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miclor
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Reged: 15/02/2008
Posts: 874
Which five 'classic' novels should I read?
      #286315 - 22/12/2008 15:59

One of my New Year's resolutions will be to read at least five 'classic' novels during 2009.

By 'classic', I mean the work of a well-known author of a standard suitable for students of literature. I don't have a favourite author, but I imagine names such as Dickens, Shakespeare, Hardy, Bronte or Tolstoy might figure on the list.

Recommendations, please!

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Barney
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Reged: 01/04/2008
Posts: 2365
Loc: UK
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: miclor]
      #286321 - 22/12/2008 16:06

Hi miclor here's my suggestions

Tess of the D'Ubervilles Thomas Hardy

Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

Great Expectations Charles Dickens

Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain

Middlemarch George Eliot

Happy reading.

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BEL
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Reged: 21/02/2008
Posts: 2397
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: Barney]
      #286385 - 22/12/2008 16:52

Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
Northanger Abbey by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Silas Marner..can't remember author
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

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BEL
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Reged: 21/02/2008
Posts: 2397
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: BEL]
      #286393 - 22/12/2008 16:56

Just remembered...Silas Marner author was George Eliot
Enjoy.

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hussy
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Reged: 29/09/2008
Posts: 781
Loc: Scotland
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: BEL]
      #286528 - 22/12/2008 18:18

Catcher in the Rye
Sunset Song
Little women (or the ones after it if you have read it)
Cancer Ward
The Barchester Chronicles

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lizalou
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Reged: 01/02/2008
Posts: 669
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: hussy]
      #286650 - 22/12/2008 20:55

You could try

Lark rise to Candleford By Flora Thompson
Cranford By Elizabeth Gaskell
Having watched them on TV will give you a head start, but the books are far better


Any/all the Jane Austen novels (my favourites)

Barchester Towers Anthony Trolloppe

And I suppose you had better add
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte


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Splash123
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Reged: 04/05/2008
Posts: 3718
Loc: South Glamorgan
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: lizalou]
      #286652 - 22/12/2008 20:57

Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina....my all time favorite !
But all the above are good suggestions ....there are so many!

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www.cardiff.hilton.com/womenandhomelunch.


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marina
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Reged: 14/08/2008
Posts: 1447
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: Splash123]
      #287042 - 23/12/2008 10:03

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Birdsong Sebastien Faulks (Is it too modern to be a "Classic"?

and any of the afore mentioned. Great choices girls.

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marina x



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Splash123
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Reged: 04/05/2008
Posts: 3718
Loc: South Glamorgan
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: marina]
      #287163 - 23/12/2008 12:50

Oh yes definately BirdSong....Yes it has to be a classic....Great Gatsby !...that takes me back to university!! memories stirring Marina!
xx

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www.cardiff.hilton.com/womenandhomelunch.


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DeepBlue
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Reged: 16/02/2008
Posts: 352
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: miclor]
      #287721 - 24/12/2008 00:09

First and most favourite ever, Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Tess of the D'urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Emma - Jane Austen
David Copperfield - Dickens
Birdsong - Sebastian Fawlkes (sp?)
Tender is the Night - F Scott Fitzgerald
In Cold Bold - Truman Capote

Last 2 are really American Classics but who cares when they are so good. Just realised I've got 7


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valerie57
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Reged: 19/12/2008
Posts: 3
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: DeepBlue]
      #287802 - 24/12/2008 09:00

Must add Well of Loneliness - Radlyffe Hall

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wispa
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Reged: 16/01/2008
Posts: 3125
Loc: Suffolk,
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: valerie57]
      #287982 - 24/12/2008 13:13

Can I put in a good word for the Forsyte Saga!

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dizeeblonde
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Reged: 19/01/2008
Posts: 4044
Loc: Manchester
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: wispa]
      #288107 - 24/12/2008 16:03

Madame Bovary is one i would suggest.

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Manchester United - just like marmite ... loved or hated but NEVER IGNORED.


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snoopy56
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Reged: 28/08/2007
Posts: 167
Loc: Norfolk
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: dizeeblonde]
      #288799 - 26/12/2008 09:41

Great suggestions especially as I'm just coming to the end of Anna Karenina and loving it. The other Russian novel which I would recommend is Dr Zhivago.
My list would also include:-

Brideshead Revisited
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath
Midnight's Children (surely already regarded as a classic)
Goodbye to all That (not a novel, I know but essential reading)
1984 (I'm suprised this hasn't already been mentioned!)

One of my reading resolutions for 2009 is to read another Russian classic possibly 'Crime and Punishment' or the Brother's Karamazov.

Happy Reading New Year, everyone

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Ashbee
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Reged: 13/06/2008
Posts: 1160
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: snoopy56]
      #289452 - 27/12/2008 18:49

Can I add Moll Flanders to the list as well as Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee?

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Twiddledout
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Reged: 17/11/2008
Posts: 1053
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: Ashbee]
      #290726 - 29/12/2008 17:48

This is one of my intentions too miclor. I'm currently wading through 1984. It's getting better after a slow start!

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www.mrstwiddle.wordpress.com


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bunnygirl
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Reged: 30/08/2008
Posts: 672
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: Twiddledout]
      #291323 - 30/12/2008 12:30

Agree with a lot already mentioned especially Anna Karenina and Tees of the D'urbavilles.

One of the only books I have read more than once is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I must have read it at least six times.

Bunnygirl

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Ginnie
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Reged: 24/06/2008
Posts: 869
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: bunnygirl]
      #292279 - 31/12/2008 11:41

I agree with all of the above and would like to add
The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

Birdsong has to be a modern classic and maybe A Thousand Splendid Suns won't be far behind it


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feathers
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Reged: 20/05/2007
Posts: 562
Loc: Tyneside
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: Ginnie]
      #293014 - 01/01/2009 02:15

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The way we live now - Anthony Trollope (incredible resonance with today's world)
Great Expectations (the only Dickens I can manage)
The Forsyte Saga
Anna Karenina

if you were thinking at modern classics I'd say:

Possession - A S Byatt
The Great Gatsby - Scott Fitzgerald
Gone with the wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Shipping News - Annie Proulx


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Ginnie
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Reged: 24/06/2008
Posts: 869
Re: Which five 'classic' novels should I read? [Re: feathers]
      #293088 - 01/01/2009 10:33

Feathers definitely Gone With The Wind "Scarlet O'Hara was not beautiful but men seldom realised this" I was a teenager when I first read this. I thought the film was very good too . Apparently the burning of Atlanta was a triumph for cinematography at that time

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