John Addington Symonds published 13 non-fiction books, 5 poetry collections and 6 other books, beginning with Renaissance in Italy (1875).
Updated September 2026
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Renaissance in Italy
John Addington Symonds's most-read book.
Non-fiction in order
Sketches in Italy and Greece (1874)
Renaissance in Italy (1875)
Shelley (1878)
Sketches and Studies in Italy (1879)
Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece (1879)
Shakspere's Predecessors in the English Drama (1884)
Ben Jonson (1886)
Sir Philip Sidney (1886)
An Introduction to the Study of Dante (1890)
Essays, Speculative and Suggestive (1890)
Our Life in the Swiss Highlands (1892)
Walt Whitman (1893)
Studies in Sexual Inversion (1928)
Poetry in order
Studies of the Greek Poets (1873)
Many Moods (1878)
The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti (1878)
New and Old (1880)
Wine, Women, and Song: Mediaeval Latin Students' Songs Now First Translated into English Verse (1884)
Other books in order
The Principles of Beauty (1857)
Animi Figura (1882)
The Life of Benvenuto Cellini (1888)
A Short History of the Renaissance in Italy (1893)
In the Key of Blue and Other Prose Essays (1893)
Last and First (1919)
Free to read
All free classicsSketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Complete
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7)
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 4 (of 7)
Renaissance in Italy, Volumes 6 and 7 (of 7)
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 5 (of 7)
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 2 (of 7)
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol 2 of 2)
The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 3 (of 7)
Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Second Series
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Problem in Greek Ethics
Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, First Series
New Italian sketches
About John Addington Symonds
John Addington Symonds Jr. was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although married with children, Symonds supported male love, which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships, referring to it as l'amour de l'impossible. He also wrote much poetry inspired by his same-sex affairs.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
John Addington Symonds FAQ
- How many books has John Addington Symonds written?
- John Addington Symonds published 13 non-fiction books, 5 poetry collections and 6 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read John Addington Symonds's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Renaissance in Italy.
- What is John Addington Symonds's last book?
- Walt Whitman (1893).
- What is John Addington Symonds's most famous book?
- Renaissance in Italy (1875) is John Addington Symonds's most widely read book.
- Can I read John Addington Symonds's books for free?
- Yes. 17 books by John Addington Symonds are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like John Addington Symonds
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.