classical literature

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  • #231007

    I’m not the best at reading classical literature, but sometimes I’ll try. I just finished a Dickens’ novel, Little Dorrit. Yes, I first got interested in the story through watching some of the BBC series based on the book.

    I enjoyed it. Amy Dorrit, the Little Dorrit in the story, is a good character. She would not be considered what some today would call a “strong female character”, as she’d likely be considered too much of a saint, too submissive to a weak father, too submissive to her circumstances, but I see it differently. She’s a character who is strong enough to survive in very trying circumstances, and does so by caring for the people around her, her father and her siblings.

    There are also several fascinating side characters. My favorite is Pancks. Flora is also up there, and Mr. F’s aunt is one of those characters who probably couldn’t be used too much, but when she’s there she’s a fun character.

    Anyone else have any classical literature, fiction or non-fiction, even poetry, that you like?

    #231008

    Jane Austen fan here! Yes I like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ lol although I prefer the 2005 film with Kiera Knightly in more than the 1995 TV series by the BBC even though I like both of them. Also the film version of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ with the late and great Alan Rickman in was good as well. It was a bit of a shock to see him play a good guy for a change. They all have beautiful soundtracks though. And guess what? They ALL have strong female characters in them.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by DragonLady.
    #231020

    To me, the very first was Charles Dickens. Very first book I was handed. I was not into it at all. Now, with age, I look at the youth around me and they read “A Tale of Two Kitties.” Dog Man. Makes me think about how some people want to reach kids to actually get them to read.

    #231049

    I have read a few.

    Frankenstein was good.

    Dracula, written as a journal, was hard to read, but the terror was apparent.

    Ben Hur spent the first half of the novel (300-pages) on the three wise men meeting in the desert.  A very dry read, IMO.

    I’ve also read:

    The Time Machine

    Treasure Island

    Moby Dick

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

    Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    The Invisible Man

    The Mummy!

    A Christmas Carol

    The War of the Worlds

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Stories

    A Journey To The Center of The Earth

    The Adventures of Robin Hood

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    The Land of Oz

    Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland

    Mutiny On The HMS Bounty

    Lady Of The Lake

    The Sword & The Stone

    The Once & Future King

    Dante’s Divine Comedy  (and boy oh boy did you need a google/wikipedia to know who all those people he referenced – I spent half my time, even with the footnotes in the book, looking up who they all were to better understand it all).

    Alot of Shakespeare.

     

    I starting read some Asminov, Arthur C. Clarke, as well as Tolkien (beyond the Hobbit & Lord of the Rings trilogy), Narnia, all 14 Frank Baum Oz novels,

    There are so many I have read, so many I have purchased and not yet read, etc.

     

    #231124

    My favorite book of all time is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. An absolute classic. The greatest revenge story ever told.

    #231125

    Really good list above. Honestly, I think a kid should be made to read those aloud in front of parents who actually care. One thing I like about comics are the ClassicsIllustrated. You can really see the historical influence. One of the guys who seemed really cool outside of Dickens and Dumas was Sir Walter Scott. https://archive.org/details/classicsillustrated?sort=-date

    #231290

    If you’re looking for more Dickens, I loved Great Expectations. Frankenstein is also terrific and I’ve read a lot of classic horror/gothic fiction, mostly short stories. I recently finished the Phantom of the Opera, which was good, and am close to having finished the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe. I’ve definitely seen some good recommendations on this thread, though, so I’ll keep my eye out for those.

    #242226

    Keep meaning to post this for a while now but I thought this was well done. And yeah all that was missing was Mr Knightly telling them off lol.

    https://youtu.be/G3YW-xqXndI

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