So, I feel like classics are the kinds of books people feel obliged to read, especially if they have studied it in any capacity. However, I am very much not snobby when it comes to literature. If we want to keep the amazing world of book readers and writers alive, we need to let go of stuffy notions about ‘good’ or ‘trashy’ literature, or at least, get over the guilt for our guilty pleasure reads.
However, if you want to dip your toe in, here are the ones I would recommend.
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
This one has got all the good victorian era classic vibes, without the fluffy drawn out prose of Austen or Dickens. You have a big gothic castle, you’ve got ghosty vibes, romance with a tall- dark-handsome-mysterious man and a little bit of feminism (for the era anyway).
Mansfield Park- Jane Austen
Now, I realise I literally dissed Austen in the paragraph above but this is the one I enjoyed the most. Although I didn’t actually mind Pride and Prejudice that much, you just have to read between the lines a bit sometimes with that. Our main female character in Mansfield park is not as demure as she’s expected to be, she is bookish, she enjoys writing. Then in the story itself, there’s a little bit more grit (such as allusions to Mansfield’s dealings in the slave trade, which is chooses to leave when his family is disgusted by it) and scandal (affairs and everything). Plus, a lovely central love story (even if he is way older than her and technically like a second cousin..)
But maybe I love it so much because I loved the film…
The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde
I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this and also, how eerie I found the story and the descriptions of Dorian’s painting. Normally, I don’t find any of the gothic era ghost stories that scary because they don’t go as grim or as creepy as something like Stephen King does, as gothic ones were the beginning of the genre really.
Actually, I’ve since read a couple of things by Oscar Wilde and he is by far one of the easiest to read and the most consistently enjoyable.
The Pit and the Pendulum and the Tell Tale heart- Edgar Allan Poe
Another one that surprised me, as impressions you get of Poe from movies etc, are largely based on The Raven and images of a stiff faced man with a strange moustache. But these stories and the others like it are actually quite spooky and still very readable as a modern reader.
The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
This is my favourite, I’ve re- read it quite a few times actually. Maybe it’s because I loved the Maggie Smith version of the film from the 90’s but it’s a beautiful book, all about gardens, childhood imagination and children who just wanted to be loved.
A Little Princess- Frances Hodgson Burnett
Another one I’ve re- read a couple times and I only saw the film for the first time in, like, 2019 but this is another one where it really captured a love of stories and childhood imagination, even if it’s against the backdrop of quite terrible treatment!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
These books are good both because they have enjoyable narratives but they are also interesting from the historical perspective of them being antebellum novels (set before the American Civil War, specifically in the Deep South). Although the tunnels in Tom Sawyer gave me nightmares when I was a kid!
There you go, that’s my list. I’ve read quite a few classics over the years but these are the ones that stand out the most.
I love classics- from that list, read Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Secret Garden. Still want to read A Little Princess.
Two classics in particular made me the classics fan I am today (not on this list though):
1. A Christmas Carol
2. Les Misérables
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh wow good on you for having read Les Mis – that is a long book!
As for Christmas carol, the films are a part of my childhood so I would like to read it but I honestly struggle to read Dickens! That’s why none of his books are on the list, sadly. The few I’ve read as part of uni/ school and in my own time just haven’t endeared me to his books.
Definitely read A Little Princess though, it’s such a beautiful book!
LikeLike
You would be surprised by ALL the classics I read for fun: only listing those I liked or loved
1. Les Misérables
2. Hunchback of Notre Dame
3. A Christmas Carol
4. Oliver Twist
5. Great Expectations
6. Oliver Twist
7. David Copperfield
8. Hard Times
9. Bleak House
10. Nicholas Nickleby
11. Mayor of Casterbridge
12. Don Quixote
13. The Iliad
14. The Odyssey
15. Little Women
16. Huckleberry Finn
17. Tom Sawyer
18. Secret Garden
Well, I actually love the movie of A Little Princess- just don’t own the book yet
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh cool, apart from the Dickens novels, I’ve either read most of your list or own the books and intend to read them sometime soon. Good to know they’re enjoyable!
LikeLike
Iliad and Odyssey were originally read as required 10th grade books, but later I decided to read the entire works
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you enjoyed Dorian Grey you should read Balzac’s Magic Skin – similar (but better in my opinion)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I just looked it up and got it saved in my classics wish list on Amazon now! Definitely the same vibe, looks like it’s something I would enjoy, thanks for the recommendation
LikeLiked by 1 person