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Edexcel GCSE English Literature set texts 2027

The texts students choose from for Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature exams in 2027, paper by paper, read from the board's specification. The school picks which ones its students study, so ask the English department which your child has.

1ET0/01Shakespeare and Post-1914 Literature

Shakespeare (study one)

  • Macbeth, William Shakespeare
  • The Tempest, William Shakespeare
  • Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
  • Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
  • Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
  • The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

Post-1914 British play or novel (study one)

  • An Inspector Calls, J B Priestley
  • Hobson’s Choice, Harold Brighouse
  • Blood Brothers, Willy Russell
  • Journey’s End, R C Sherriff
  • Animal Farm, George Orwell
  • Lord of the Flies, William Golding
  • Anita and Me, Meera Syal
  • The Woman in Black, Susan Hill
  • The Empress, Tanika Gupta
  • Refugee Boy, Benjamin ZephaniahAdapted for stage by Lemn Sissay (the spec prints 'Lemm')
  • Coram Boy, Jamila Gavin
  • Boys Don't Cry, Malorie Blackman

1ET0/0219th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789

19th-century novel (study one)

  • Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
  • Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
  • Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, R L Stevenson
  • A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
  • Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
  • Silas Marner, George Eliot
  • Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Poetry anthology collection (Pearson Poetry Anthology) (study one)

  • Relationships
  • Conflict
  • Time and Place
  • Belonging

Pearson's qualification page (checked 2026-09-26) still links this Issue 2. The spec says the texts are set for the lifetime of the qualification. Read from the specification (Issue 2, June 2019), pp. 8-10, on Saturday 26 September 2026.

Also: past papers, grade calculator, and other boards' GCSE set texts.

cookie is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any exam board. The lists are facts read from each board's own specification, last checked on Saturday 26 September 2026; the specification is the final word.