13853)
- Index to the Gutenberg Project Works on Miscellaneous Black History (13825)
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (13167) </li
- bernard shaw’s pygmalion (12996)
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