Aaliyah’s family legal battle has taken an expensive new turn, with her cousin Jomo Hankerson reportedly putting a $20 million price tag on ending his dispute with his father, Barry Hankerson. The staggering figure emerged as the two continue fighting over money tied to music assets involving the late singer and several other major artists.

Jomo reportedly informed his father’s legal team that he would settle his claims for $20 million. If Barry believes that amount is excessive, Jomo’s side wants him to hand over financial records related to the music at the center of their dispute.

The eight-figure demand comes after The Blast previously reported on the bitter father-son battle and Barry’s explosive allegations concerning the circumstances surrounding Aaliyah’s final trip.

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This amount is significantly higher than the damages that were discussed when the lawsuit first began.

Jomo sued his father and Blackground Records at the beginning of this year, by alleging that Barry owes him money from a previous settlement that involved valuable music rights. In response, Barry called out his son’s claims and proceeded to countersue.

However, reports confirm that the latest correspondence between both parties revealed the amount Jomo believes will help resolve their brawl once and for all.

The outlet reported that Jomo’s representatives communicated the $20 million settlement position to Barry’s side as the dispute over how much money is actually owed continues.

Presently, no agreement has taken place, and it is unclear if Barry will be willing to comply with his son’s demands.

Jomo Hankerson Demands Financial Records If His Father Rejects The Proposed Amount

Jomo is reportedly offering his father another option if he believes $20 million is too much. According to the legal correspondence obtained by TMZ, he wants Barry to turn over financial documents connected to the music assets involved in the lawsuit if he disputes the size of the settlement demand.

That request goes directly to one of the major issues behind Jomo’s case.

As The Blast previously reported, Jomo claims his father breached an earlier settlement concerning recording masters and music publishing rights. He also alleges that the agreement entitled him to 12 percent of proceeds generated from the relevant music assets.

Furthermore, he accused Barry of using Blackground Records to conceal money and create unrelated expenses that allegedly reduced the amount he received.

The disagreement over the finances means access to accounting records could become particularly important as Jomo attempts to establish how much money was generated and what portion, if any, he is entitled to receive.

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For now, his $20 million settlement proposal suggests the divide between father and son remains substantial.

The Dispute Involves Music From Aaliyah And Several Major Artists

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In earlier reports, Jomo’s claims were not only concerning recording masters and publishing rights for Aliyah, but also other artists like DMX, Timbaland, and Toni Braxton. This collection could explain the increase in the financial stakes.

Additionally, Jomo claimed that he owned a percentage of the proceeds from these assets, which was never given to him.

In his suit, he initially asked for more than $1.2 million in damages. Now, his revised settlement amount only shows how much value he believes his stake in the music assets holds.

Although Barry has continued to dispute these allegations against him, Jomo is not relenting in his claims. The dispute between the family members has now added another complicated chapter to Aliyah’s music catalog. According to reports, the majority of her music was not available on major streaming services for many years.

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Barry Hankerson Has Denied His Son’s Claims And Fired Back

Barry has challenged both his son’s allegations and the validity of the settlement agreement Jomo is relying on. As The Blast previously reported, Barry claims the settlement is invalid s. because it was allegedly executed under fraudulent circumstances. He has also accused his son of threatening to release previously unheard Aaliyah music if his financial demands were not met.

Still, Jomo denies wrongdoing. Things became even more personal with the family feud after Barry made a separate allegation concerning Aaliyah’s final trip back in 2001.

According to Barry, his son had been responsible for coordinating travel connected to the late singer’s music video shoot. He alleged that Jomo failed to perform that responsibility, a claim that Jomo has since denied.

Aaliyah’s Music Has Been At The Center Of Family Tension Before

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This current lawsuit comes after years of public discussion about the control and availability of Aaliyah’s music. For years, a large portion of the beloved singer’s catalog was unavailable on major streaming services. That changed back in 2021 when Blackground Records began digitally releasing several of her major projects.

At the time, Barry publicly acknowledged several individuals who were integral to Aaliyah’s career and legacy. Interestingly, among those saluted was Jomo, whom he thanked for his contribution to the project.

Years later, father and son are now sitting on opposite sides of a lawsuit involving music assets connected to Aaliyah and other major performers. As their dispute continues, Jomo’s $20 million proposal apparently represents the price he is willing to accept to settle his claims.

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Brandi Glanville and LeAnn Rimes have a complicated history, having been brought together by Eddie Cibrian, Glanville’s ex-husband and Rimes’ longtime partner. The singer’s affair with Cibrian contributed to the end of Glanville and Cibrian’s marriage, but the two women have since developed a relationship of their own. Now, Glanville is getting candid about how she really feels about Rimes.

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“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Brandi Glanville is offering a glimpse of her dynamic with LeAnn Rimes, her ex-husband’s wife.

In an episode of her podcast, “Unfiltered,” Glanville discussed the news that Farrah Aldjufrie is expecting her first child with partner Zach Goldsmith, and how the latter’s ex reacted positively to the information.

Glanville then said that it’s definitely possible to “develop a friendship” with an ex’s partner. “I like LeAnn more than I like Eddie,” she confessed, adding that Eddie “annoys the f-ck” out of her, and she’s still reminded of the “sh-t” he did.

“She annoys me too, don’t get me wrong, but we actually like each other. I feel like we both like each other more than we like Eddie,” Glanville continued, adding that it took a decade to reach a cordial relationship.

LeAnn Rimes And Eddie Cibrian’s Affair Was Highly Publicized

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In 2009, eight years into her marriage with Cibrian, Glanville suspected that her husband had been having an affair. Tabloids confirmed her suspicions when Cibrian was photographed with Rimes at a restaurant and motel. The two starred in the TV movie “Northern Lights,” and the singer was also married to Dean Sheremet at that time.

Glanville recalled how devastated she was in an op-ed for The Sun. She remembered visiting Cibrian on the set of his movie and had an inkling there was attraction between the co-stars. After seeing photos of the two in publications, she broke down.

“There was video footage of them kissing over the table. It was devastating. I went straight home, passed out in my closet, cried and cried. He tried to convince me it wasn’t real but I knew it was over,” she wrote.

Brandi Glanville Threatened The Singer At One Point

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Glanville and Cibrian agreed to counselling after the cheating scandal, and the latter said he was done with the affair. Later, however, she found out that her husband was still seeing Rimes behind her back while they were attempting to fix their marriage.

“I couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing something about them. LeAnn had taken over my life and I didn’t have a voice anymore,” Glanville said. At one point, she saw her son sitting on the singer’s lap at a soccer game, which sent her into a rage. She approached her, grabbed her son, and said, “I will f-cking murder you.”

The Podcaster Referred To LeAnn Rimes As Her ‘Good Friend’

Glanville dealt with a mystery illness for a few years that affected her face. Not knowing the cause of the problem also took a toll on her mental health. As The Blast previously reported, she finally got a diagnosis and provided a positive update in 2025.

The year before, Glanville discussed her experience on her podcast and shared that Rimes supported her through her ordeal, even calling her a “really good friend.”

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“LeAnn and I always bonded over skincare. It’s funny because she always writes on my present, ‘love Lea,’ not ‘Lea and Eddie.’ She clearly bought it for me, it’s from her,” she said, talking about the gift she got when Cibrian and Rimes visited her at the hospital.

Brandi Glanville Is Co-Parenting With Her Ex And The Singer

Glanville and Rimes have made great strides in their relationship despite their turbulent past. Cibrian and the singer tied the knot in 2011 but do not have kids of their own. However, Rimes is involved in co-parenting Glanville’s children, Jake and Mason, with Cibrian.

In 2019, Glanville opened up about her “awkward family” and her dynamic with her ex and his wife. “We have to be a unit, three of us… That’s all done, but we can all still get along and be friends, and so we are,” she said.

The controversy surrounding John Galliano’s planned involvement in the 2027 Met Gala has quickly evolved into a larger conversation about Anna Wintour’s influence, judgment, and standing within the fashion industry. 

The situation, which began as excitement over a major exhibition announcement turned into a fierce debate that ultimately ended with Galliano stepping away from the event altogether. 

Now, critics are questioning whether one of fashion’s most powerful figures misread the public mood at a moment when scrutiny of institutions and cultural leaders remains intense.

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The criticism surrounding Anna Wintour did not begin when the 2027 Met Gala theme was announced. Rather, the controversy has prompted renewed attention on her years-long support of Galliano following the designer’s spectacular fall from grace in 2011 after making antisemitic and racist remarks in a Paris café.

Those within the fashion industry have long viewed Wintour as one of Galliano’s most powerful allies. Her support continued through his rehabilitation and eventual return to the industry, helping keep him connected to influential circles while others remained reluctant to embrace him.

That history has now become central to the debate. According to one industry insider, the fashion icon’s determination to champion Galliano ultimately exposed them both to renewed criticism.

“Anna singlehandedly thought she could willfully get [Galliano] back in [fashion]. She’s been at it a long time, and she really misjudged it, and she made him vulnerable while doing that,” the source told Page Six.

Adding fuel to the speculation was a February dinner in New York attended by Wintour, Galliano, and Vogue veteran Grace Coddington. 

At the time, one fashion source reportedly left the encounter with a lingering suspicion, noting, “Something is up. Anna is up to something.” 

Months later, industry observers connected that meeting to the eventual unveiling of “John Galliano: Horizons” as the 2027 Met Gala theme.

Wintour’s Critics Say The Met Gala Controversy Revealed A Bigger Problem

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While Galliano’s name became the immediate focus of the backlash, many insiders viewed the reaction as a referendum on Anna Wintour’s leadership and cultural judgment. 

Critics argued that the issue was not simply the theme itself but the belief that influential figures underestimated how strongly people would respond.

One frustrated source accused Wintour of badly misreading the moment, saying, “She’s not reading the f–king room … She really overplayed her hand. They really need to take a beat, take a year off, because people don’t have time for this s–t right now.”

The criticism intensified after Jewish leaders and museum donors reportedly objected to the exhibition announcement. As opposition mounted, some insiders claimed the controversy exposed a growing disconnect between elite fashion institutions and the audiences they seek to engage.

Not everyone agreed with placing the blame on Wintour, however. A source close to the Vogue editor emphasized that the Met Gala theme was approved through a much broader process.

“People seem to think she’s the sole person [making the decision about Met theme],” the insider shared, adding, “It’s a huge amount of people on the Met board that signed off on this. She’s a piece of that.”

The source further stressed that discussions surrounding a Galliano exhibition had been ongoing for years, adding, “It wasn’t her decision alone, by any stretch of the imagination.”

Anna Wintour Faces New Questions After John Galliano Steps Aside

By the time Galliano announced he was withdrawing from the gala, the conversation had shifted far beyond the event itself. His decision became the clearest sign yet that the controversy was not fading as some may have expected.

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In his statement, Galliano acknowledged the lasting impact of his past actions, revealing per the BBC, “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry.”

He continued, “I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”

Rather than ending the debate, Galliano’s withdrawal intensified scrutiny of Wintour’s role in the situation. According to a Condé Nast insider, she failed to anticipate how forcefully critics would push back.

The source claimed Wintour “doesn’t understand what people are talking about and thought she could shoulder through this and it would blow over.”

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That assessment culminated in perhaps the most damaging criticism of all, with the insider concluding that “Anna’s lost her touch on the zeitgeist.” 

More From The Blast

Wintour Meets With Zohran Mamdani As Fashion Industry Focus Shifts 

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Amid the headlines centered on Galliano’s withdrawal and the criticism directed at Anna Wintour, the fashion executive found herself involved in a very different conversation: the future of New York’s fashion industry itself. 

Rather than discussing gala themes or designer controversies, Wintour met with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in late July to talk about how they could work together to support one of the city’s most important economic and cultural sectors. 

According to Mamdani’s press secretary, the pair discussed their shared commitment to New York and explored ways to strengthen the city’s fashion community. 

“The mayor and Ms. Wintour had a good meeting where they talked about their shared love for New York City and ways they can work together to support New York City’s fashion industry,” they said per The Cut.

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Anna Wintour Returns To The US Open Spotlight

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Following her meeting with Mayor Mamdani, Wintour returned to a more familiar setting the following month, emerging as a high-profile attendee at the 2026 US Open. 

Her appearance drew attention not only because of her status in the fashion world but because she took on a visible role during festivities surrounding tennis legend Roger Federer.

Wintour participated in the ceremonial coin toss at a special exhibition honoring Federer, placing her at the center of one of the tournament’s most talked-about off-court moments. 

During the event, she discussed the growing relationship between fashion and tennis, describing the connection as “a wonderful sort of marriage.” 

She also used the occasion to talk about the next generation of athlete-fashion influencers, singling out Filipino tennis star Alex Eala. 

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Wintour praised the young player’s interest in fashion and suggested that athletes are increasingly shaping style conversations beyond their respective sports.

Disney+ has become one of the largest streaming platforms of all time, thanks to the fact that they have the products and franchises of the likes of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. However, despite this, they don’t seem to have a lot lined up for their fall schedule this year. There are only four Disney+ originals coming out this fall, which is surprising, given the fact that autumn is traditionally the time of the year in which network television shows begin their new seasons.

However, even though there’s not much coming, that doesn’t mean that the projects that actually are aren’t worth getting excited about. Marvel Studios has an all-new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of Disney Animation’s biggest properties of all time is getting a short film, too. There’s a lot of love to be had for the many franchises and fictional worlds that the company has control over, and any chance to revisit the likes of the Star Wars franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and any other universe they have is always a welcome treat for most. Disney+’s content is usually decent (depending on the creatives working behind whatever project someone is watching), so fans can rest easy knowing that the majority of these projects will be at the very least good or, hopefully, great!

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‘LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian’ (September 2nd)

Disney loves teaming up with LEGO, doing so quite frequently with almost all of their biggest franchises, and their LEGO Star Wars series is returning to Disney+ on September 2nd with LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian. This new animated television special is a small celebration of The Mandalorian, recapping the events of the three seasons in LEGO form, meaning a far more cartoony and comedic take than the original, which is what the brick-based company is most well-known for across almost all media. Having explored franchises like Marvel, DC Comics, Indiana Jones, and, of course, Star Wars, they have a plethora of experience taking pre-established intellectual properties and retelling them in ways that are new and refreshing, without losing the main heart behind the original stories, thanks to most of their early video games retelling the stories from the movies they were based on — the LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones series, most notably. Whether actors like Pedro Pascal will return from the original series is still up in the air, but they typically do not, so no one would be surprised if they get someone else to voice the titular Mandalorian this go around.

It’s a tad disappointing that this isn’t going to be a new story for the iconic duo. Fans of LEGO projects, especially those who love the highly popular LEGO Star Wars video games from the past, already know, though, that, at the very least, this is going to deliver an adventure that — while already having been told — will be done in an all-new way that will be extremely entertaining, especially for those who have seen it already. It’s very hard to deny the opinion that the vast majority of audiences all over the world adore pretty much anything Star Wars-related at this point, and there will likely be a lot of love for LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian when it releases on September 2nd.

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‘VisionQuest’ (October 14th)

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There’s no denying that the MCU is pretty much always going to be successful, and people will turn the television on to watch their silver screen adventures. This is especially true when it comes to the upcoming miniseries, VisionQuest, which is acting as a trilogy-capper to what the studio is considering the “WandaVision trilogy” that’s been so popular since the beginning of Disney+’s reign over streaming. Starting with the ever-popular WandaVision, then continuing with Agatha All Along, it only makes sense that people are going to come out for the likes of VisionQuest. How it will connect to the other two shows, aside from featuring the second half of the Maximoff kids, Tommy Maximoff (Ruaridh Mollica), is still unknown, though.

What VisionQuest really has going for it is the return of the fan-favorite Avengers: Age of Ultron villain, Ultron (James Spader). Say what one wants about The Avengers sequel, but most Marvel fans agree that Ultron was a super cool villain, especially with Spader as the performer — perfect casting. The only thing that is truly holding VisionQuest back, however, is its centering on the new Vision (Paul Bettany) himself, with people not being super interested in him post-WandaVision. Audiences miss the Vision they know and love and are, for the most part, unsure about what to think of this new one. That doesn’t make it uninteresting to people, but it is the one thing holding this back from being extremely exciting for viewers. However, there’s no question that people will be pulling up to Disney+’s home page for VisionQuest regardless.

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Untitled Frozen Short Film (October TBD)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

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At some point in October, fans of the Frozen franchise will be treated to a new short film that leads directly into the upcoming release of Frozen III in theaters on November 24th. There have been a few Frozen short films over the years since the first was released in 2013. Typically, most of these shorts are like this upcoming one, providing a story that is either a cute spin-off to fill the gap between movies or to lead into whatever the next one may be — there’s even one that depicts the adorable Olaf’s (Josh Gad) origin story after he was created by Elsa (Idina Menzel), leading up until he met Anna (Kristen Bell) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) in the first entry in the series.

All of this in mind, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this upcoming Frozen short film, especially since it is going to be a prequel of sorts to Frozen III, which is already extremely anticipated. Regardless of whether it’ll be shorter and more comedy-based like Frozen Fever or something a bit longer and more plot-driven, there’s zero doubt in anyone’s mind that this is going to be a project that fans of the franchise are going to have fun with. Safe to say that Frozen fans are absolutely eating good this year, and that’s something worth celebrating. Frozen III is going to be a smash hit, so here’s hoping that this new short film will be a big success for the franchise, too. Also, one can only hope that Olaf is going to be a big presence, given the fact that he is traditionally the most utilized character in previous short films in this series.

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‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 3 (November 20th)

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The book series of the same name, written by the ever-talented Rick Riordan, is already a gigantic success — even being considered the Harry Potter series’ biggest rival — as it is. Almost everyone can agree, though, that, in the past, the franchise has had an extremely difficult time in live-action media, thanks to the general reception of the two films that were released in 2010 and 2013. While nowadays a lot of diehard fans have plenty of nostalgia for them, they’re commonly agreed upon as movies that are really rough around the edges and executed poorly all-around, both as adaptations and as films in general. Fans of the series got quite excited in 2023, though, when they finally got a book-accurate Disney+ series in the form of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1, which adapts the entire first book — the best way to go about making a book-to-live-action adaptation, honestly.

With said format being present, it’s easy to understand that the third season entry of the series is going to be adapting the abundantly beloved third book in the original series, The Titan’s Curse. This is the novel where the story takes a dramatic turn, and things truly begin to kick into gear for the main characters, much like how Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was for the Harry Potter franchise. This means the same is going to be true for the show, because of how genuinely book-accurate it is. Things are likely going to explode for Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) this season, and that means there’s abundant reason for fans to get excited. Starting on November 20th, Percy’s life is going to change in ways that non-book fans who don’t know what happens are not ready for.

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Percy Jackson & the Olympians

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Release Date

December 19, 2023

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Network

Disney+

Showrunner

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Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz

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  Walker Scobell

  Percy Jackson

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  Leah Sava Jeffries

  Annabeth Chase

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Looking for movies that are more than 100 years old feels a lot harder to do than finding books that have stood the test of time for more than a century. Books go back further, because with movies, you’ve got some stuff from the 1910s and the 1920s, if you’re talking feature-length films (including the likes of Intolerance and Nosferatu), but before then, all you have are short films. And not that many, honestly.

So, singling out a handful of great books that have existed for more than a century that feel especially great is kind of challenging, but that’s what the following is intended to do. These are the best books that are over 100 years old, with some only recently turning 100 (like, in 2025), while a couple of others are even older old-timers, having been around for multiple centuries.

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‘The Trial’ (1925)

Image via Knopf

Starting out with something that’s only a little over a century old, at the time of writing, The Trial was published in 1925, but written about a decade earlier. It was a posthumous publication for Franz Kafka, who died regrettably young, though what he did write has proven incredibly influential, with him being one of those creative people whose name has been reworked into an adjective: “Kafkaesque.”

The Trial is the best way to understand what Kafka was all about, or experience the best (and most Kafkaesque) thing he wrote. The novel’s about a guy on trial for a crime, and they don’t tell him what the crime is, so he slowly goes mad. And the world around him also seems like it’s gone mad, and pretty much dystopian, even if it’s not dystopian in like a science fiction way. It’s psychologically intense and timeless… that’s the important thing here.

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‘Frankenstein’ (1818)

Image via Oxford University Press USA

There’s been a whole lot done with the science fiction genre since Frankenstein, yet this one did lay quite a bit of groundwork, and feels especially impactful and influential if you’re looking at sci-fi/horror books. It’s got one of those plots everyone knows, because it’s about a scientist who wants to bring the dead back to life, and he does so by creating a creature out of different dead body parts.

That’s the basic story that gets followed in various adaptations and re-imaginings, but the original text is something everyone should give time to at least once. Frankenstein (1818) goes to some truly thought-provoking and subtly uneasy places, with the novel being more nuanced than any adaptation. Mary Shelley’s original work here just has a real lingering quality that’s hard to describe, but then even harder to outright deny/ignore.

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‘Crime and Punishment’ (1866)

Image via Penguin

Was the 1860s the greatest decade for literature? Like, Crime and Punishment came out in this decade, and so too did two other immense books that’ll be mentioned a little later. Fyodor Dostoevsky was at his height here, and then The Idiot also came out in the final years of the 1860s. But it’s Crime and Punishment that should be focused on here, just because of how unbelievably effective it is as a proto-psychological thriller of sorts.

It’s also a crime novel, and then much of it digs deep enough that it works as a piece of philosophical and existential fiction, too. You’ve got a lot of things going all at once, even if the plot – about a crime or two, and maybe some punishments – technically isn’t too complex. All the things Dostoevsky does with stuff that might seem simple at first? That’s where Crime and Punishment really gets elevated to the classic status it’s been able to proudly wear for decades upon decades at this point.

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‘The Great Gatsby’ (1925)

Image via Scribner

Like The Trial, The Great Gatsby hasn’t been 100 for very long, but it’s got one disadvantage when it comes to aging: it is distinctly about the decade during which it was published. The Great Gatsby is as 1920s as the Brian De Palma version of Scarface is 1980s. This is not a bad thing, though, in either case. It’s more just that there is a timelessness to something like The Trial because of how indistinct so much of it and its world prove to be.

As for The Great Gatsby, it wants to reflect a time and place, and then it wants to explore a few people caught up in that time and place. It does so expertly, obviously, and this might be another classic people call overrated or a bit whatever (some enthusiasm is lacking, at times, for books you might’ve been made to read at school), yet haters will hate. You don’t have to listen to them. Just focus on that blinking green light or something; the one on the water, and it seems like miles away. What’s the worst that could happen?

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‘Dracula’ (1897)

Image via Penguin Classics

Dracula is the vampire book. There are many other vampire books, but Dracula is just the one, you know? Like, if there had to be one, in a situation where there’s only room for one piece of evidence that vampires were a thing, and there was a rocket being shot into space to preserve humanity and its culture and it’s Noah’s Ark but for pieces of entertainment, there’s Dracula. There’s a spot for Dracula. Dracula has a spot.

Sorry, Let the Right One In, Salem’s Lot, Interview with the Vampire, and Twilight. This whole tangent is being mixed with Highlander now (Highlander’s Ark? Noah’s Highlander?) and there can be only one. Also, come on… what else can be said about Dracula? It’s genre-defining, it still feels fairly creepy, and the whole way it’s structured remains clever, engrossing, and even weirdly immersive to this day, almost 130 years on from when it was first published.

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‘Wuthering Heights’ (1847)

Image via Chartwell

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People have been alarmed and challenged by Wuthering Heights for almost 180 years now, and that’s kind of great. Admittedly, the most recent movie adaptation is what caused the most Wuthering Heights-related drama in living memory, but it’s easy to imagine this book causing a stir – and feeling like a shock to the system – when read back in the 1800s. Even throughout much of the 20th century, Wuthering Heights would’ve felt like a lot. And today… maybe still a bit, to be honest.

It’s easy to be taken off-guard if you’re after some kind of sweeping romance, because the book really isn’t that. There is passion, and some people who believe they’re in love, but also, so many dysfunctional characters defined by traumatic pasts, and much more by way of tragedies that happen than moments of romance or passion. It’s a dark, borderline-horror novel at times, and it’s a bit like Frankenstein in that adaptations can be interesting, or even good, but there is something unable to be captured in a different medium, no matter how skilled the filmmaker might be. You just have to find time to read Emily Brontë’s original story the way you need to find time to, one day, read the entirety of Frankenstein’s original text.

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‘Les Misérables’ (1862)

Image via Penguin Classics

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Les Misérables is famous for being a great story, sure, but it’s also known for being lengthy and quite heavy-going (if the title didn’t tip you off). It uses its hundreds of pages to tell an appropriately sweeping story, with close to two decades covered all up, spanning from the 1810s to 1832, the year of the June Rebellion in Paris. That incorporation of history does make it a work of historical fiction, of course.

The characters are fictional, yet many things happening around them happened historically, and then Victor Hugo does use his characters to explore all sorts of real-world issues. You might not think a book about inequality, wealth, crime, and justice written more than a century and a half ago would still feel relevant, but much of Les Misérables does feel topical, regarding all those things. It’s part a testament to Hugo’s skills, as an author, and part a reflection of how some things have not, regrettably, entirely changed for the better.

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‘Don Quixote’ (1605, 1615)

Image via Maple Press

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The two things about the two-part novel that is Don Quixote are just how old and defining for the whole medium of the novel it was, and also how funny much of it aims to be. That’s in contrast to plenty of other “classic” books, especially the really old classics, because they sometimes have a reputation for being more drama-focused and maybe even a little dry here and there.

Don Quixote does have its slightly more dramatic moments, and it touches upon some serious things, but then retains a comedic/somewhat fantastical feel throughout, too. It’s lengthy, creative, and metafictional in ways that clearly felt forward-thinking for the 1600s, with there being good reason why this is one of the oldest books that still has a good reputation for being something people should try to read at least once in their lives.

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‘War and Peace’ (1869)

There are comparisons to be made between War and Peace and Les Misérables, especially given they were published fairly close together, and War and Peace also spans about a decade and a half. Sure, there’s Russian history with War and Peace, and the Napoleonic Wars define much of what happens throughout, while Les Misérables takes place later and mostly covers a slightly different span of time (and with a French focus).

Emphasis on the “slightly different,” though, since both novels situate the action they explore in the first few decades of the 1800s. As for picking which one is better… well, War and Peace is ranking a little higher here, but you could flip a coin if you wanted, since they’re both great and easy to admire for some similar reasons (for what it’s worth, War and Peace might drift out of the realm of “fiction” a little more often, albeit not to the extent that it ever reads like non-fiction; Leo Tolstoy just liked to yap a bit, to borrow a phrase that wasn’t used until about a century on from the author’s death).

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‘The Odyssey’ (8th or 7th century BC)

Image via W. W. Norton & Company

People who swear off audiobooks can scoff at this statement if they want, but The Odyssey is better listened to than it is read. You can always do a bit of both, but the story itself is believed to be old enough that it was told through spoken performances before eventually being written down when the idea of collecting pieces of writing became more of a thing (and then mass-market books were still a while away from then… this is going back ages).

That’s all a bit of a history lesson, and one sped through, so probably not a very good history lesson. But the main thing is that The Odyssey is almost as old as surviving stories get, and so with this whole ranking-related endeavor being about stories that have endured and first existed long ago, it seems more than sensible to mention The Odyssey. Honorable mentions, also, to The Iliad (also by Homer) and The Epic of Gilgamesh.

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The Odyssey

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Release Date

July 15, 2026

Runtime

173 minutes

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