10 *actually good* classic literature books for *actual* beginners

hello!
here are 10 ~actually good~ classic literature recommendations for beginners. by beginners I mean those dappling in classics, those with a piqued interest, students, or even seasoned readers.
thank you for being here :)

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[ell]

a tip from a once homeschooled, college student, who read a lot of classics: read the annotated versions! read the ones with context! talk to people that are nerds about the historical context of the book! it makes it so much more fun to know WHY certain weird things happen in old books :)

[Sarah-qson]

as a beginner to classics myself, i would absolutely recommend the picture of dorian gray to just about anyone. it’s short, quotable, but also uses such accessible language.

[Hrl_]

I feel like pride and prejudice by Jane Austen was the perfect introduction to classics for me because I was so familiar with the plot that the language wasn’t insanely difficult!

[IM-uhtk]

2:00 alice in wonderland by lewis carroll

3:00 selected works of edgar allan poe

4:45 carmilla

5:45 the picture of dorian gray

6:30 the stranger/outsider

7:41 the death of ivan ilyich

8:53 john fowles the collector

10:02 1984

11:15 starlight and moonshine

13:02 frankenstein

[atlroxmysox]

Oh my god finally, a booktuber who talks about the kinds of books that I like. Nothing wrong with YA or fantasy, i just don't like it but it feels like it's the vast majority of the online book community. Can anyone recommend me more booktube accounts like this one?

[runnerup]

The metamorphosis by Kafka is super short, easily digestible and laugh out loud funny in an absurdist sense. 10/10 would recommend

[marydarko]

the first classic I read was Picture of Dorian Gray a while ago, since then I have fallen in love with so many classics such as 1984, Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice, Great Gatsby etc. Cant wait to read some of these recs
edit: after some recommendations in my reply, I read crime and punishment by Dostoyevsky and LOVED it, it’s soo good, it’s a lot to take in but regardless, amazing book!

[frroossst]

1. Alice in Wonderland : 1:57
2. Edgar Allen Poe (author) : 3:00
3. Carmilla - 4:44
4. Picture of Dorian Gray - 5:49
5. The stranger/ The outsider - 6:30
6. The death of Ivan Illych - 7:49
7. John Fowler's the collector - 8:50
8. 1984 - 10:07
9. Starlight and moonshine (poetry for kids) - 11:10
10. Frankenstein - 13:00

[rchhtt]

I started reading again this year. I was probably only reading 2-3 books a year for several years straight. For a literature course, I had to read Persuasion by Jane Austen. I fell in love with it and finished it in a day. It's also very short compared to her other novels. It kick-started my reading again and I've read 20 books so far this year! Not a crazy number compared to other's, however that's a huge leap from only 2 books a year.

[camilla]

Really needed this because I have a weird relationship with classics. I haven’t even started Frankenstein for the book club because I’m genuinely scared lol.

[mermaidmorgana]

For people who want to try Shakespeare but are intimidated by the language, I always recommend the No Fear Shakespeare publications that have the original language on one page opposite a "translation" in more modern language. We used them in high school when we did theatre productions to look at different interpretations of the phrases

[notamy]

Anne of Green Gables. It was my first classic and it’s such an easy read. I first read it when I was like 11 and I still re read it today. I’d say it’s very good for beginners

[AtlanticGiantPumpkin]

I would also recommend The Phantom of the Opera, A Separate Peace, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the whole series if you want tbh), A Wrinkle in Time, the Chronicles of Narnia series, Peter Pan, and while a few of these are children’s books, it makes them more digestible. Honestly, I don’t trust anyone that knocks off children’s books. Just because it’s meant for a younger audience DOES NOT MEAN IT HAS TO BE BAD. The Oz series has tons of allegories about the facade that politicians fool their followers into believing, The Chronicles of Narnia has wonderful messages about integrity, Peter Pan is a whole discussion about the loss of innocence, etc.

[ssarahmooneyy]

I loveeeedddd Frankenstein, Mary Shelley really went off. But another classic that I would say is also accessible, at least for me when I started classics, would be Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It’s so light hearted yet deep and soulful and you build such strong relationships with every single character. Obviously a lot of people have probably read it already or seen the movie, but to people who haven’t…. Read the book!

[inabeanaregina]

As an English teacher, I always suggest two things: Of Mice and Men, since it is so short but so impactful, and She's The Man. Yes, the movie. It is SUCH an easy way to get into a Shakespearean plot with the same names and only very little variance in story! Once people watch it, they might be able to move into the reading to see the differences!

[Ronaldo-jhxw]

Just be constant. You’re smashing it already. We (at least some of us) appreciate the work!

[sitka]

Poe really is a good place to start— his writing isn’t super difficult to understand and his stories are relatively fast paced!

[coffeeours]

1984 is one of my favorite books ever, i could not stop reading!! i pictured everything so easily and it is just an amazing book people should read at least once in their life

[mandarina_ra]

I would recommend Dostoyevski for sure. His short stories are a great start for reading Russian classics and his black and white worldview and angst are perfect for a younger reader.

[OmnipotentO]

Jane Eyre is an amazing beginner book also. Loved that book.