Tenth Grade Reading List

Core

1. The Aeneid · Virgil · grades 9–12Virgil's epic of Rome's founding and of duty.
2. Julius Caesar · William Shakespeare · grades 9–10Shakespeare's play on Roman politics and persuasion.
3. The Republic · Plato · grades 10–12Plato's dialogue on justice and the soul, a cornerstone of philosophy.
4. Confessions · Augustine of Hippo · grades 10–12Augustine's prayerful account of his conversion.
5. The History of the Church · Eusebius · grades 10–12Eusebius's history of the church from the apostles to Constantine.
6. The Consolation of Philosophy · Boethius · grades 10–12Boethius on providence and happiness, written in prison.
7. The Rule of St Benedict · Benedict of Nursia · grades 9–12The rule that shaped Western monastic life.
8. Ecclesiastical History of the English People · Bede · grades 9–12Bede's history of the conversion of England.
9. Beowulf · Anonymous · grades 9–10The Old English heroic epic.
10. The Song of Roland · Anonymous · grades 9–10The French epic of loyalty and sacrifice.
11. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Anonymous · grades 9–10The Middle English romance of honor and truthfulness.

Stretch

For strong readers or extra time.

• The Canterbury Tales · Geoffrey Chaucer · grades 9–12Chaucer's pilgrims, best read in selections.
• The Imitation of Christ · Thomas à Kempis · grades 9–12Thomas à Kempis's short devotional chapters.
• The Faerie Queene, Book I · Edmund Spenser · grades 9–12Spenser's allegory of holiness, Book I.
• The History of the Peloponnesian War · Thucydides · grades 10–12Thucydides, read in excerpts.