Classics

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Some of my personal favourite comfort reads are Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. They are two of the few books I've read multiple times.

[The Book Whisperer (aka Boof)]

The Queen of classic comfort reads has to be Charlotte Bronte for me. Jane Eyre and Villette are such wonderful books - perfect for curling up with.

[Manybooks]

Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are some of my all-time favourites (probably have read each of them three times at least, and I discover something new every time I reread them). I have also watched the excellent BBC series of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and the Ang Lee directed movie version of Sense and Sensibility multiple times (maybe another viewing should be in the offing).

[Sherien]

Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte are two queen of classic! Persuasion and Jane Eyre are my favorite from those two.

[[deleted user]]

Definitely Persuasion and Wuthering Heights. I also enjoy rereading The Moonstone. And, I reread the rest of Austen every year, too.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Laura reminded me of one of my favourites which I'm not sure is a classic but is too good to put under the general fiction folder! The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim is a wonderful pick-me-up set in Italy. The characters are wonderful and the descriptions of the house and garden by the sea are just delightful. I highly recommend it for a sweet, quick read.

I definitely want to read more of her books.

[Manybooks]

Another really interesting book by Elizabeth von Arnim (who is related to the German Romantic poet Achim von Arnim through marriage, I think) is Christopher and Columbus. In this story, set in World War I, two girls who have an English mother and a German father (both deceased) are sent into exile to the United States by their English relatives, as they are suddenly deemed security risks. This book poignantly demonstrates how the war not only tore families apart, but how the children of German/English marriages (which had been common before the war, especially among the nobility) were suddenly seen as persona non gratae by both countries.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I hadn't heard of that one Gundula. I'll have to check it out. I've heard that Elizabeth and Her German Garden was very widely read in it's time.

[Manybooks]

I actually originally received it in German translation as a Christmas present from my grandmother. And, when I realised that it had originally been written in English, I made sure to read the English original as well.

[Misfit]

I love Charlotte Bronte but haven't been able to get into Austen yet. I also like George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell a lot. Gaskell is very very readable and easy to get into.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I read and loved Wives and Daughters by Gaskell last year but it is quite long.

[Misfit]

Lee wrote: "I read and loved Wives and Daughters by Gaskell last year but it is quite long. "

Especially as she never finished it. North and South and Mary Barton are much shorter. I've also read Ruth but that one's a tissue box full of sadness.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

North and South is high up on my priority list of Victorians to read this year.

[Hannah]

Sherien wrote: "Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte are two queen of classic! Persuasion and Jane Eyre are my favorite from those two."

Me too! I love both those the best of all the classics I've read.

[Grace Tjan]

I've loved Pride and Prejudice since I first read it at the age of 16 and have returned to it multiple times over the years. And in the last few years, I've also discovered Persuasion and Jane Eyre. I also love War and Peace, an absoultely brilliant book, and have read it twice, although I don't know if it qualifies as a comfort read for most people.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Sandybanks, do you think there is anything more universally beloved than Pride and Prejudice?

[Grace Tjan]

Lee wrote: "Sandybanks, do you think there is anything more universally beloved than Pride and Prejudice? "

I don't know. It seems to be utterly predictable to like it, but I guess it's just irresistible.

[Luann]

Lee wrote: "North and South is high up on my priority list of Victorians to read this year. "

There is also an excellent BBC miniseries of North and South with Richard Armitage as John Thornton.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I am so behind with movies and mini-series it's not funny! Gotta love the BBC.

[Hannah]

Abigail wrote: "The beginning of many a Richard Armitage obsession, I am sure... ;)"

Was for me!
What an attractive man he is...sigh.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Uh oh, just what I need. A new man crush.

[Manybooks]

Well, at least he is a real person; I've had crushes on literary characters.

[[deleted user]]

Haven't we all?

[Hannah]

Gundula wrote: "Well, at least he is a real person; I've had crushes on literary characters."

Had?
I still have :)

EDIT:
By that I mean I'm still looking for my Captain Wentworth!

[Hannah]

Lee wrote: "Uh oh, just what I need. A new man crush. "

Check him out, but only if you're into tall, dark, handsome and English!

[Lee, Mod Mama]

North and South has just raced to the top of my pile, just so I can check out Richard Armitage!

[Paula]

Oh... my... goodness.... I just googled Richard Armitage, then downloaded N&S onto my Kindle so I could start reading it then get the movie. Holy hunky!

[Darkpool]

I'll admit to a North & South inspired Richard Armitage obsession (which lasted about 6 months until the next obsession came along). I bought 2 copies of the DVD, so that I could lend one to friends yet still retain a copy in case I needed a fix. I really enjoyed the book as well - the edition I read had copious notes at the back which made utterly fascinating reading.

[Paula]

Do you remember which version of the book you bought, Darkpool? I like the helpful notes.

[Darkpool]

The Penguin Classics edition; it has an introduction by Patricia Ingham. Hopefully this link will take you to the right one, so you know what cover to look for: North and South

[Hannah]

Paula wrote: "Oh... my... goodness.... I just googled Richard Armitage, then downloaded N&S onto my Kindle so I could start reading it then get the movie. Holy hunky!"

The book is a gem, and while the movie took liberties that purists might object to, I think both are lovely in their own way. Enjoy the experience, Paula, and come back and tell me how much you adore the book and Richard Armitage the actor (and man - lol).

[Lisa]

Gundula wrote: "Well, at least he is a real person; I've had crushes on literary characters."

Ha! I always had a crush on Atticus. I saw the movie when it first came out, about 3 years before I read the book, and Gregory Peck playing him didn't hurt that crush any.

[Manybooks]

I had a huge crush on Hugh Beringar (who is the sheriff in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series). And, I am ashamed to admit that I also had a bit of a crush on Shakespeare's Henry IV when we read the play in High School.

[Paula]

Darkpool wrote: "The Penguin Classics edition; it has an introduction by Patricia Ingham. Hopefully this link will take you to the right one, so you know what cover to look for: North and South"

Perfect! That's the one I had downloaded onto my Kindle! I love the Penguin versions of classics. Thanks!

[Lisa]

Gundula, I don't think I ever had a crush on Henry IV but he's a very enjoyable character. I read those plays in high school too.

[Manybooks]

Well, I was quite nerdy in high school, so getting a crush on a Shakespearean character was kind of in character (also, all boys in my class were sooo immature).

Speaking of classics, I don't know where to put the following novel which is one of my favourite pieces of 20th century British fiction, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. Would you consider it a classic, historical fiction or a family saga? And, has anyone seen the excellent television series, starring Jeremy Irons?

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I have it shelved under classics.

[Luann]

Abigail wrote: "That production of North and South is fabulous! The beginning of many a Richard Armitage obsession, I am sure... ;)"

Definitely. :) For those who have Netflix with the instant streaming, you can watch North and South there. And they also have a few other things with Richard Armitage available instantly.

[Christina]

Just put NORTH AND SOUTH in the Netflix queue because of all the bosom-heaving. My girlfriends and I call it cyberstalking. The BBC production of Gaskell's WIVES AND DAUGHTERS is also wonderful.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Heehee, Bosom-heaving, I like that Christina.

[[deleted user]]

I haven't decided about Armitage yet (at least not from the movie stills). Guess I'll have to watch it some day. It's football playoffs right now -- sigh.

[Luann]

Christina wrote: "Just put NORTH AND SOUTH in the Netflix queue because of all the bosom-heaving. My girlfriends and I call it cyberstalking. The BBC production of Gaskell's WIVES AND DAUGHTERS is also wonderful."

Thanks for the recommendation, Christina! I see that Wives and Daughters is available on Netflix instant queue as well. I'll have to check it out - even though it doesn't have Richard Armitage. :)

[Lee, Mod Mama]

A favorite classic of mine that made me laugh is Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

[Darkpool]

Oh! Now I've never read Cold Comfort Farm, but I do remember a tv dramatisation from years ago that had me wetting myself with laughter. Another to go on the TBR list!

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Darkpool, it's excellent! If I remember correctly, the movie is quite faithful to the book.

[[deleted user]]

Cold Comfort Farm was a bizarre little movie -- funny, but strange. :)

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Jeannette, I probably would have thought it bizarre too if I hadn't read the book first.

[[deleted user]]

So, it is probably a bizarre book, too! Now I'll have to read it. We certainly have adopted some favorite scenes from the movie into our family lexicon of random quotes.

[Manybooks]

So, definitely read the book before seeing the movie?

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Yes, I think so Gundula. Jeannette obviously enjoyed the movie without reading the book but I think it would be a good idea to read it first.
I think that's why I was underwhelmed by
The Princess Bride book. I had seen the movie too many times and after that, the book didn't seem as great.