GCSE English Literature set texts: prove you’ve actually read them
One Shakespeare play, one 19th-century novel and one modern text: that is what every GCSE English Literature student in England studies, in a closed-book exam. For each of the most taken set texts: a plot summary part by part, the key themes and characters, which boards set it and, on Vread, a question at every checkpoint to prove you have really read it.
The set texts
Shakespeare
| Text | Set by | On Vread |
|---|---|---|
| Macbeth, William Shakespeare | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Coming soon |
| Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 3 checkpoints |
The 19th-century novel
| Text | Set by | On Vread |
|---|---|---|
| A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 4 checkpoints |
| The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 3 checkpoints |
| Frankenstein, Mary Shelley | AQA, Pearson Edexcel | Coming soon |
| Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 13 checkpoints |
| Great Expectations, Charles Dickens | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 19 checkpoints |
| Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Coming soon |
| The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle | AQA | Yes, 5 checkpoints |
| Silas Marner, George Eliot | Pearson Edexcel | Yes, 8 checkpoints |
Modern prose and drama (post-1914)
| Text | Set by | On Vread |
|---|---|---|
| An Inspector Calls, J. B. PriestleyIn copyright: summary only | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Coming soon |
| Blood Brothers, Willy RussellIn copyright: summary only | AQA, Pearson Edexcel | Coming soon |
| Lord of the Flies, William GoldingIn copyright: summary only | AQA, Pearson Edexcel | Yes, 7 checkpoints |
| Animal Farm, George OrwellIn copyright: summary only | AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR | Yes, 4 checkpoints |
As of 9 October 2026, 9 of these 14 texts are in the Vread English catalogue with their checkpoints. The others are being added.
By exam board
Your school chooses the board and the texts. Each board’s full list is below; texts with a Vread page are linked.
AQA GCSE English Literature (8702)
- Paper 1 (1 hour 45 minutes): Section A Shakespeare, Section B the 19th-century novel. Each question starts from an extract and widens to the whole text.
- Paper 2 (2 hours 15 minutes): Section A modern prose or drama (an essay, no extract), then poetry anthology and unseen poetry.
- Shakespeare: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar.
- 19th-century novel: A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Sign of Four.
- Modern text: An Inspector Calls, Blood Brothers, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, DNA (Dennis Kelly), A Taste of Honey (Shelagh Delaney), Princess & The Hustler (Chinonyerem Odimba), Leave Taking (Winsome Pinnock), Telling Tales (AQA anthology), Anita and Me (Meera Syal), Pigeon English (Stephen Kelman), My Name is Leon (Kit de Waal).
Source: AQA GCSE English Literature (8702) specification, subject content, checked on 9 October 2026. Always confirm your texts with your teacher.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0)
- Paper 1 (1 hour 45 minutes): Section A Shakespeare (an extract question and a whole-play question), Section B a post-1914 British play or novel (an essay).
- Paper 2 (2 hours 15 minutes): Section A the 19th-century novel (an extract question and a whole-novel question), then poetry.
- Shakespeare: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice.
- 19th-century novel: A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Silas Marner.
- Modern text: An Inspector Calls, Blood Brothers, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, Hobson’s Choice (Harold Brighouse), Journey’s End (R C Sherriff), Anita and Me (Meera Syal), The Woman in Black (Susan Hill), The Empress (Tanika Gupta), Refugee Boy (Benjamin Zephaniah, adapted by Lemn Sissay), Coram Boy (Jamila Gavin), Boys Don’t Cry (Malorie Blackman).
Source: Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0) specification, Issue 2, checked on 9 October 2026. Always confirm your texts with your teacher.
OCR GCSE English Literature (J352)
- Component 01 (2 hours): Section A modern prose or drama, Section B 19th-century prose.
- Component 02 (2 hours): Section A poetry, Section B Shakespeare.
- Shakespeare: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing.
- 19th-century novel: A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The War of the Worlds (H G Wells).
- Modern text: An Inspector Calls, Animal Farm, DNA (Dennis Kelly), Leave Taking (Winsome Pinnock), Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro), Anita and Me (Meera Syal).
Source: OCR GCSE English Literature (J352) specification, Version 3.0 (November 2025), checked on 9 October 2026. Always confirm your texts with your teacher.
Why reading the whole text matters
- Closed book. No copy of the text is allowed in the exam room, so quotations and references have to come from memory.
- From extract to whole text. Shakespeare and 19th-century novel questions usually start from a short extract and then ask about the play or novel as a whole: you need to know what happens elsewhere.
- Modern texts without an extract. For AQA and Edexcel, the modern text question is an essay with no extract printed at all.
How Vread works
- Pick your set text in the app and read it in the edition your school uses.
- At each checkpoint (every 30 to 40 pages, or every act or few chapters for shorter texts) Vread asks one question about what you have just read. Get it right and the section is validated.
- Your progress shows: sections validated, reading streaks and finished books.
The Vread GCSE Pass
Reading and validating your sections on Vread is free. For the exam year we are preparing a dedicated offer:
GCSE Pass: £29.99 per school year (coming soon)
- All the set texts for your board, as they are added to the catalogue.
- A reading report for parents, which your child can see too.
- One payment for the school year, with no automatic renewal.
Coming soon: the GCSE Pass is not on sale yet and nothing is charged from this page. The price shown is the one we plan; it will be confirmed in the app.
Parents: has your teenager actually read the set texts?
Summaries and revision notes are everywhere and take minutes to skim. What a parent cannot easily tell is whether the book was read. GCSE English Literature is closed book, and questions start from an extract: knowing the whole text is what makes the difference.
- One question per section. Each checkpoint asks about a specific detail of the section just read, not a general idea a summary would give away.
- Visible progress. Your child sees which sections are validated and what is left, at their own pace.
- No copy of the book. Vread does not supply the text: your child reads the school’s edition, on paper or on an e-reader.
A correct answer shows a section was read, not that it was analysed: it complements, never replaces, the work done in class.
About these pages
Summaries are original writing by Vread. For texts still in copyright (An Inspector Calls, Blood Brothers, Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm outside the UK) we publish no quotations and no Vread questions; covers are never shown.
Most GCSE students are under 18. These pages use no tracking beyond the site’s existing, cookie-free audience measurement. See our privacy policy.
Vread is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or any other exam board. Boards are named only to show which texts they set.