Your favourite 'classical' authors?

ficbot · 12-24-2008, 02:54 PM

I am wondering, for those who read classics e.g. Gutnberg freebies, who are your favourite authors, the ones you have read widely of their work and feel that they remain accessible to modern readers? Of the many classical authors I have read, in e and otherwise, here are my favourites:

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes, have not read his others yet)
- Bronte sisters (I have read all of their novels)
- John Wyndham (via PG Australia, I love his novels)
- George Orwell (again, via PG Australia)
- Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables, have not read her others yet)
- Edith Nesbit (Five Children and it, others)
- Lewis Carroll (Alice books, but his poems are worth reading too)
- L. Frank Baum (my goal is to read the complete Wizard of Oz series)
- Oscar Wilde (mostly plays, that may not be everyone's thing, but he's good)
- Mark Twain (not the Sawyer books, but his other novels)
- Edgar Allen Poe (short stories)

Authors I have not explored much, but would like to:

- Jules Verne (classic sci-fi)
- H.G. Wells (classic sci-fi)
- Jane Austen (not sure this will be my thing...)
- Alexandre Dumas
- H. Rider Haggard (only read 1 so far...)
- Ernest Bramah (mysteries)
- John Buchan (mysteries)
- Anna Katharine Green (mysteries)
- Edgar Jepson (Arsene Lupin series)
- Baroness Orczy (Scarlet Pimpernell series)
- Mary Roberts Rinehart (mystery/suspense)
- Sax Rohmer (Fu Manchu series)
- H. Beam Piper (sci-fi)

So who are your recommendations for 'classical' or public domain authors?

lilac_jive · 12-24-2008, 03:02 PM

Hrmm, from the limited amount I've read:
-Jules Verne
-Jane Austen
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (loved the Lost World)
-HG Wells

acprinter · 12-24-2008, 04:06 PM

Hmmm let's me think. How about my favorite author is always whatever I currently reading. But at the top of list is,

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Louisa May Alcott
H.G. Wells

For current writers Stephen King

For modern authors no longer with us
Irving Stone
Issac Asimov

ShortNCuddlyAm · 12-24-2008, 04:11 PM

In no order:

Charles Dickens
Jane Austen
HG Wells
Jules Verne
Mark Twain
H Rider Haggard
E W Hornung (although only read his Raffles stories)
Oscar Wilde
Edgar Allan Poe

tompe · 12-24-2008, 04:13 PM

Jane Austen and P. G. Wodehouse.

pilotbob · 12-24-2008, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

In no order:

Charles Dickens

I've read very few classics... hard to have a favorite then.

I have never read Dickens... but knowing that he is Harry's favorite and seeming to have similar tastes to his, I have adding him to my list of 'to read' authors. What would be a best first book to start with.

That said, authors I have read and enjoyed:

Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Stevenson, Asimov, Douglas Adams (he he)

BOb

lilac_jive · 12-24-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I've read very few classics... hard to have a favorite then.

I have never read Dickens... but knowing that he is Harry's favorite and seeming to have similar tastes to his, I have adding him to my list of 'to read' authors. What would be a best first book to start with.

That said, authors I have read and enjoyed:

Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Stevenson, Asimov, Douglas Adams (he he)

BOb

I tried so so so so hard to read "A Tale of Two Cities," but I seriously could not do it. But "A Christmas Carol" had me laughing out loud. Haven't read any others though.

And Adams totally counts!

Seabound · 12-24-2008, 08:36 PM

I'll mention Elizabeth Gaskell because I think she's underrated and overlooked.

desertgrandma · 12-24-2008, 09:31 PM

Agatha Christie

Sir Author Conan Doyle

Orwell

H.G. Wells.

HarryT · 12-25-2008, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I've read very few classics... hard to have a favorite then.

I have never read Dickens... but knowing that he is Harry's favorite and seeming to have similar tastes to his, I have adding him to my list of 'to read' authors. What would be a best first book to start with.

I would suggest "Oliver Twist". It's an absolutely wonderful story.

vivaldirules · 12-25-2008, 08:02 AM

Hesse
Joyce
Mann
Kafka
Dostoevsky
Orwell
Maugham

When I look for modern authors to read, I look for ones who start from here and move on. Like Bellow or Rushdie, for example. But I don't think that what I like to read is typical of most readers. So don't take these as recommendations. I think a lot of people would rather pluck their eyeballs out than read most of these authors.

wayspooled · 12-25-2008, 02:09 PM

Alexandre Dumas, pere
Rafael Sabatini (for Scaramouche and The Sea Hawk)
Charles Dickens
Arthur Conan Doyle (for The White Company and Nigel's Band)
Sir Walter Scott (for Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward and The Talisman)
S.R. Crockett (The Black Douglas)
J.S.C. Abbott (Daniel Boone: Pioneer of Kentucky)
Henryk Sienkiewicz (for Quo Vadis)
W. Clark Russell
Charles Darwin (for The Voyage of the Beagle)
Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone)
Edith Wharton (The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome,
G.A. Henty (Lion of the North: A Tale of the Times of Gustavus Adolphus)
Lewis Wallace (Ben Hur)
Mark Twain - lots of stuff that's not Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn though I liked them as a kid.
P.G. Wodehouse (humor, lots)
Edgar Wallace (mysteries, lots)
G.K. Chesterton
Rudyard Kipling (Captains Courageous)
Frederick Marryat (sea stories mostly)

pilotbob · 12-25-2008, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would suggest "Oliver Twist". It's an absolutely wonderful story.

Thanks... I'll add it to my ever increasing list. That's the problem with this place... you all make me want to read these books you gush over. I'm gonna have to start writing down my "to read" ideas because I can't keep them all in my head.

I'm still reading through the Sherlock Holmes Omnibus... and enjoying it much. Now I "get" some of the Sherlock Holmes episodes that were on Star Trek:The Next Generation. However, I have yet to read a Dr. Moriarty story yet.

BOb

lilac_jive · 12-25-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Thanks... I'll add it to my ever increasing list. That's the problem with this place... you all make me want to read these books you gush over. I'm gonna have to start writing down my "to read" ideas because I can't keep them all in my head.

How about it? I'm dying here.

HarryT · 12-25-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm still reading through the Sherlock Holmes Omnibus... and enjoying it much. Now I "get" some of the Sherlock Holmes episodes that were on Star Trek:The Next Generation. However, I have yet to read a Dr. Moriarty story yet.

BOb

Professor Moriarty, please!

The best way to become acquainted with the good Professor is via the short story "The Final Problem" in "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes".

12-24-2008, 02:54 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Your favourite 'classical' authors? I am wondering, for those who read classics e.g. Gutnberg freebies, who are your favourite authors, the ones you have read widely of their work and feel that they remain accessible to modern readers? Of the many classical authors I have read, in e and otherwise, here are my favourites: - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes, have not read his others yet) - Bronte sisters (I have read all of their novels) - John Wyndham (via PG Australia, I love his novels) - George Orwell (again, via PG Australia) - Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables, have not read her others yet) - Edith Nesbit (Five Children and it, others) - Lewis Carroll (Alice books, but his poems are worth reading too) - L. Frank Baum (my goal is to read the complete Wizard of Oz series) - Oscar Wilde (mostly plays, that may not be everyone's thing, but he's good) - Mark Twain (not the Sawyer books, but his other novels) - Edgar Allen Poe (short stories) Authors I have not explored much, but would like to: - Jules Verne (classic sci-fi) - H.G. Wells (classic sci-fi) - Jane Austen (not sure this will be my thing...) - Alexandre Dumas - H. Rider Haggard (only read 1 so far...) - Ernest Bramah (mysteries) - John Buchan (mysteries) - Anna Katharine Green (mysteries) - Edgar Jepson (Arsene Lupin series) - Baroness Orczy (Scarlet Pimpernell series) - Mary Roberts Rinehart (mystery/suspense) - Sax Rohmer (Fu Manchu series) - H. Beam Piper (sci-fi) So who are your recommendations for 'classical' or public domain authors?

12-25-2008, 08:02 AM	#11
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	Hesse Joyce Mann Kafka Dostoevsky Orwell Maugham When I look for modern authors to read, I look for ones who start from here and move on. Like Bellow or Rushdie, for example. But I don't think that what I like to read is typical of most readers. So don't take these as recommendations. I think a lot of people would rather pluck their eyeballs out than read most of these authors. Last edited by vivaldirules; 12-25-2008 at 08:15 AM.

12-25-2008, 02:09 PM	#12
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	Alexandre Dumas, pere Rafael Sabatini (for Scaramouche and The Sea Hawk) Charles Dickens Arthur Conan Doyle (for The White Company and Nigel's Band) Sir Walter Scott (for Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward and The Talisman) S.R. Crockett (The Black Douglas) J.S.C. Abbott (Daniel Boone: Pioneer of Kentucky) Henryk Sienkiewicz (for Quo Vadis) W. Clark Russell Charles Darwin (for The Voyage of the Beagle) Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone) Edith Wharton (The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, G.A. Henty (Lion of the North: A Tale of the Times of Gustavus Adolphus) Lewis Wallace (Ben Hur) Mark Twain - lots of stuff that's not Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn though I liked them as a kid. P.G. Wodehouse (humor, lots) Edgar Wallace (mysteries, lots) G.K. Chesterton Rudyard Kipling (Captains Courageous) Frederick Marryat (sea stories mostly) Last edited by wayspooled; 12-25-2008 at 02:33 PM.

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12-24-2008, 03:02 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Hrmm, from the limited amount I've read: -Jules Verne -Jane Austen -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (loved the Lost World) -HG Wells

12-24-2008, 04:06 PM	#3
acprinter Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 3141364 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Jackson, CA Device: Paperwhite 11th generation	Hmmm let's me think. How about my favorite author is always whatever I currently reading. But at the top of list is, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Louisa May Alcott H.G. Wells For current writers Stephen King For modern authors no longer with us Irving Stone Issac Asimov

12-24-2008, 04:11 PM	#4
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	In no order: Charles Dickens Jane Austen HG Wells Jules Verne Mark Twain H Rider Haggard E W Hornung (although only read his Raffles stories) Oscar Wilde Edgar Allan Poe

12-24-2008, 04:13 PM	#5
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	Jane Austen and P. G. Wodehouse.

12-24-2008, 08:36 PM	#8
Seabound Steerage Class Posts: 711 Karma: 505995 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pacific Northwest, USA Device: Won't fit here anymore, see sig for a list of liseuses.	I'll mention Elizabeth Gaskell because I think she's underrated and overlooked.

12-24-2008, 09:31 PM	#9
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Agatha Christie Sir Author Conan Doyle Orwell H.G. Wells.

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