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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by NikkiT2 on August 19, 2005, at 9:30:01
I've really not read enough English Classics I decided, and having read and adored "The Eyre Affair", I felt it was high time I discovered what *really* happens in Jane Eyre!!
the first 20 pages or so took some getting used to.. the use of language is rather different.. but now I am into it, I am really really enjoying it thoroughly.
The French parts are annoying me though!
So.. what English Classic should I read next ladies and gents?
Wuthering Heights I expect.. Pride and Predujice do you think?
Inspire me
(ooooh, really really strange feeling of de ja vue there...)
Nikki xx
Posted by alexandra_k on August 19, 2005, at 22:30:30
In reply to Really enjoying..., posted by NikkiT2 on August 19, 2005, at 9:30:01
"Pride and Prejudice" is a good read. "Wuthering Heights" is a bit more... demanding... I didn't manage to read it (mind you I was attempting it in hospital and my meds weren't helping)...
Dickens can be lovely. Especially... The one with Estella. The orphan (pip) who gets an anonymous inheritance and moves on up in the world... Can't remember what it's called...
If you wanted to get really fancy you could have a go at "Le Morte De Arthur". Thats middle english though (a bit harder than shakespeare). I remember having to do it for English... Need a commentary to help with translation. Worth it for the origins of the story about the knights of the round table though.
English classics...
Hrm...Shakespeare of course... And if you are into plays there are some of his contemporaries who are quite good too... "Marlowe" most notably with "Faust" who makes a pact with the devil...
There are some good authors who write about colonisation too... "Heart of Darkness" is a good read. About colonising Africa. Discovering the blackness in civilisation etc. And "Aphra Behn"...
This is stuff that I remember from English Lit at uni...
Have you read any Russian Novels? "Crime and Punishment"? "War and Peace"? I got into those for a while... And Kafka's plays "The Trial" etc.
And existentialism... "Camus" plays... "Sartre" plays... Not his novels (or philosophy) though... Couldn't get into that.
Posted by ed_uk on August 21, 2005, at 15:30:21
In reply to Re: Really enjoying... » NikkiT2, posted by alexandra_k on August 19, 2005, at 22:30:30
>Dickens can be lovely. Especially... The one with Estella. The orphan (pip) who gets an anonymous inheritance and moves on up in the world... Can't remember what it's called...
Great expectations? I think.
~Ed
Posted by alexandra_k on August 21, 2005, at 15:41:49
In reply to Re: Really enjoying... » alexandra_k, posted by ed_uk on August 21, 2005, at 15:30:21
yes indeed.
that occurred to me round three in the morning.
well done :-)
Posted by NikkiT2 on August 23, 2005, at 3:46:14
In reply to Really enjoying..., posted by NikkiT2 on August 19, 2005, at 9:30:01
And it was lovely!!!
Alex - Yeah, Great Expectations.. read it years gao.. along with a fair amount of Dickens.. And Shakespear I've done.. Marlow I simply don't like *lol*
Might re-read a Christmas Carol as its been a long time.. but I feel a need for some innocent romance in my life *L*
Nikki x
Posted by NikkiT2 on August 23, 2005, at 14:35:21
In reply to Really enjoying..., posted by NikkiT2 on August 19, 2005, at 9:30:01
Its two days before pay day, so not much to spend, so just bought "Madam Bovary".. I need some romance in my life at the moment!!
Nikki xx
Posted by daisym on August 23, 2005, at 15:28:53
In reply to Well.. I found £1.50 classics range!! » NikkiT2, posted by NikkiT2 on August 23, 2005, at 14:35:21
great read! Remind yourself that it was scandalous at the time it was written and you appreciate it even more. It will make you long for romance...
Posted by Racer on August 27, 2005, at 0:21:55
In reply to Re: Well.. I found £1.50 classics range!!, posted by daisym on August 23, 2005, at 15:28:53
Come to my house and check the top of my bookcases -- that's where I put the "special" writers!
Let's see, "Wuthering Heights" -- hm... Emily Bronte was a poet, more than a novelist, and Heathcliffe was an animal, wild, passionate, and it's a great love story. It's the story of a great love. It's the story of a great love that became a profoundly damaging hate. I'm not sure I'd say it was the next to read. But, when you're ready for it, it's worth it.
As for the Brontes in general, scholarly opinion back when I was in school was pretty much that Emily was the Great Poet, Charlotte was Prolific, and Anne was The Great Novelist -- and I haven't been convinced otherwise. While the language you ran into with Jane Eyre will still come across, and you'll probably have a bit of trouble with some of the mores, I highly recommend "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte. It's the first sustained feminist novel in English, and it was truly scandalous in its day. If you can, find a copy with her original preface to the second edition, where she answered the critics. GREAT stuff.
And my own, sweet Jane -- read Jane Austen. You'll adore her, too. First, to whet your appetite, sup on "Pride and Prejudice," before moving on to "Emma" and then "Sense and Sensibility." "Mansfield Park" is not up to the standards those books set, although the story behind it is interesting, and "Northanger Abbey" is pretty immature, which also has a story behind it. (Northanger is funny, though.) Once you've set yourself ready, though, read your dessert: "Persuasion." It's my very favorite, and I used to literally be able to recite the first couple of pages from memory, I'd read it so often.
You know, Nikki, I gotta go check on my husband, because he checked on me as though he was lonely, before I got sidetracked by you (evil thing), so how about I write to you later about this?
xoxo
This is the end of the thread.
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