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I have no idea whether I'm supposed to be horrified by this book or having the time of my life, but apparently I'm doing both.

To sum it up, a woman makes increasingly disastrous decisions because she is horny, spiteful, and apparently allergic to consequences. She's unapologetically bad from the beginning, but she spirals into evil when she meets the beautiful, "exotic," super smart, hot AF, compelling, and completely devoted-to-her Zofloya. (Why do I feel like I'm describing a romantasy instead of a Gothic novel published in 1806?)

Zofloya, or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre has everything a Gothic novel was supposed to have in the early 19th century: the foreign historical setting, confinement, threatened women, sexual transgression, violence, murder, madness, religious anxiety, supernatural evil, exoticism...

Actually, it is almost a checklist of Gothic conventions, except Dacre takes several of them and pushes them to an outrageous extreme. The whole cast of characters consists of awful people (and the few "good" ones aren't really good). And then she does something unusual for the period, she makes the female protagonist herself the monster.

Of course, the book is supposed to be a cautionary tale against sin and excess, but I read it as a spectacular Gothic tragedy about appetite. Victoria wants more and more (love, possession, revenge, sex, power), and eventually there is nothing left that can satisfy her...

P.S. If you buy this Oxford Press edition, DON'T read the back cover. They wrote there what happens on the last page of the book...

Hi all ! I am looking especially for rhyming and/or metered poetry; I enjoy anything in this domain, longer narrative poems, sonnets, lyric poetry. Please recommend me some of the greatest woman poets you have read ! I have just gotten into poetry more, and enjoy Dickinson and Plath, but am not super familiar with where to go next. I'm a woman myself and excited to find new things to read. Thank you !!

Any suggestions on where to start? I'm just getting back into classics after a lot of years. I'd like to ease into it.

I just finished wuthering heights, and started la reigne Margot, but like to have 2 books on the go :)

I have read 1 Thessalonians a few times lately and believe this verse above is appropriate, I haven't seen Paul's writing end in such a tone. The following includes a book summary and resources for reading, listening, and study. It concludes with why I believe many would regard it especially important for modern times.

Book Summary: "1 Thessalonians is a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Thessalonica, encouraging believers to stand firm in their faith amid persecution. Paul commends their love and faith, instructs them on holy living, and reassures them about the return of Christ, urging them to remain vigilant and hopeful for His coming."

Genre and Style: 1 Thessalonians is an epistle, characterized by its personal tone, pastoral care, and doctrinal teaching. It combines thanksgiving, exhortation, and instruction on the end times." - biblehub

Free websites to help read and study the Bible

• 1 Thessalonians 1 - Audio and Written Bible | Bible Hub  2 Thessalonians follows, Paul's continued letter, with more books and translations of the Old and New Testament.
• Book of 1 Thessalonians | Guide with Key Information and Resources (bibleproject.com) Videos, guides, podcasts, and classes to help explore the origins, content, and purpose of the Bible and learn how to approach it with greater insight and wisdom.
• How to Read the Bible in 6 Simple Steps for Beginners | Crosswalk.com Tips on how to choose a Bible, where to start, and Bible Apps. Physical Study Bibles contain footnotes that explain difficult to understand passages of Scripture. Encouragement of daily reading.
• Bible Questions Answered | GotQuestions.org "We provide biblically based answers to spiritually related questions through multiple different venues: personal Q&A, articles, translations, audios, videos, apps, social media, podcasts, and Bible studies."

Especially important for modern times

Are we living in the end times? | GotQuestions.org This article explains many of the “natural signs, spiritual signs, sociological signs, technological signs, and political signs,” foretold in bible prophecy coming to pass that indicates the end of the age and the season of Jesus Christ's promised return, a time foretold to include various and increasing environmental calamities, plagues, moral decline, wars, earthquakes, famines, growing governmental dominance/deception ("with all power, signs, and lying wonders," 2 Thessalonians 2:9), and how to prepare. 

Future Forecast Timeline

What is the end times timeline? | GotQuestions.org  A summary of the timeline from the hope of the soon rapture of the believers in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), the 7 year tribulation period (Revelation 6–16), until the creation of the new heavens and earth (Revelation 21–22).

How can I overcome my fear of the end of days? | GotQuestions.org "The best way to overcome a fear of the end of days is to be spiritually prepared for it. First and foremost, you must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to have eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10)." Read more...

More bible prophecy being fulfilled and resources for growing in faith and encouragement is in previous posts, if interested.

I'm starting my junior year of college as an English major and I've already had three professors who have pushed their James agenda on me. lol.

Comp I: "The Aspern Papers" and "In the Cage" - HJ was clearly a hobbyhorse for this professor as "they" assigned two longish short stories of James. We spent four classes (!) on the latter.

19th century American Lit: "The Portrait of a Lady"- This was undoubtedly the centerpiece of a 16 week course, taking up FIVE weeks! I remember we read both the original and revised edition, side by side. While that was somewhat tedious, I still enjoyed the novel's complexity. Final exam included a passage from "The Turn of the Screw"

Literary Theory and Criticism: We read "The Art of Fiction" (1884) and my professor referenced this to EVERYTHING we read throughout the class. It was almost comical.

We didn't read James in HS so I'm mystified by this sudden onslaught of this author.

I am a sucker for imaginative and flowery prose. My favorite author so far in this regard is TE Lawrence. For reference, here are a couple examples that I really dig from Seven Pillars of Wisdom:

“It was peaceful, chilly, and very far from the fretting world. The austerity of height shamed back the vulgar baggage of our cares. In place of consequence it set freedom, power to be alone, to slip the escort of our manufactured selves, a rest and forgetfulness of the chains of being.”

“Of Azrak and Ruum both were magically haunted, but whereas Ruum was vast and echoing, and God-like, Azarak’s unfathomable silence was steeped in knowledge of wandering poets, champions, lost kingdoms, all the crime and chivalry and dead magnificence of Hira and Gassan. Each stone or blade of it was radiant with a half memory of the luminous silky Eden, which had passed so long ago.”

I’ve since read LOTR, a couple of Orwell’s, and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce. Loved them all, but none scratched my itch for prose.

I’m curious who are some of your favorite authors that enjoy waxing poetic through their descriptive but inventive and flowery prose?

I just finished reading The Trial, and this might be the most complicated book I've read so far. I really liked it, every chapter left me wondering for a long time, and I took a lot of notes.

My first major reaction, before K. went to meet the lawyer introduced by his uncle, was this:

'Some very weird things are happening within the normalcy.

First of all, this court of law and institution is very weird. It doesn’t even seem to have a proper building. It has a very “backrooms” kind of feel.

Secondly, weird things keep happening. Why was an “executioner” beating the two guards from K.’s office? Why in K.’s office? That is such a weird place for something like that to happen.

Thirdly, every single girl this man meets seems to throw herself at him, and he keeps cucking all of their lovers.

The whole thing is starting to feel like a fever dream, especially because K. is being extremely passive and just going with the flow.

I also kind of felt this way about the secretary part in the attic, with the two workers. The female and male workers who helped him leave felt like they were some kind of keepers of a purgatory, with K. being on the verge of death. That would explain why he felt bad inside, and why they seemed to feel bad when he opened the door and outside air came in.

But of course, that was just a theory.'

My 'eureka' moment, that is probably totally wrong

'I believe even more strongly now that I might be right about K. being at the gates of death.

The story about the gatekeeper and the man that wasted his life. I think the man who encountered the gate was, in a way, flirting with the unknown, with life after death, but it simply wasn’t his time to leave this plane yet.

It is also interesting how the merchant from the previous chapter, who was proud of how long his process had lasted, behaved somewhat like the man from the priest’s story.

The lawyer also seems like some kind of gatekeeper.

I think the trials only open themselves to people who live impersonally, people who are alone, alienated from this plane. And that is why they receive the trial: the first calling towards the afterlife.

So should they ignore it and just live normally?

Should they follow the fears of others and, as a consequence, live in fear themselves?

Another interesting part is that an effective acquittal can never actually happen, even though it is one of the three possible solutions. And escaping death is also never going to happen.

So I really do think it is death.'

The ending

K. is taken away by two men during the night. After initially trying to resist, he eventually accepts his fate.

He accepts it almost until the very end, but in the final moment he seems to have a desire to live.

Too late.

They end up killing him.

Fragments - my version had these loose chapters at the end

I found this part particularly curious. It touches on several of K.’s relationships and on his attitude towards people.

He seems to have an attitude of superiority and disdain towards others. His relationship with the snobbish club also seems to be one of superiority towards the supposedly inferior members of the club.

It made me wonder:

Did the court ask each of these people for their opinion about K., and, because he was arrogant, did they condemn him?

We know that the court talked to people.

Kullych worked for the court.

What was in the letter?

Overall

Overall, I liked the book.

It was very abstract, and I was left with a lot of curiosity about what everything actually means.

I definitely feel like there is much more to unpack in it, and I haven't touched the surface

Lucky lunch break visit...

I have been on a journey which started just over a year and a half ago when I decided to delve into George Eliots ‘Middlemarch’. Since then I have read Felix Holt, Daniel Deronda, Romola, and Silas Marner and have felt a sense of accomplishment and enlightenment after every closing chapter.

Of course I want to finish her 2 remaining major works but, her books are a huge commitment and require a lot of dedication to really feel what she’s trying to convey.

As a result, I’m curious as to which you’d recommend I reach for next and why? How do they compare to her other novels? And what stands out to you?

Really excited to hear what you all think!

I'm formulating a list of challenging novels I would like to tackle. I'm working my way through Ulysses, so once I'm done with that, I will work on these, in no particular order:

In Search of Lost Time
Gravity's Rainbow
Ada, or Ardor
The Recognitions
2666
Finnegans Wake

Obviously, some of these are much easier than others on this list. But yes, I am insane, and I need to get cracking because life is short.

I have zero interest in contemporary literary fiction. Likewise, I do not seek out classic literature looking for “literary quality” or “timelessness” or “beautiful prose” or any similar qualities used to draw some subjective distinction between Literature (capital L) and plain, ordinary, magnificently diverse literature (as a descriptor applied to many kinds of written works). There is no one “right” reason to read classic literature and my personal reasons are as valid as any others.

I am pointing out this rather obvious fact only because, from time to time, I see posts that seem to imply the reasons for reading it that do not apply to me might somehow be the presumed motivators for all readers of classic literature. A little reminder from time to time that this isn’t so surely can’t do any harm, so I’m taking a moment to offer that reminder and to share some alternate reasons that drive me and possibly others (and may account for the difference of opinion that sometimes rises over whether some of the works shared here “qualify” for the sub).

So, why do I read classic literature (among many other reading interests)? A few motivators are:

1. A desire to explore the past through the eyes of others, to experience the era in which they wrote or the views they held; in effect, to time travel by the simplest means available to us and also to reflect on changes over time in culture, behavior, knowledge, perspective, and more.
2. A desire to experience a good story competently told (very often genre classics like mysteries, early science fiction, or adventure stories). The skill of the writer in engaging my interest and telling that story is what matters, and complete absence of any greater or deeper intent is not a fault.
3. A desire to familiarize myself firsthand with cultural touchstones that tend to be referenced far more often than they are now read, to actually know the works instead of simply hearing about them and forming incomplete and potentially distorted impressions based on what has been heard.

I should perhaps confess that even if it might align with one or more of those motivations, there is a great deal of classic literature that does not interest me at all, and I feel no guilt or shame for failing to dive into those works. After all, it isn’t possible to read everything, and no one is keeping score. Not being able to ever check all the boxes on some master list of “great literature” compiled by readers with different interests and motivations than my own can’t diminish the reading experiences I’ve had.

Okay, enough of my views. That was all I had to say, but since you stopped by, feel free to share what motivates you to seek out classic literature. Do any of my own reasons strike a chord or are you driven by something else altogether? And do you focus entirely or almost entirely on it, or read many other things as well? Thanks for applying some of your limited reading time to my mundane post and a couple of questions that have undoubtedly been seen many times before.

Edit: for those taking this post in the spirit with which it was intended and giving thoughtful and considered responses, I acknowledge your effort and thank you.

It's obviously beautifully written and I really enjoyed the first part. But what's up with the pacing after the 10 year time skip? Why are we getting a detailed day-to-day life of two random bros in Rome for hundreds of pages? Dantes appears sometimes and he's barely the same character.

I was so hungry for the revenge plot to unfold but It's just filler after filler. I bet an editor could cut this book by half. It saddens me but I had to DNF.

I'm starting Bleak House today.

Has any of you read it in its original 20-month cadence? Pros and cons of that?

The Penguin Classics edition has the table of contents organized this way, so you can see which chapters were published together in the original release. It seems to be about 50 pages per installment.

So I am thinking I'd read an installment (two or three day's reading), then wait til the first of the next month to read the next installment, and so on.

This would give me more of the original readers' experience, and would leave me a lot of time for reading other things at the same time.

Is there any downside to this approach?

I’m planning to start reading and collecting classics, and I’d love to build a good-quality hardcover collection. Which publisher/series would you recommend, especially considering translation quality, editions, cover design, and overall collectability?

I’d appreciate your suggestions!

Made a set of chapter tabs for a friend’s Les Misérables. I learned that this book is filled with fascinating historical details, which made me want to explore it myself.

I've been building a free daily puzzle for people who love classic literature.

The game gives you three authors and two title categories, and you have to name a novel by each author that fits the corresponding category. The goal is to fill the entire grid using your knowledge of authors and their works.

It's part of a site I built called Grid of Minds, which also has daily grids for U.S. Presidents, Shakespeare, and the periodic table.

I would be very interested to see how you do on the Authors grid and whether you can think of a good third row to make it a 3 x 3.

https://gridofminds.com

What's the reason behind our fascination with literature? Why do we read classics even though when they are works of antiquity?

I couldn't believe this error and the only reason I noticed it is because I begun reading the book through the public domain before buying this copy. My Antonia is a frame narrative and its opening is set many years after the events of the book itself. The opening is integral to the strength of the story as a reflection by the protagonist on the events subsequently recounted, and without it you'd miss out on much of the nostalgia that underpins the story. The book also has an epigraph, quoting Virgil's Georgics. Both are completely absent from the Vintage Classics edition of the book. So, buyer beware.

This specific edition is: Vintage Classics, published by Vintage Publishing (Penguin Random House UK), ISBN-13 9781784874445.

Easily the biggest mistake I've seen from a modern publisher. Safe to say I won't be buying any more Vintage editions...

Seen any other major mistakes like this?

I really enjoyed this poetry book. The poems are about moments in a child's life. It has the first appearance of Winnie the Pooh, but it is not the plot of the book. You will find stories about animals, toys, walks and thoughts.

It is easy to read with patience if you haven't got a high level of english. The pictures can help you and they are so cute.

I don't know why it is not more recommended!

(Sorry. I accidentally posted one picture twice!)
First time poster here.
About a year and a half ago, I became unemployed and stayed that way for 8 months. During that time, I decided to take a deep dive into classic literature. There are so many great books that show up as Jeopardy clues and I realized that I should familiarize myself with them.
Instead of watching hours of television, I decided to listen to audiobooks. I made a list and have checked off a lot of them. My monthly credit just came through and I’m stuck on what to read next. I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo.
I’ve attached my list. The multiple checkmarks represent multiple listens. Please recommend anything, whether it’s on my list or not. TIA!