‘The classics’ aren’t just the boring old novels we were force-fed at school. They’re also the books gathering dust on the shelf – novels you really ought to read, but never get around to. What makes a book a ‘classic’? Technically, ‘classic fiction’ isn’t a genre at all, but a term invented by booksellers and publishers to group the best literature together. Reading classic novels makes you sound intelligent and interesting, but the sheer volume of texts means it is difficult to bluff your way through. Here is your very quick guide to key authors and the most impressive books to read.
Victorian novels
Charles Dickens is the king of Victorian novelists, but criticised for sentimentality and implausible plots. His books are epic in length, so if you only manage one Dickens, try Great Expectations or Oliver Twist. Beware of adaptations – mockney musicals are fun, but you’ll be caught out if you start talking about cheerily singing orphans.
Advanced Bluffing: Visceral realist Thomas Hardy; wickedest of wits, Wilde.
Women writers
Jane Austen isn’t just the 19th-century’s chick-lit writer; her novels are witty social commentaries as well as perfectly-formed romances. However, George Eliot is the greater literary lady. Yes, Eliot was a woman – her real name was Marian Evans. Her novels are intellectually stunning and morally powerful. The Mill on the Floss is a brilliant introduction to her work; Middlemarch is her magnum opus, but only to be attempted by the committed.
Advanced Bluffing: The Brontë sisters, especially Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights; modernist Virginia Woolf.
Modern classics
These 20th century writers are the literary equivalent of the cool kids at the back of the bus. James Joyce is the ultimate challenge to the bluffer, but I’m pretty sure nobody has ever finished Ulysses. His work is demanding, lyrical and ambiguous like poetry, but a knowledge of him can charm the pants off any arts student. Try Dubliners, a collection of short stories – amazing literature in bite-size chunks.
Other Sexy Modern Classics: the prophet George Orwell; slick American F. Scott Fitzgerald; scandalous D. H. Lawrence.
This article was originally published in Epigram (Issue 235, 21/02/2011, p. 20).
I abhor Joyce's Ulysses. I never got on with it.
ReplyDeleteThis is fabulous, Emz! Really love it. Very helpful beginner's guide to classics. ^^
Manners
xxx
Love it Miss Cawse. Snappy, informative and fun - what more could you want from an inaugral blog post/column?!
ReplyDeleteWill definitely vouch for the goodness of Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss, after our George Eliot unit I think they're the only ones I really liked.
Also, I bought Dubliners on your recommendation (see how much power you have over me!).