I’m somewhat well read in American literature but realizing it’s mostly the men- Hemingway, Steinbeck, London, etc. I also love Orwell, Rushdie, Bradbury, Sedaris, Dostoyevsky, Joyce, and more.
I did love Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and Beloved by Toni Morrison.
But I feel like a have a big gap- haven’t read Jane Eyre, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Virginia Woolf, etc. Haven’t read anything by a Brontë, Austen, etc.
Based on what I like, what literary classic by a woman do you think I should start with?
Edit: realizing I’ve also read To Kill A Mockingbird, Color Purple, Frankenstein, Handmaid’s Tale
by mzingg3
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The hour of the star, Clarice Lispector (A hora da estrela)
The hour of the star, Clarice Lispector (A hora da estrela)
Depends on what you consider “classic”. I’ll try to list a few that are considered classics currently and some that I think will be considered classics in a few years
* Octavia Butler is incredible! Kindred is a good place to start with her books
* Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is fantastic
* The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
* Ursula K. Le Guin has tons of amazing books. I like The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed
* The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (latinamerican literature)
* I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
* Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
* Donna Tart is great
If you are looking for American classics start with Edith Wharton– The Age of Innocence is fantastic as is my favorite, The House of Mirth. Her writing is perfection IMO
The Colour Purple
{{ Emma by Jane Austen }} was my entry into Austen and I loved it. In trying to make an unlikable character, she actually created her most popular character!
Huge fan of all Austen though and highly recommended the Pride & Prejudice miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as a companion to your reading.
My favourite Brontë book is Jane Eyre, the rest are more gothic than I prefer.
Little Women is a must to expand your American literature experience.
Aside from authors you’ve mentioned, I highly recommend anything and everything by Madeleine L’Engle. Her books span YA sff, fiction for adults, memoirs, poetry, etc. Her “classic” work is {{ A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle }}.
And {{ Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler }} is another that I think you’ll enjoy.