25 19th century novels people have read and want to read

[Anonymous]

I have read 10 of those in some detail (aka studied / re-read) but have little interest in reading the rest of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read all of them except for Moby Dick.

I am offended that Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are not on this list.

Same, show some respect for the Brontes!!

[Anonymous]

I’ve only read eight of them. Loved Middlemarch, Brothers K, Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment. Haven’t finished Moby Dick, never tried War and Peace. Couldn’t get through Heart of Darkness but I was young.

When I was 22 I read Les Mis and loved it, but near the end I realized I’d bought the abridged version and felt like an idiot, so I’m not counting that one.

[Anonymous]

I've read six plus many others not on this list, eg, several other Mark Twain works, various Jules Verne, The Scarlet Pimpernel, additional novels by Alexandre Dumas.

I never liked the Russian authors or Charles Dickens. I got halfway through Bleak House and could never get through any of the others. And, frankly, nearly all of these I read as a teenager, except Middlemarch which was in a college English class. I've revisited a few as an adult and was bored to death by the melodrama. Except Twain and Verne. I actually appreciated those more as an adult.

[Anonymous]

I've read all of these except for Les Miserables (which is borderline unreadable due to all of Hugo's digressions) and War and Peace (because I don't have time to chart it). My mom loves Dickens and keeps giving me different ones to try and with the exception of the last third of Tale of Two Cities I just haven't found his stuff that compelling.

I read quite of few of these for class (honestly no way I would have finished Tess D'Ubervilles if I didn't have to) and some on my own.

Honestly it's fine? If someone was starting a reading journey Heart of Darkness or Dracula would be a better place to start than, say, Bleak House.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read 17 of them. What surprised me is that there is a book/author I've never heard of on there -- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. And I have a grad degree in English.

From a real school?

I know I sound mean, but I am really, really surprised you haven't heard of Wilkie Collins. Not read? Sure. But not heard of?🤯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read all of these except for Les Miserables (which is borderline unreadable due to all of Hugo's digressions) and War and Peace (because I don't have time to chart it). My mom loves Dickens and keeps giving me different ones to try and with the exception of the last third of Tale of Two Cities I just haven't found his stuff that compelling.

I read quite of few of these for class (honestly no way I would have finished Tess D'Ubervilles if I didn't have to) and some on my own.

Honestly it's fine? If someone was starting a reading journey Heart of Darkness or Dracula would be a better place to start than, say, Bleak House.

I agree. I just don’t love Dickens.

Dracula is a fun book and it’s one I will recommend my kids read when they’re youngish teenagers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
But it's kind of sad this generation of kids is not going to read, much less be moved, by 19th Century literature. I think Gen X is the end for when literature mattered.

I've taken up reading classic literature again, as I enjoy it more now than when I was forced to read it in high school. I also read real books not e-books, so I carry a book around with me.

Talk about one way to get female attention. Only from a subset, but I guess it's really rare to see a guy carrying around a book these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've read 17 of them. What surprised me is that there is a book/author I've never heard of on there -- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. And I have a grad degree in English.

From a real school?

I know I sound mean, but I am really, really surprised you haven't heard of Wilkie Collins. Not read? Sure. But not heard of?🤯

NP, Comp Lit major, I’ve read pretty much everything on the list (except Les Mis and weirdly never got entirely through Anna Karenina) + many many more “classics” but also have never even heard of Collins…

[Anonymous]

finished 16, tried a few more.