January 20, 2020

8 Classics I'd Like to Read in 2020


I love reading classics. I love that they not only take you back to a different time and place, but also that they were written in that time and place.

Most of these authors I've never read before so I'm hoping to discover a new favorite. : )

Here are the ones I'd love to get to this coming year. Crossing my fingers, as some are very long!

 

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - I've heard there is so much more to this book than any movie or play adaptation. I'm hoping to listen to it on audio, as well as read a bit from my physical copy. I believe this edition (pictured) is coming out on audio from Audible soon.

From Goodreads:

"Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean—the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread—Les Misérables ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it, Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose."




The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - I don't know very much about this classic, but the description sounds interesting! I'm looking forward to reading from this new to me author.

From Goodreads:

"Armed with only his wits and his cunning, one man recklessly defies the French revolutionaries and rescues scores of innocent men, women, and children from the deadly guillotine. His friends and foes know him only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. But the ruthless French agent Chauvelin is sworn to discover his identity and to hunt him down."




Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell - I've really enjoyed the few books I've read by Elizabeth Gaskell, 'Wives and Daughters' being my favorite so far.

From Goodreads:

"This is Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, a widely acclaimed work based on the actual murder, in 1831, of a progressive mill owner. It follows Mary Barton, daughter of a man implicated in the murder, through her adolescence, when she suffers the advances of the mill owner, and later through
love and marriage. 


Set in Manchester, between 1837-42, it paints a powerful and moving picture of working-class life in Victorian England."




Evelina by Frances Burney - This was a novel that influenced Jane Austen to write. That in itself makes me curious to read it. It was written in epistolary form, as a series of letters, which also piques my interest. Excited to read this one.

From Goodreads:

"Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women's position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story."




The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - I remember trying to read this in high school - it was a no go. ; )  Recently, I found it at a used book store and thought I'd give it another try. I read a few pages and I think I'm going to enjoy it this time!

From Goodreads:

"The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. 

When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is even more remarkable. But Chaucer's genius needs no historical introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The Canterbury Tales."



Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - I've been wanting to read another Dickens novel and thought this popular one would be a good one to pick up. I don't know to much about this one either other than its about an orphan boy.

From Goodreads:

"The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. 

Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery."




Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau - I've heard good things about this novel. Excited to try another new to me author.

From Goodreads:

"When the Ibbotson sisters, Hester and Margaret, arrive at the village of Deerbrook to stay with their cousin Mr. Grey and his wife, speculation is rife that one of them might marry the local apothecary, Edward Hope. Although he is immediately attracted to Margaret, Hope is ultimately persuaded to marry the beautiful Hester and becomes trapped in an unhappy marriage. His troubles are compounded when a malicious village gossip accuses Hope of grave-robbing, threatening his career. 

A powerful exploration of the nature of ignorance and prejudice, Deerbrook also may be regarded as one of the first Victorian novels of English domestic life." 




The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - I cant believe I've never read anything by Mark Twain. I'm looking forward to this one, which sounds like a fun read.

From Goodreads:

"A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt who mistakes him for Tom."



Do you enjoy classics? Let me know what your favorites are! Happy reading in 2020!


16 comments:

  1. Great list. I've never read Les Mis. Have seen the opera though. Wow! The music was on my heart for months.

    coming to you from Anita's Inspire Me Mondays

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    1. I love the music from Les Mis too! Thanks for stopping by Mandy!

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  2. Les Miserables is SO good. It has some significant rabbit trails, though. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a lot of fun (I love the film version with Jane Seymour, though it's a little different). I read Oliver Twist years ago and like it, though there are others of Dickens' I love more. I have not read the others. I love what I have read from Elizabeth Gaskell, so I hope to read that one some time.

    I listed some of the classics I plan to read here: https://barbarah.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/reading-plans-for-2020/. One I don't have on there is Sanditon by Jane Austen, one that was unfinished when she died. Masterpiece Theatre is currently running a series based on it, so I want to read the book first.

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    1. I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel and it was a fun read! Hoping to watch the movie soon. I've also watched a few episodes of Sanditon and enjoyed it so far. Haven't read the book so not sure how true it is to it. Thanks for stopping by Barbara!

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  3. I've read maybe half of these and i am now interested in the rest! You will love The Scarlet Pimpernel I predict! And if I were you I would start with Tom Sawyer and then move on to Huck Finn. Happy reading!

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    1. I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel and it was such a fun adventure story! I haven't read Tom Sawyer so I may start with that. Thanks for the recommendation and for stopping by Helen!

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  4. I definitely need to make room in my reading life for more old books.

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    1. They can be a lot of fun to read! Glad you stopped by Michele!

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  5. What a great goal! I have David Copperfield on my list. Visiting you from the tell his story link up. laurensparks.net

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    1. I loved David Copperfield! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I really remember enjoying Huck Finn so much when I read in it High School. I'm debating about reading it with my boys as a family read aloud.

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading it. Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. I've read Canterbury Tales and Huckleberry Finn--both in high school, although my father had read Huck Finn aloud before we got to it in school. Mine was the last class to read it in school before the curriculum changed, which I think was a loss for later students! It is a great discussion starter, as I mentioned in this article about old books and cultural sensitivity, and when I reread it recently I was very impressed by the quality of the writing and the humor--Mark Twain was awesome! I haven't reread Canterbury Tales, but I do remember enjoying how it portrayed these very medieval people but they seemed so real and often very funny.

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    1. I love that your dad read to you! I've never read anything by Mark Twain so I'm looking forward to Huck Finn. I'm also excited to read Canterbury Tales, glad you enjoyed these books. Thanks for stopping by Becca!

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  8. Great list of books. I think I am most interested in Deerbrook. You will have to let me know what you think of it after you read it.

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    1. I've heard good things about Deerbrook, so looking forward to reading it soon. Thanks for stopping by!

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )