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7 must-read English classical novels
Here are the top 7 classics of English literature you must read
Story-telling has been around since the start of time as a man's best friend. Empowering thoughts and inducing imagination, books have also always been a source of entertainment as well as information.
Top Classical Novels of All Time:
Here is a list of top 7 greatest classical novels of all time every reader must read.
'Wuthering Heights':
Wuthering Heights is the only novel written by one of the Brontë sisters, Emily Brontë, and is considered one of the greatest novels to be written in the history of English literature.
It received critical response over covering the topics of domestic, physical and mental abuse, challenging Victorian era’s morality.
Wuthering Heights revolves around two families, the Lintons and the Earnshaws, covering the whirlwind relationship they had with the Earnshaw’s foster son, Heathcliff.
This novel falls in the genre of tragic goth and was published back in December 1847.
'Pride and Prejudice':
The classic romance novel, Pride and Prejudice, was written by the famous Jane Austen. The novel has topped the lists of most-loved books amongst readers as well as scholars.
It's sold over 20 million copies and has become one of the most popular novels in English literature; Austen’s work inspired many modern takes in literature.
For over a century, Pride and Prejudice has inspired many films, unofficial TV sequels and dramatic adaptations as well.
Its most famous adaptation is the 2005 film directed by Joe Wright , starring Kiera Knightley.
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The story is centered around the character development of Elizabeth Bennet as well as her romantic relationship that grows with the audience favourite, Mr. Darcy. The novel takes its readers on journey along with Elizabeth to recognize the difference between superficial and actual goodness.
'The Count of Monte Cristo':
The Count of Monte Cristo, originally a French novel by the author Alexandre Dumas, is one of his most popular works along with The Three Musketeers and covers the themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness.
The story is set in France, Italy and the islands in the Mediterranean during the historical era of the Bourbon Restoration, beginning on the day that Napoleon left his first island of exile, Elba, starting the Hundred Days era when Napoleon returned to power.
The protagonist of the book, Edmond Dantès, a handsome French nineteen-year-old first mate of the ship Pharaon, is falsely arrested over charges of treason and imprisoned without trial in the Château d'If, an island fortress off Marseille.
Over the course of his long imprisonment, Dantès learns of some treasure his fellow prisoner had found.
After the prisoner’s death, Dantès escapes and finds the treasure becoming the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo who returns for revenge in the fashionable Parisian world of the 1830s.
Its film adaptation by Walt Disney Studios was released on January 25, 2002.
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'Crime and Punishment':
Originally a Russian novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume.
It is the second of Dostoevsky's full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia.
Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his mature period of writing and is often cited as one of the greatest works of world literature.
The novel covers the morals of Rodion Raskolnikov and the mental suffering he undergoes, after murdering an old woman who stores money and valuable objects in her flat.
He had justified the act by convincing himself that certain crimes are justifiable if they are committed in order to remove obstacles.
After committing the murder, however, he finds himself in confusion and overcome with disgust. His theoretical justifications lose all their power as he struggles with guilt and horror.
'The Great Gatsby':
The Great Gatsby was written by the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and originally did not do as well as his previous works, like This Side of Paradise or The Beautiful and Damned, selling only 20,000 copies.
The author died in 1940 believing he was a failure and his work would be forgotten.
A rise in the popularity of The Great Gatsby came around during World War II when the Council on Book in Wartime handed out free copies of this novel to American soldiers serving overseas.
The novel was turned into a film adaptation in 2013, produced by Warner Bros. and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
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The Great Gatsby has now become a core part of most American high school curricula and is considered to be not only a literary masterpiece but also contender for the title the Great American Novel.
The story is a first-person narration by the book’s character Nick Carraway who is a World War I veteran and seeks employment in New York.
Nick happens to rent a place by the millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who is obsessed with reuniting with his former lover and Nick’s distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan.
'A Tale of Two Cities':
A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859, is a novel by one of the greatest classical writers, Charles Dickens, and is one of the best selling historical fiction novels of all time.
The novel revolves around the 18-year-long imprisonment of the French Doctor Manette, in the Bastille, Paris and is released to live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met.
'Little Women':
Little Women is a novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott and is a novel centered around the coming-of-age young girls.
The novel was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869 and tells the story of the lives of the four March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy entering womanhood.
Since it is based on the lives of the author and her three sisters it has been classified as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical novel.
The novel is a witty blend of three major themes of domesticity, work, and true love, all of which are depicted to be interdependent as well as necessary for the achievement of the heroine's individual identity.
The novel was turned into a film adaptation by Greta Gerwig with the same name in 2019.
