The history of literature in the Modern period in Europe begins with the Age of Enlightenment and the conclusion of the Baroque period in the 18th century, succeeding the Renaissance and Early Modern periods.

In the classical literary cultures outside of Europe, the Modern period begins later, in Ottoman Turkey with the Tanzimat reforms (1820s), in Qajar Persia under Nasser al-Din Shah (1830s), the century is also synonymous with end of the Mughal era and the establishment of the British Raj (1850s) in India, in Japan with the Meiji restoration (1860s), in China with the New Culture Movement (1910s).