I’m a teenager who’s recently fallen in love with reading. I especially love old English literature (poetry and prose) and I’d like to explore the world of English literature deeper. English is my second language so I’m looking for something to prepare me for reading older English like Charles lamb or Shakespeare.
by Honest-Cucumber-4571
7 Comments
Jane Austen is the easy recommendation. Alexander Dumas is French, but I don’t speak French and have only ever read English translations so I’ll recommend him too, particularly the Count of Monte Cristo.
If you love poetry, try Thomas Hardy–I especially love Tess of the D’Ubervilles… and also his poetry.
Jane Austen all day every day and forever. Pride & Prejudice is a very easy entry point. Persuasion if you want something more mature/reflective. Northhanger Abbey is also cute/fun/a good starter JA. (really they’re all a sure bet except I wouldn’t start w/ Mansfield Park, which isn’t, imo, her strongest)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and/or Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, depending on the flavor of emo you enjoy. (I’m a Jane Eyre girly, personally)
I also quite enjoyed North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (and the BBC mini-series based on it SLAPS)
I also LOVED Great Expectations as a teen.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
If you’re up for “newer” English classics, I recommend George Orwell, particularly Animal Farm and 1984. In the American canon, The Great Gatsby is a strong contender. I’m also a personal fan of Sylvia Plath–both her poetry, and The Bell Jar. I also loved Flannery O’Connor as a teen.
The Little Prince.
It’s a short book, it even has pictures, and contains some BIG life lessons
I purchased it after a teacher friend of mine was telling me that you can read this book at any stage of your life and you’ll appreciate it in a different way. Now that I’ve read it as an adult. I wish I’d also read it when I was younger for comparison.
Jane Austen, sisters Brontë, Little women
Seconding Brontë sisters! I also really enjoyed Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein as a teen
I don’t read many classics, so most of my suggestions have been said. But I wanted to let you know that there are plain English translations of Shakespeare to help make the story more accessible that you might like to check out when you’re ready! I used No Fear Shakespeare when I was in school, it has the original text on one page and a modern translation and context explanations on the opposite page. I found watching a filmed production of the play while reading along the best way to understand Shakespeare on the whole, it really came alive for me that way!
Oh and if you like scifi or speculative fiction, Ray Bradbury. People seem to either love him or hate him so maybe give his short stories a go and if you like his style, try Fahrenheit 481 🙂 My first short story collection that I read by him was The Illustrated Man, and I loved so many of those works! He’s American, not English though (wasn’t sure if you meant English literature as in country or language 😅)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte