Which books are on the English Literature A-Level syllabus?

[ButEmilylovedhim]

This is a query for me, not the dcs! I didn't do English A-level and wish I had. Could anyone who knows tell me which books are being studied? I know it might vary with the different exam boards. I just feel as if I have a big gap in my knowledge. I've just started reading 1984 because it's referenced so much and it's blowing my mind. I love it! What else have I missed? I do read a lot but because I've followed my own interests, I think I've missed some gems. Thanks so much.

I might have got a decent grade if I'd had some of these choices! We got Goodbye To All That, As You Like It, some impenetrable Welsh poetry, Catch-22 and Persuasion. The only two I remember enjoying were The Wife Of Bath's Tale and The Big Sleep.

Lots of great classic novels already suggested here. I'd also suggest Great Gatsby if you haven't read that. Modern novels that I've taught / have been on the syllabus in recent years that have been great are Cloud Atlas, Atonement, Birdsong, Handmaid's Tale, The Road.

Hmm DD has had bought for her so far ( memory poor..)

great gatsby
a play called Top Girls
Othello
A jane Austen ( can't remember which!)
poetry anthology

A while ago, but we studied:-

Shakespeare: King Lear (OK)
Oleander Jacaranda (Enjoyable)
Mill on The Floss (Bearable)
Seamus Heaney Poetry (Terrible, hated the stuff!)

ahhh! no!! How can you hate Seamus Heaney?

dayslikethis - out of interest, why did you hate The Last September?

I just couldn't get into it at all Dapple - I didn't like any of the characters and found the writing style really hard work.

I wonder if I would enjoy it anymore now? As you can probably tell from our choices I did my A-levels in N.Ireland and I always wondered if the text was chosen because they HAD to have an Irish text on there, rather than choosing it on its own merit.

dd (currently in Lower 6th) is doing

Emma,

Taming of the Shrew, and

The Importance of being Earnest

if that's any help

Dayslikethis - thank you for answering. What you say about whether you would like it now is interesting as I was put off various poets which we had to do for A level and now I enjoy reading them. My favourite E Bowen is The Death of the Heart about a 16 year old recently orphaned girl who goes to live with her half brother and falls in love with the (possibly) lover of her sister. I say 'possibly' as E Bowen can be quite ambiguous and abstract and I'm not always exactly sure what she means!

In 1974, OCR set texts were King Lear and A Winter's Tale; The Franklin's Tale, First volume of TS Eliot's poetry, Robert Frost, Wilfred Owen, Emma, The Old Wives Tale and some I don't recall. Plus anything else one fancied reading. There was much more emphasis on breadth of reading then.