Suggestions for Books Written Before WWI

[Vintage Paw]

I've never heard of The Yellow Wallpaper. What is it about?

Short story really - a classic dealing with patriarchy, women and madness. Really strong imagery. Think Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic and you won't go far wrong.

Mr VP recommends The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell, The Iron Heel by Jack London, and of course there are the usual ones like Dracula, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I liked Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White.

We started reading Don Quioxte a while ago but didn't get very far. We like to read to each other in bed at night, mainly kids classics like Carroll, Milne, Graham, Tolkien etc, but after successfully getting through some Sherlock Holmes, and the entire LOTRs trilogy we thought we'd try something more adventurous. It didn't go very well though - mainly because we rarely go to bed at the same time any more tbh. It's a good one for reading aloud because of the comedy, but tough because of some of the names (I'm crap at foreign pronunciation).

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Oh yeah, and possibly the best novel in the English language: Moby Dick.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Oh yeah, and possibly the best novel in the English language: Moby Dick.

True. It just begs to be read out loud. The scene where they are forging the harpoon is like something out of a Shakespere play.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

True. It just begs to be read out loud. The scene where they are forging the harpoon is like something out of a Shakespere play.

It's better than shakespeare, imo.

I got one of those abridged kid books of it to read to my kids when they were young. Even that was almost a masterpiece.

 

[May Kasahara]

I can't really describe what I'm looking for. I guess I'm looking for something that brings to life a different time and place.

May I recommend Les Liasons Dangereuses. One of my all-time favourite books; it ticks along like a fine Swiss watch, drawing you into its cruelty and callousness with an irresistable pull. It's also very funny indeed, if you like dark humour.

 

[Belushi]

Anything by Rudyard Kipling, but in particular Kim.

Anything by Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Isn't "The Secret Agent" the book that Ted Kzinski (the Uni-bomber) liked so much?

Yep. Probably because it's about an anarchist doing naughty things.