Books like Hamlet
Looking for books like Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Tragedy · grades 11–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of revenge, madness, and mortality. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.
These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 11–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Hamlet
King LearWilliam Shakespeare
Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad · 1070L
Long Way DownJason Reynolds · 720L
MacbethWilliam Shakespeare- Much Ado About NothingW.S.Much Ado About NothingWilliam Shakespeare
Our TownThornton Wilder
The Fault in Our StarsJohn Green · 850L
The Things They CarriedTim O'Brien · 880L
A Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam Shakespeare
OthelloWilliam Shakespeare
Why each is a match
- King Leargrades 11–12
- Shares themes of madness and overlapping grades (11–12).
- Heart of Darkness1070L
- Shares themes of madness and overlapping grades (11–12).
- Long Way Down720L
- Shares themes of revenge and overlapping grades (7–12).
- Macbethgrades 9–12
- Same genre (Tragedy) and overlapping grades (9–12).
- Much Ado About Nothinggrades 9–12
- Shares themes of deception and overlapping grades (9–12).
- Our Towngrades 9–12
- Shares themes of mortality and overlapping grades (9–12).
- The Fault in Our Stars850L
- Shares themes of mortality and overlapping grades (9–12).
- The Things They Carried880L
- Shares themes of mortality and overlapping grades (11–12).
- A Midsummer Night's Dreamgrades 8–12
- Overlapping grades (8–12) and the same era (1600s).
- Othellogrades 10–12
- Overlapping grades (10–12) and the same era (1600s).