The 1800's were noted forn the Age of Enlightenment or The Age of Reason, a movementm that dominated Europe.

Albert Camus (1913 - 1960), French writer and philosopher, contributed to Absurdism, a movement that believed life to be irrational and meaningless. Major works include The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947).

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885) is best known for the books Les Miserables (1802) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831).

Marcel Proust, 1871 - 1922, French novelist whose works include Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu) published from 1913 - 1927 and Swann’s Way (published in 1913).

Sully Prudhomme (1839 - 1907). was the first writer to win a Nobel Prize in literature in 1901. 

Edmond Rostand (1868 - 1918) poet and playwright, best known for the play Cyrano de Bergerac (1898), a play possibly based on his own life

Jules Verne (1828 - 1905) author known for works such as Journey to then Center of the Earth (1864), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870), Around the World in 80 Days (1873) and many other works. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea features Captain Nemo of the Nautilus and how he was able to live completely off the Sea. The significance of Around the World in 80 Days was that it was not considered possible to travel around the  world that quickly at the time the book was written. 

Voltaire (1694 - 1778) best known for Candide (1759) Voltaire is noted for the quote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. He is the author of Candide, where Candide was taught by Dr. Pangloss and was told that this is the "best of all possible worlds.

In the 19th century, four Norwegian writers were considered the "Four Greats" (De Fire Store).  They are: Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906), Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832 - 1910), Jonas Lie (1833 - 1908) and alexander Kjelland (1849 - 1906). Henrik Ibsen is well known for his feminist play A Doll's House, a play dealing with women's financial issues.

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was a fellow student with Ibsen. Bjørnson received a Nobel Prize in 1903 for his poetry and was also awarded Norway's National Poet (a prize that Ibsen never won). Bjørnson was the third person to be awarded Norway's National Poet.

Spanish literature includes such masterpieces as El Cid and Don Quixote. 

El Cantar de Mio Cid - an epic about Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a military leader, called El Cid by the Moors. The epic work was written  approximately   1140 A. D. 

Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) was the author of Don Quixote. The book was published in two parts, the first part in 1605 and the second part in 1615.