Underrated Classic Literature *TBR* (browsing my shelves) 

Omg yes, Silas Marner is awesome! And I loved Le Horla but now I don't remember much of it, it was a long time ago...

I just read The Horla just last night - No kidding! I actually woke up at 3 AM and couldn't sleep and read it. I agree with both The Yellow Wall-Paper By Charlotte Perkins Stetson and The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft; I also like The Rats in the Walls. I will now try to find that Orwell. Thanks

The Horla is so strange and wonderful! I only listened to a french reading of it though, yet to read it in english but thank you for reminding me :D

@@bujobyfilo, Silas Marner is a top 50 book to me. 41) "Silas Marner" by George Eliot 69) "Middlemarch" by George Eliot FAVORITE AUTHORS 1) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons) 2) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection) 3) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot) 4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) 5) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew) 6) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette) 7) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit) 8) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) 9) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) 10) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) 11) George Eliot (Silas Marner) 12) Anthony Trollope (The Warden)

Nothing by Alexandre Dumas aside from "The Black Tulip" is worth reading to me, but then George Eliot is almost in my top ten favorite authors. 43) "The Black Tulip" by Alexandre Dumas So if their best is so close on the list how did one author do so much better? 69 dude! 41) "Silas Marner" by George Eliot 69) "Middlemarch" by George Eliot

20) Old Mother West Wind series - wildlife series by Thornton Burgess All these books were me (Tommy) in bed with mom reading them to me. All the titles with big animals in them were my absolute favorite animal stories I've ever heard. Thorton Burgess is older stories and so even more classic to my way of thinking. Even now they are in my top 20 books ever. 20) Old Mother West Wind series - wildlife series by Thornton Burgess 1913 The Adventures of Reddy Fox 1913 The Adventures of Johnny Chuck 1914 The Adventures of Peter Cottontail 1914 Danny Meadow Mouse Learns Something 1914 Jerry Muskrat Begins to Build 1914 Jerry Muskrat Is Laughed At 1914 Jerry Muskrat Wins Respect 1914 Peter Rabbit Puts on Airs 1914 The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum 1914 Unc' Billy Possum Has a Fright 1914 The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat 1915 The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse 1915 Peter Rabbit's Get Acquainted Party 1915 The Adventures of Grandfather Frog 1915 The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel 1915 The Adventures of Sammy Jay 1915 Tommy and the Wishing Stone 1915 Tommy's Wishes Come True 1916 The Adventures of Buster Bear 1916 The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad 1916 The Adventures of Prickly Porky 1916 The Adventures of Old Man Coyote 1917 Johnny Chuck Loses His Temper 1917 Peter Rabbit Introduces His Big Cousin 1917 Peter Rabbit Learns from Striped Chipmunk 1918 The Adventures of Bobby Coon 1918 The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk 1919 The Adventures of Ol' Mistah Buzzard 1920 Bowser the Hound 1920 Old Granny Fox 1921 Tommy's Change of Heart 1924 Billy Mink 1925 Little Joe Otter 1927 What Farmer Brown's Boy Did 1928 Bobby Coon Has a Good Time 1928 Bowser the Hound Meets His Match 1928 Grandfather Frog Fools Farmer Brown's Boy 1953 Everybody Lends Jerry Muskrat a Hand 1953 Peter Rabbit's Prank 1953 Reddy Fox Takes a Bath

I've read it. I found it really immersive.

In my top 10 (in my top 1%).... awesome book!

It is truly a classic.

I second this! I love this book.

One of my favorite books of all time. Changed my perspective on life when I read it as a kid

Same! I really loved the Faraway tree series

I completely agree! I adored the the faraway tree ❤️ my mum loved Malory towers when she was young as well x

The Black Tulip is so good ! I LOVE Alexandre Dumas ❤

"The Black Tulip" to me is the only worthwhile book by Alexander Dumas to read. I believe it to be one of the top 50 books ever written. Anything else from him wouldn't even be in the top 250 books. 43) "The Black Tulip" by Alexandre Dumas

@@ReligionOfSacrifice c'est mon auteur préféré donc je ne suis pas tellement d'accord, Les Trois Mousquetaires, Le Comte de Monte Cristo, La Reine Margot, sont supérieurs à mes yeux, mais chacun a un avis différent bien sûr et c'est normal 😊

@@Sandrine_Damfino, he can be your favorite. I love some different sort of French. I will check out "Queen Margot." Thank you for that suggestion. 7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë 35) "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo 39) "Papillon" by Henri Charrière 43) "The Black Tulip" by Alexandre Dumas 46) "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 57) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë 73) "Turnley reading system based on Sonsils: A system of sound instruction by which a child can learn to read well in one year or less" by Francis R. Turnley 88) "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans FAVORITE AUTHORS 1) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons) 2) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection) 3) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot) 4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) 5) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew) 6) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette) 7) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit) 8) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) 9) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) 10) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) 11) George Eliot (Silas Marner) 12) Anthony Trollope (The Warden)

I think that ‘Testament of Youth’ by Vera Brittain (it is spelt correctly) published in 1933 is a vastly underrated classic. It is based on the true memoir of the author. It is set just before the 1st world war and continues to about 1925. For myself at 64 years of age that period was in the ‘living memory’ of my grandma, who talked to me of many things during that period. The book reads like pure fiction and covers many things that would change forever following that war and some sadly which would endure. It explores issues such as class and society, the aristocratic society of ‘know thy place’ would never be quite the same again. It explores life, death, fate, I don’t want to give spoilers… There has been a quite recent film, and many years ago a tv series. In my opinion neither did the book anything like justice. The book gives a deep and very specific, personal insight into an age now gone by and a county forever changed on almost every level. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in history, in society, in education, or in life and how we choose or don’t choose to live it. Claire B

Oh and I can’t forget the Malory Towers series!

Oh yes. Malory Towers was my favorite of hers! I also love The Secret Island!

Better movie than book. BOOK 143) "The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Emmuska Orczy MOVIES, my favorite. 1) The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) 14) The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)

Michael Ende is my all time favorite Children's book author. I grew up with his works and discovered my love of books through The Neverending Story which continues to be one be one of my favourite books of all time. And imo Momo and The Neverending Story are deep and thoughtful books that are worth giving a try even as an adult.

Yeah, Momo is great!

In the top 100 books, but only just barely. 99) "The Trial" by Franz Kafka

@The Paradox Destroyer im sure they're quite aware? but the english / original title is the famous five.

I was told Magic Mountain is incredibly tough to read. As opposed to Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, this is inaccessible. Is this true?

That’s true. As a person who is German and can speak Turkish, I prefer reading German classics in Turkish because the German language can sometimes be too cold to enjoy. I really love reading Stefan Zweig and tried to read them in German but they didn’t gave me the same poetical and emotional writing/feeling like the Turkish or English translations.

​@@kurtfox4944 I loved reading it! It's definitely not plot driven and a lot of the book takes place through conversations and arguments between characters. But it's an omniscient narrator and a linear narrative, and the themes are super universal so I think it is accessible. It's about a young person who doesn't know what to do with his life so he gets sucked into a weird decadent illness cult! And bonus there is a wryness and humor to it that's not as present in Tolstoy/Dostoevsky. Also if you're reading Mann in English, John Woods is the best translator (not Lowe-Porter)

@@user-sj7be4yn7v I also speak Turkish. Some can be dry, you are right . But great ones like Mann, Goethe, Rilke, Hesse and Nietzsche prove how incredibly rich and deep the German language can be.

@@lizap5018 thanks for the tip on John Woods translation. I appreciate it!

Omid Fazeli ♥️ my favorite book is Brothers Karamasov. Dostoyevsky is wild, for sure.

I hate "The Brothers Karamazov" but like his other works. 3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 15) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 96) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 128) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky FAVORITE AUTHORS 1) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons) 2) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection) 3) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot) 4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) 5) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew) 6) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette) 7) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit) 8) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) 9) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) 10) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) 11) George Eliot (Silas Marner) 12) Anthony Trollope (The Warden)

@@ReligionOfSacrifice Hey. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I am about 300 hundred pages into The Brothers Karamazov. The idiot and crime and punishment and Fathers and son are also on my tbr.

​@@ReligionOfSacrificeAsimov so based

@@lautaro868, the foundation series is Behaviorism science applied to fantasy and universe empire as opposed to society in a company or organization.

Also wanted to say that I was interested to see you also mention Gilgamesh as I just purchased the translation by Stephen Mitchell after reading about it in Douglas Murray's most recent Sunday column for The Free Press called Things Worth Remembering. Small world, no? Of course I also purchased at the same time the other work he talked of which was Rilke's Duino Elegies. Who doesn't need more poetry in their life? My TBR pile just keeps growing! ha!

and Yes, Johnny Flynn is great!

Yeah, in the 2000s . Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo were the protagonist.

Directed by Fernando Meirelles, with Gael Garcia Bernal. :)

Well, that is one definition of a classic book, and one I have not heard expressed as succinctly. By that definition, the Twilight series would be a classic, too. I think each of us has their own definition of a "classic". When talking about a "classic", I think everyone should be precise by what constitutes their own definition of "classic". (some people, it is 100 years, some it is 50 years, some include books that peaked in the top 10 in NY Times bestseller list--- just look at all those goodreads lists). To me, your definition is an "impactful" book, but not necessarily a classic. To me, a "classic" is one that is still frequently read after two generations (parents/grandparents), implying that it still is meaningful - it touches the emotions and hearts. The Clan of the Cave Bear series was really big long ago, perhaps fitting your description of a classic, but who reads it nowadays? I am not trying to 'bash' your definition of a classic (I appreciate the insight), but am offering my thoughts on your definition.

@@kurtfox4944 Actually, yes the Twilight series is also now seen as a classic mainly in Young Adult! I based my definition on research and on what I learned and studied during my BA and MA. And you're right, a classic is something that can still be as relevant nowadays as it was back in its days! I actually wrote an essay on classic books written by historically marginalised authors and it made me reflect a bit on how do I see them as classic when they didn't get as much recognition at the time of their publication, did it have an impact? If not really, is it a classic? For instance with Renée Vivien's work, she was kind of forgotten by literary historians and she didn't exactly have a huge impact in her time compared to her contemporaries but I'm pretty sure today most people would see some of her books as classics. Thank you for offering your thoughts, your comment actually challenged a bit my definition which is perhaps a bit too academic or at least perhaps it doesn't take into account how it's more subjective than what I was taught at uni..

Using the word 'classic' is like issuing invitations to a persnickety party, and altho I'm becoming a bit of a wallflower I'm inclined to accept this one. A classic is something that tends to unite a class of people, and yes that would make any best-seller a classic, but that's okay. More significantly, it expresses something a class of people share, especially when the expression of it is difficult. Thus, a classic will often transcend time and place, but that isn't a pre-requisite. In other words, typically there's a universality to classics.

@@noniesrose 'Not getting recognition at the time of their publication' .... who would now ignore The Great Gatsby as a classic? I would consider it a flop on release. From Brittanica: "While Fitzgerald considered The Great Gatsby to be his greatest achievement at the time it was published, the book was neither a critical nor commercial success upon publication. Reviews were mixed, and the 20,000 copies of its first printing sold slowly. It was printed one more time during Fitzgerald’s life, and there were still copies unsold from this second printing when he died in 1940." It certainly has since had an impact. I have also heard that The Mysteries of Udolpho is considered a classic because it is old, and may have sold well when released. But by literary standards, it is poorly written. I have not read it, so cannot comment personally. My point is: different people have different standards and definitions on what is a "classic." It is good to level set on what YOUR definition is to ensure we are all on the same page before we can further discuss. I will now have to check out Renée Vivien. Thanks - it is always good to add a new author to the TBR.

Ooh! I would also recommend 'Reunion' by Fred Uhlman. It's a war story but more so about friendship and prejudice, the ending is the best of any book i have read in years.