Favorite classic novels - Page 2

gmw · 02-10-2014, 11:19 PM

Two I enjoyed very much recently, both by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White, and The Moonstone.

Carmelreader · 02-11-2014, 01:05 AM

I loved the already mentioned Cranford (and the Austens and.... Also Eliot's Middlemarch.

Hapaxanth · 02-13-2014, 02:30 AM

I think that classics are where I'm at my most feminine: My all-time favourite is 'the favourite', Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Almost on-par with that is George Eliot's Middlemarch.

drofgnal · 02-13-2014, 06:04 AM

War and Peace by Tolstoy
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and it's sequeal David Balfour. (available in MR library)
Catcher in the Rye (I consider it a classic)

4691mls · 02-13-2014, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hapaxanth

I think that classics are where I'm at my most feminine: My all-time favourite is 'the favourite', Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Almost on-par with that is George Eliot's Middlemarch.

I don't think I've ever read Middlemarch. Since you and I both listed P&P as our all-time favorite, I guess I should add Middlemarch to my TBR list.

NickyWithNook · 02-13-2014, 12:13 PM

I love P&P too, and I'm also going to add Middlemarch.

Synamon · 02-13-2014, 03:00 PM

No love for Oscar Wilde? The Picture of Dorian Grey is excellent.

Edith Wharton's novels might be right up your alley.

NickyWithNook · 02-13-2014, 04:22 PM

I love both Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde. I've seen a lot of favorites mentioned here!

Gronk · 02-20-2014, 08:52 AM

I've been reading some classics lately and I'm really interested in this thread so keep the suggestions coming. My favorites so far have been Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.

Great Expectations has been mentioned in this thread more than once. I tried to read it and realized after 100+ pages that I just didn't care about a single character in it and stopped reading it. Should I have slogged on to find what so many have found to enjoy in this book or was I probably correct to accept that it just wasn't my cup of tea?

covingtoncat73 · 02-20-2014, 09:26 AM

Jane Eyre is by far my favorite. Wuthering Heights but only because of the Kate Bush song, probably. Jane Austen. Poe's short stories. Do the Brothers Grimm and George MacDonald's The Light Princess count as classics?

That being said, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Also, The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf (I do have to read those in modern translation). I was into Jules Verne in middle school.

EndlessWaves · 02-20-2014, 03:59 PM

I've just finished Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. Apart from a few nineteenth century attitudes to nature I found it to be a good book.

bfisher · 02-20-2014, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Jane Eyre is by far my favorite. Wuthering Heights but only because of the Kate Bush song, probably. Jane Austen. Poe's short stories. Do the Brothers Grimm and George MacDonald's The Light Princess count as classics?

That being said, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Also, The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf (I do have to read those in modern translation). I was into Jules Verne in middle school.

The Brothers Grimm are certainly classic. I wasn't aware of George MacDonald until you mentioned him - he certainly seems to be classic as well - a fantasy trailblazer. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll certainly look at his works.

covingtoncat73 · 02-20-2014, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfisher

The Brothers Grimm are certainly classic. I wasn't aware of George MacDonald until you mentioned him - he certainly seems to be classic as well - a fantasy trailblazer. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll certainly look at his works.

Oh, I adore The Light Princess and The Day Boy and the Night Girl. They're PD, so you shouldn't have a problem getting them from the MR library or, if not there, Gutenerg.org. Also, if you like audiobooks, Librivox has some decent free audio of "Light Princess" and "Day Boy."

Greg Anos · 02-20-2014, 07:43 PM

Mark Twain - Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

L Frank Baum's OZ books for the inner child.

Kipling's The Jungle Books.

4691mls · 02-20-2014, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gronk

I've been reading some classics lately and I'm really interested in this thread so keep the suggestions coming. My favorites so far have been Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.

Great Expectations has been mentioned in this thread more than once. I tried to read it and realized after 100+ pages that I just didn't care about a single character in it and stopped reading it. Should I have slogged on to find what so many have found to enjoy in this book or was I probably correct to accept that it just wasn't my cup of tea?

You are not alone! I read some other complete Dickens books, but I just could not get beyond the first few chapters of Great Expectations. I caught an old black-and-white movie of it on TV once and didn't get very far with it either.

02-20-2014, 08:52 AM	#24
Gronk Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 500356 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Oasis, Voyage, PW2, Sony PRS 950, 350	I've been reading some classics lately and I'm really interested in this thread so keep the suggestions coming. My favorites so far have been Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. Great Expectations has been mentioned in this thread more than once. I tried to read it and realized after 100+ pages that I just didn't care about a single character in it and stopped reading it. Should I have slogged on to find what so many have found to enjoy in this book or was I probably correct to accept that it just wasn't my cup of tea? Last edited by Gronk; 02-20-2014 at 09:03 AM.

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02-10-2014, 11:19 PM	#16
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Two I enjoyed very much recently, both by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White, and The Moonstone.

02-11-2014, 01:05 AM	#17
Carmelreader Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 617380 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Kindle Fire HD, kindle HDX 8.9, ipad pro, ipad mini 2, Voyage, Oasis 2	I loved the already mentioned Cranford (and the Austens and.... Also Eliot's Middlemarch.

02-13-2014, 02:30 AM	#18
Hapaxanth Nameless Being	I think that classics are where I'm at my most feminine: My all-time favourite is 'the favourite', Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Almost on-par with that is George Eliot's Middlemarch.

02-13-2014, 06:04 AM	#19
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,403 Karma: 10519918 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	War and Peace by Tolstoy Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and it's sequeal David Balfour. (available in MR library) Catcher in the Rye (I consider it a classic)

02-13-2014, 12:13 PM	#21
NickyWithNook Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 3942770 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: American living in Australia Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Fire, Kindle Pwhite (Don't use Nook anymore)	I love P&P too, and I'm also going to add Middlemarch.

02-13-2014, 03:00 PM	#22
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	No love for Oscar Wilde? The Picture of Dorian Grey is excellent. Edith Wharton's novels might be right up your alley.

02-13-2014, 04:22 PM	#23
NickyWithNook Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 3942770 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: American living in Australia Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Fire, Kindle Pwhite (Don't use Nook anymore)	I love both Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde. I've seen a lot of favorites mentioned here!

02-20-2014, 09:26 AM	#25
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	Jane Eyre is by far my favorite. Wuthering Heights but only because of the Kate Bush song, probably. Jane Austen. Poe's short stories. Do the Brothers Grimm and George MacDonald's The Light Princess count as classics? That being said, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Also, The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf (I do have to read those in modern translation). I was into Jules Verne in middle school.

02-20-2014, 03:59 PM	#26
EndlessWaves Zealot Posts: 119 Karma: 38158 Join Date: Jan 2014 Device: Kobo Aura HD	I've just finished Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. Apart from a few nineteenth century attitudes to nature I found it to be a good book.

02-20-2014, 07:43 PM	#29
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,531 Karma: 37057604 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Mark Twain - Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. L Frank Baum's OZ books for the inner child. Kipling's The Jungle Books.