Classics....that are reasonably easy to read

[Manymoresometimes]

I've always read books, but never really classics, except Jane Eye. Ive read Beloved a part of an adult GCSE course and hated it, but maybe because i was younger.

Wuthering Heights and now Lord of the Flies on the BBC (which im hating) has made me thought. im a big grownup (dont laugh) and i need to try some classics.

All modern books bore me, HELP. Im open to anything.

What kind of stories do you like?

Pride and Prejudice is pretty easy to read, and I love The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Lots of suspense!

Frankenstein
The great gatsby
Great expectations

Pride and Prejudice
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Anna Karenina

to start with

Brighton Rock
A Christmas Carol

Ive forgotten what i like if that makes sense! I used to spend hours reading.

But Oh my, P&P is an amazing reminder x

To Kill a Mocking Bird. I have only just read it and was so drawn in to the characters.

Sense and Sensibility

The Grapes of Wrath (long, but brilliant. I first read it aged 12)

Woman in White will be downloaded tonight, to read tomorrow!! Thank you x

Would you consider modern 20th classics? George Orwell is very readable (1984, Down and Out in Paris and London).

Dracula is brilliant
Count of Monte Cristo

Animal Farm
A Thousand Acres
The Kite Runner

Anna Karenina is not an easy read: i needed a long list of character names & relationships to follow what in world was going on.

I don't think any Dickens novel is an easy read, but his short stories (many Christmas carols), or Oliver twist, or Tale of 2 cities, are among the easier.

American fiction: try The Scarlet Letter, edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson.

Maybe not exactly the right genre but I enjoyed Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird. Oh and The Great Gatsby.

My suggestions for readable modern classics would be:

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Of Mice and Men
The Yellow Wallpaper
Dubliners
I know why the caged bird sings
A Doll’s House (it’s a play, but it’s brilliant to read too)
North and South

Persuasion is lovely reading, and also not too long.

I Capture The Castle is a modern classic and a delight to read. I would challenge anyone to read the first page and not be drawn in. In a similar vein (era-wise), Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel are very readable.

I read Rebecca in lock down and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was also shocked by how old it was. It’s really readable.

Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel are brilliant - Daphne du Maurier.

Elizabeth Gaskell is a pleasant read.

The Secret Garden. Beautifully written

Anna Karenina and War and Peace are both great reads that are not overly taxing. Agree with PP Tess of the D'urbervilles is a good shout too. Not sure if Daphne Du Maurier is considered a classic author, but Rebecca is a great read.

I read The Great Gatsby recently, and enjoyed it. I just started 1984 which is also very readable. Lots of the classic titles are free on kindle, if you have one.

I like Neville Shute - On the Beach, or A Town Like Alice
Another vote for A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner.

I struggle with a lot of the really old stuff.

Jane Austen is very readable

also agree with pp re Neville Shute - gripping but doesn’t date well

Moll Flanders is a riot of a book. First read it when I was in 6th form, so can't be that difficult.
Lady Audley's Secret
Any Hemingway
Tender is the night
The Mill on the Floss
Great expectations is fairly accessible, but I'm not a massive Dickens fan.

Great Expectations is a great read.
Echo pp comments above and adding;
East of Eden (or any Steinbeck)
Kasio Isighuru - The Buried Giant is my fave
Vanity Fair
The Bible (certainly old testament - full of battles and heroes)