Looking for some new reading material for your daily commute or bedtime read? How about a round-up of fiction that you can read for free on your Kindle? We've selected 11 of the best works of fiction that you can enjoy gratis, from classics of English literature to contemporary chick lit and crime fiction. Whether you prefer to read books before you watch the film versions [1] or the other way round, you'll find tomes that have been adapted for the big and small screen, as well as major titles that you've had on your "must-read" list for years. Browse our picks here, and decide which of these you'll add to your 2018 reading challenge [2].
Pride and Prejudice
If you've seen the film and TV adaptations of Pride and Prejudice [3] by Jane Austen then you'll know all about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy and their fascinating relationship. Published more than 200 years ago in 1813, this witty novel is just as relevant to the pride and prejudice of the 21st Century.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman brought the detective to a whole new audience in the BBC's adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's great hero. Read the tales of his original cases in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [4].
Meet Clara Andrews
If contemporary chick lit is more up your street, then Lacey London's Meet Clara Andrews [5] will introduce you to a cocktail-loving heroine who has an ideal life working in the fashion industry, until she starts dating two men and discovers just how hard it is to play the field.
The Great Gatsby
Revel in 1920s Jazz Age America with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby [6]. The eponymous character's love for Daisy Buchanan leads to tragic events in this commentary on the American Dream. Even if you've seen the Leonardo DiCaprio [7] film version, the striking language of this classic makes it worth reading.
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens has, of course, written dozens of classics, many of which are available for free on the Kindle. Great Expectations [8] is one of his most interesting and accessible, with young orphan Pip's unrequited love for snooty Estella, and one of the most iconic figures in Dickens' works, the living cobweb Miss Havisham.
Wuthering Heights
Kate Bush fans who've sung "Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy, I've come home" will learn the full tale behind Catherine and Heathcliff's stormy love story set on the equally wild Yorkshire moors in Emily Brontë's classic tome Wuthering Heights [9] from 1847.
The Early Classics of Agatha Christie
Go old school crime fiction with The Early Classics of Agatha Christie [10]. The set of two includes The Secret Adversary and The Mysterious Affairs at Styles, which introduces her legendary character Hercule Poirot.
Brick
Brick [11] is the first in Conrad Jones' DI Braddock Books series, and follows the detectives of Liverpool's Major Investigation Team as they attempt to solve the unprovoked murder of a teenager as members of an organised crime family begin to topple.
William Shakespeare: The Complete Collection
While these are plays not prose, William Shakespeare: The Complete Collection [12] does sit on the fiction side of the fiction/nonfiction divide. Including the iconic playwright's tragedies, comedies, romances, histories, and also his poetic works, this collection will keep you entranced for hours. Get stuck in at the deep end with Hamlet or Romeo & Juliet.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A classic work of American fiction, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [13] shows you the deep South before the American Civil War through the eyes of the eponymous first person narrator.
Valentine's Day at the Café at the End of the Pier
Helen Rolfe's Valentine's Day at the Café at the End of the Pier [14] is a short read that you can gobble up during your lunch break, as an introduction to the series about Jo and the characters who frequent the café in Salthaven-on-Sea her grandparents ask her to help run.