Tip: Don’t pay for Kindle books you can get for FREE!

If you trawl Amazon’s e-book store, you’ll find hundreds of out-of-copyright classics available completely free of charge as digital downloads…

But wait a minute. There are usually paid-for (often identical) duplicates, and these might come up first in your search results. So, remember to look down the list and take a leaf out of MSE’s book – don’t pay for owt you could’ve got for nowt!

Listed below are 50 classic titles we found for sale as e-books on Amazon, where, if you look hard enough, they’re also available to download for free.

Why are there paid-for AND free versions of the same book?

There are various possible reasons why you may have to pay for a particular version of an e-book you can also download for free.

Many of the paid versions are illustrated, annotated or may include additional sections – like a foreword or an appendix. However, there are also some e-books you have to pay for that are identical to their free version in every way.

Why are classic books free to download?

Without getting bogged down in Legalese, it relates to the Copyright Act 1995. This states that an author’s copyright is only valid for the duration of their lifetime and for 70 years after their death. When a book has no copyright attached to it, it suddenly becomes public property and can be reissued as a free Kindle e-book.

That’s why the freebies are usually books written decades, if not centuries ago.

Already got a Kindle brimming with free books? Leave a comment below, or join the forum discussion for more about free e-books anyone can download