Where to start with classic literature - Beginner Guide

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

This is such a pleasant invitation to curious, young, and intimidated readers to enter the world of classics. I watched the video you mention at the end, and it goes hand-in-hand with this one nicely. Great job, Emmelie!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you so much! Have you read and loved any of these? 🥰

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

@@ProseAndPetticoats Thank you for asking! I haven't read any in the children's classics section (including The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings-I know, I can hear your sorrow!). I think I got started with books like The Giver, The Little Prince, Charlotte's Web, and books of that ilk. For big books, Anna Karenina (though I was too young to fully appreciate it, so it's due for a reread), Jane Eyre, and half of Don Quixote I've read. Jane Eyre was a fantastic book to read as part of a college course on the history of the novel: it lends itself perfectly to lengthy discussion. At that point in my life I assumed a lot about such books, and I'm glad I actually read it to understand the complex inner life at play in these coming-of-age romance-adjacent tales. I want to check out the book Wide Sargasso Sea someday, a prequel and retelling of Jane Eyre from the perspective of Mr. Rochester's wife (whom we find mad and hidden in the original text). For middle-length, Lolita, of course-I went through a phase of strictly reading Nabokov. He was not just a beautiful prose stylist but a toyer with form, and I loved that. Pale Fire, if you haven't read it yet, is a fantastic introduction to more experimental literature that doesn't sacrifice the character and delicacy of wonderful literary writing; you will catch much of the longing and wistful arias of Lolita in Pale Fire but without the need for moral disgust (rather, instead, pity for the protagonist's confusions). I haven't read any Emile Zola yet! Can you believe that? I know I must. I hear Germinal is great, so I definitely want to get to that author when I can. I assign and teach To Kill a Mockingbird to students, which has somewhat killed the feel of the novel for me: it now segments into lesson plans in my mind. Of course, Meditations was a source of confidence in high school-a means of quieting my own sensitivities through reason-and I've since been attempting to bring back those vulnerable parts of myself, worthy in themselves if only for living a richer life. I think I read the Picture of Dorian Gray-I remember the book in my hands and where I was, too!-but I can't remember how I felt about it or even the specifics; it's like it faded straight through my mind! Wow, the only short story collection or tale I read in your last list is A Christmas Carol. I didn't start really reading short stories until later in life and with the works of Borges, Marquez, Nabokov, Woolf, Vollmann, and David Foster Wallace. I need to have a short story month and just dedicate myself to some classic tales! You've been dedicated to classics for quite a while-a wonderful thing! If you ever start seeking more contemporary works and need help with where to start, let me know as I'd love to help!

[@CiprianHanga]

The three books which set me on my classics journey were Little Women, followed by Le Grand Meaulnes (The Lost Estate I think it’s in English), and after that it was Father Goriot. They are all wonderful, and not very long. I got completely hooked. Father Goriot made me order a complete set of Balzac works but it’s Le Grand Meaulnes that I still think about quite often. That little book is amazing.

[@JohnnyThomas-py3jv]

One of my favorite up and coming channels

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Aww that is so kind! Thank you!

[@denisefreitas6727]

Perfect sellection! Love your beautiful editions!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you so much!

[@davidmccalip5759]

Hello Emmelie! I hope you are doing well. I enjoyed your video. Regarding your Big Books and Mid-length books, I have read almost all of your recommendations and enjoyed them all, especially The Lion of French Literature 😉. I think this was a good list for people to be aware when starting out on classics. I have not delved very much into short stories, not that I don't want to do so; I have just focused more on your other two categories of books. I look forward to your next video! Have a great week! 😀

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I also tend to focus more on middle length and big novels. Short stories are great to get to know an author's writing style! 🥰 Thanks for watching.

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Just finished reading the Count of Monte Cristo for the first time earlier this year. A great book. A different experience to be with a book for such a long time. Best wishes with what you choose to read and to your channel.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I'm glad you enjoyed Monte Cristo. It truly is a wonderful novel.

[@johnmrke2786]

This list is solid gold.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I'm so glad you like it, John!

[@nudge2626]

Excellent list. Very similar to the first novels I read back in the day! Would also add the Jules Verne novels in there. Very accessible for new readers.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

You are absolutely right. Jules Verne is a great choice for any beginner!

[@Heartonmysleeve-gj1kp]

Excellent list of classics to which I would add Silas Marner by George Eliot, 1984 by George Orwell, Dracula by Bram Stoker and Hard Times by Charles Dickens, all wonderfully accessible novels!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you! I myself found Silas Marner very hard to read, and I think I would have given up on it as a beginner 🫢I don't know about Hard Times and 1984 - I still have to get to those. Dracula is also a wonderful recommendation.

[@malachibryson62]

Thanks for the recommendations! Also can we get a room tour? I love your place and aesthetic!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you so much. I have made a library tour, where you can see much of the interior :D You can watch it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaimoHWcqbRgkM0

[@binglamb2176]

Your collection of Penguin Classics is enviable! Your selections were all excellent choices. How did you first discover that you liked reading classic literature? Most people tend toward the currently popular novels and short stories so it is refreshing to see someone who appreciates this classic literature.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I was getting tired of reading the same things in the fantasy genre (it was the only genre I read at the time), and I started trying out some classics. Fell head over heels. Now I find it hard to go back to modern literature...

[@mildrumpus]

I discovered your channel through this video. Happy Reading! 😎📚👍

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Yay, I'm glad you found me! Happy reading 🤓

[@TriumphalReads]

I haven't seen George Macdonald in forever, haven't read that one but did read Phantastes. If I ever really give classics a go Zola is on my list, when I had to read Germinal I thought it was terrific. Great vid Emmelie!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you so much! Germinal is on my bookclub schedule, and I look forward to reading it. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@codercharles]

I love George Macdonald! I go back and reread parts of Phantastes all the time. I don't know many people who have read him. I still need to try Madame Bovary again - I've tried it a few times but I struggle to get into it; however, I do want to try to finish it and see how it progresses as you have spoken highly of it a few times. I'd just like to throw Anne of Green Gables in there too for children's novels to read as an adult 😁

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Indeed, George Macdonald is such a forgotten author. I discovered him because JRR Tolkien admired that story, and I was so surprised by how much I loved it. Madame Bovary is a difficult one. I admire it especially because of Flaubert's beautiful prose. It does lack action, as it focuses on the characters and their internal conflict. If you do not enjoy the first third, I don't think you should force yourself to finish it! Oh, why didn't I think of Anne of Green Gables?! Great recommendation, Charles.

[@jenniferanderson7010]

I cannot recommend HG Wells, Mary Shelley, and Jules Verne enough. All three were fantastic. I'm a sci fi geek, though. I also enjoyed under classic horror: Algernon Blackwood, William Hope Hodgson, MR James, Edith Wharton, Edith Nesbit, Clark Ashton Smith, Sheridan Le Fanu, Edgar Allen Poe. Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I haven't read any of those classic horror authors except for Poe. Edith Wharton is on my shelf - I didn't know she fell into that section! I did read those first three - Wells, Shelley, and Verne. 🥰

[@ArthurKain]

Fine choices to recommend! Some others that would be great for beginners are: Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Of your list I have only read Jekyll, but I'm sure those are all wonderful choices. Thank you for sharing! 😁

[@DarrenRosenow]

Thank you so much Emmelie!

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

Great list, Emmile. Have you looked into the life of Alexander Dumas? It was exciting and tragic as one of his books.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I haven't, but I am interested in reading a biography. Which one would you recommend?

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

@ProseAndPetticoats I never read a biography, but Simon Wistler had a couple of youtube videos over on his Biographics youtube channel. Just type "Biographics Dumas," and they should come up. The Count of Monte Christo was inspired by things that happened to his father. Interesting stuff.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

@@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales Oh, yes! I have learned a bit about his life before I read Monte Cristo, but I have never read a biography. Sorry for the misunderstanding. He had an interesting life indeed.

[@sigridpoel]

I would recommend: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is short and had a great meaning/toppic. I really want to read, the picture of Dorian Grey.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

It's a good story for beginners, though I must admit I wasn't blown away by it. I listened to it on audiobook, but I intend to read it one day. It can be such a different experience. I hope you will love The Picture of Dorian Grey! If you do, Oscar Wilde's essays and theatre plays are amazing as will.

[@iloveenglanguage]

Hi, Emmelie! Speaking of the classics, do you have any advice on how to get more out of reading plays? I've bought myself a collection of Shakespeare works, and I try to enjoy the plays, it's difficult to follow "the action" when you see only dialogues. Maybe I'm just used to reading narration and descriptions. If you have any tips, I'd appreciate them 😊 By the way, I've added Dorian Grey to my list 😉 Thank you for your recommendations! Have a great day!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Hello! I understand your struggle. It helps to read them out loud. If you're lucky to have bookish friends, they may be interested in joining you ;) Maybe it also helps to watch an adaptation first, then read the play? Or maybe there are great audiobooks out there. You could also watch the actual play on KZbin, if you're lucky it exists 😊 I'm glad you will be reading Dorian Gray! Enjoy! 😍

[@iloveenglanguage]

@@ProseAndPetticoats For starters, I'll try to watch a play first and then read it. It should help with more complicated vocabulary as well, I hope ☺ Thank you so much for the tips!!! 🤩

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

@@iloveenglanguage If you struggle with the old English of Shakespeare, I recommend the website LitCharts. 😊

[@iloveenglanguage]

@@ProseAndPetticoats Wow, that website seems like a hidden gem! 🥰 I've already browsed through information on "As You Like It" I read 2 months ago. Now it makes sooo much more sense to me. Thank you!!! I think I'll become a proper classics reader 😉

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

@@iloveenglanguage You're welcome! I'm so glad it is helpful. I can't read Shakespeare without the modern English next to it :)

[@karlalikestoread]

Great recommendations! You have so many beautiful editions! I personally enjoyed My Cousin Rachel a lot more than Rebecca. I would add The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, and The Metamorphosis by Kafka!

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Thank you so much. I will give Daphne DM another chance for sure. I haven't yet read anything by Wharton, but I'm planning to! I tried Woolf, but her writing style isn't my cup of tea. I'll definitely try again. The Metamorphosis is short, and indeed perfect for beginners. Thanks for watching!

[@karlalikestoread]

@@ProseAndPetticoats I just discovered Wharton this year and I find her very readable. It took me a few tries to enjoy Virginia Woolf’s fiction but A Room of One’s Own is her non fiction and it’s based on lectures she gave, it’s easy to read (straightforward/not experimental). It’s a feminist essay about making space for women writers in a male dominated space.

[@Coffeetable_bookstax]

Im gearing up to take on the Count of Monte Cristo

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Amazing! I wish I could read it again for the first time. Enjoy.

[@melissaaugust7016]

can you a video on tabbing the count of monte cristo would love to know what you thought was worth tabbing

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Hey Melissa. I kept track of: - Beautiful sentences / quotes - Important things in the storyline - References to art, music, literature - Sad moments - Love story Hope this helps :)

[@aloishager4370]

anna karenina would be my no1 on your list...i love the story😃

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

It's a masterpiece!

[@aloishager4370]

karenin showed true loyalty...the book is about forgiveness i think

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

Those look like nice editions of the Brontes - oh, _Phantom of the Opera_ and _Dorian Gray_ too.

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

They're from Chiltern Classics. So beautiful :)

[@danielgaldino9388]

What beauty editions from Chiltern Publishing. It's sad its not available at Brazil

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

That's too bad! They're stunning.

[@danielgaldino9388]

I would add some books of Dostoievski, War and Piece, Turgueniev and another russian books and Wuthering Heights

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Hi Daniel. I think those are pretty hard for beginners. I read Wuthering Heights as a beginner, and I regret it because I found it too difficult to enjoy. In War and Peace, not only the length, but also the long war-parts can be hard to get through for beginners. Brilliant book, though. Same goes for Dostoevsky. This is just my personal experience - everyone's different! :)

[@thethinkerstinker4957]

wonderful list! though if you didn't care of A Christmas Carol then you haven't watched the Muppet version ;)

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

Haha! No, I haven't!

[@mauranepieters6529]

Nice list, but definitely not for beginners...

[@ProseAndPetticoats]

I have read and loved these when I started out. Can you suggest some books? :)