I try to read one Classic a year . I have nearly finished Sons and Lovers – DH Lawrence! Mmmmmhh?!? I will finish it it I think I’d probably appreciate it more if I was studying it as part of a course rather than on my own!
As a very young reader I read Grimms Fairy Tales, then Heidi, Little Women, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Betty Zane (I was named after this book and my dad was reading it at the time of my birth).
It would be a tie between Pride and Prejudice and North and South. Both Austen and Gaskell are among my favorite authors and what can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic.
The reason I say that is because my favourites include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. And I would describe them all as classics.
I remember there was a piece in the Guardian a few years ago about classics that should not be classics, people wrote in to give their opinions ….. featuring high up was DH Lawrence and James Joyce. People resented the time they had ´wasted’ reading them!
oh yes and Tess of the D’urbervilles really moved me in a one night session “A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away.”
jamaica inn
Count of monte cristo
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre. I am firmly in the Charlotte camp of the Brontë wars. 😉
Jane eyre
To Kill A Mockingbird
@Rebecca ..
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, fortunately I speak french so I read the original, it was a delight!
gone with the wind
Great Expectations, Count of Monte Cristo.
Little women!
prkce
pride and prejudice
Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Rebecca, To Kill A Mockingbird. I also think Roots by Alex Haley has to be considered a classic American novel.
I try to read one Classic a year . I have nearly finished Sons and Lovers – DH Lawrence! Mmmmmhh?!? I will finish it it I think I’d probably appreciate it more if I was studying it as part of a course rather than on my own!
Has to be To Kill A Mockingbird, first read it at school and loved it ever since….
To kill a mockingbird
Great Expectations, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jamaica Inn
Pride and prejudice
Gone with the wind
1984
the Grapes Of Wrath
Prise and Prejudice
Jane Eyre and Jude the Obscure
Dharma bums
David Copperfield, Jude the Obscure
North and South and Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
I loved Far From the Madding Crowd, which I read for my O Level back in the eighties. Looking forward to seeing the film now!
I just finished a book called the key. It was pretty good
Pride and Prejudice followed closely by To Kill a Mockingbird!!!
Crime and Punishment
1984, Brave New World
As a very young reader I read Grimms Fairy Tales, then Heidi, Little Women, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Betty Zane (I was named after this book and my dad was reading it at the time of my birth).
Jane Eyre!
Brave New World did it for me
It would be a tie between Pride and Prejudice and North and South. Both Austen and Gaskell are among my favorite authors and what can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic.
Pride & Prejudice for sure!!! Love it!!
Oh gosh do I have to pick just one?
Pride and Prejudice.
Wow, we have a lot of people that love Pride and Prejudice on this post. Hopeless romantics all :).
OK, let me throw this in the mix: Define classic …
The reason I say that is because my favourites include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. And I would describe them all as classics.
I remember there was a piece in the Guardian a few years ago about classics that should not be classics, people wrote in to give their opinions ….. featuring high up was DH Lawrence and James Joyce. People resented the time they had ´wasted’ reading them!
I managed to get through my English degree without reading Dickens! It started as a joke ………… but I feel I should repair the gap in my classics!
Portrait of a Lady …….. had a big impact and I think still useful today for those living between the old and the new world!
Rebecca.
i think the mark of a good classic is that it is timeless ……. you only have to see how many of James’s books have been made into films
oh yes and Tess of the D’urbervilles really moved me in a one night session “A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away.”
Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Miserables, Anne of Green Gable series, Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations!
Howard’s End and Rebecca
Wuthering Heights,Jane Eyre.Little Women ?