English Literature

[furn]

Hi friend!

I want to start read english litterature for my culture, but i don't really know great author or writer in that kind of book. So, do someone know great authors, classic books i can't miss to read on that kind of book?

Thank you very much!

[Guizzy]

Hi friend!

I want to start read english litterature for my culture, but i don't really know great author or writer in that kind of book. So, do someone know great authors, classic books i can't miss to read on that kind of book?

Thank you very much!First off, salut, concitoyen québecois!

By english litterature, do you mean english language litterature, or english as in "from england"?

If you are talking about english language litterature, then you the best way to start would be looking at what english second language classes in schools read.

Books I remember reading or that I remember someone told me they had to read:

Catcher in the Rye
The Outsiders
One flew over the Cuckoo's nest
Daniel's Story
Lord of the Flies
The Great Gatsby
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Now I don't claim that they are all great books, but they seem to have achieved the status of english litterature classics.

[furn]

Hi and thank you!

I'm talking about of Litterature from England. By exemple, here in Quebec, our litterature would be stuff like "ti-coq" written by Gratien Gelinas and thing like that.

Thank you again for your help!

[Fong Sai Yuk]

I studied English literature and may have a few ideas for you..

What kind of English Literature do you want to read? Poetry? Screenplays or Novels?

If its poetry, check out 'William Blake'

As for novels.. anything by Oscar Wilde, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, to kill a mockingbird...

Screenplays.. A Street Car Named Desire..an inspector calls.. death of a salesman..

And a MUST check out shakespeare.

So, do someone know great authors, classic books i can't miss to read on that kind of book?


YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT OSCAR WILDE

[karate princess]

lord of the flies is such a good book, and furn, you spelt literature wrong (lol i found that kinda funny as you were talkin about...yeah im sad ok, i'll go now)

[mud slide]

check out Ian McEwan for a more contemporary flavour, Martin Amis's 'London Fields' and 'Times arrow' are great novels also. I think Glen Duncan is English aswell, check out 'Love remains'. These are more just fantastic authors and novels though rather than cannonical componants of our national heritage in literature. Most of the personal reading I do revolves around American authors anyway.

[aikiMac]

I'm talking about of Litterature from England.
CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, of course.
You know, "The Lord of the Rings" series and "The Chronicles of Narnia" series.

I enjoyed "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelly, and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, and the "Tarzan" series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (I think all three of them were Brits.) It might be a boy thing though. :D

[Crimson_Stone]

I have always had fun reading the Sherlocke Holmes series from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Ian Flemming and the James Bond series.

John Milton...Paradise Lost...Paradise Regained.

Johnathan Swift....Gulliver's Travels...great book, fun, imaginative, satirical.

Or just check out this website. Lots of information on british authors.

British Literature (http://www.britannia.com/arts/literature/)

[Oversoul]

Since Irish guys seem to count, I have to add George Bernard Shaw.

[iamraisen]

*cough* Charles D i c k e n s (it wont let me say without the spaces!) *cough*. bleak house, christmas carol, david copperfield, nicholas nickelby,great expectations, little dorrit, tale of two cities. very discriptive and very true to life in the 19th century industrial revolution (trust me- i was there :p ). absoloutely compulsory reading for any literary scholar.

other than that you may want to give jane austin, chorlotte or emily bronte, george elliot, thomas hardy, wilke collins, robert louis stevenson or william makepeace thackery a try. this will pretty much have 19th century literature covered. i dont feel qualified to give you advice on any other periods as i have had little contact with them.

p.s. may i also recommend you read 'a short oxford history of english literature by andrew sanders - nice overview of history and how authors fit around the events of the day.

[adouglasmhor]

Since Irish guys seem to count, I have to add George Bernard Shaw.

Yes I noticed Stoker, Wilde, Swift and would add WB Yeats, Joyce and Brendan Behan to that list.

Also Chaucer but maybe later on (it's in a very old dialect very different from modern English).

[iamraisen]

Also Chaucer but maybe later on (it's in a very old dialect very different from modern English).

chaucer is very heavy going. infact he has been responsible for some of my least favourite reads of all time :D

i'd also like to add to the list 'confessions of an english opium eater' by thomas de quincey. As much about morals and ethics as it is about drug use, it is superbly written and semi narrative of his youth. some editions (mine is an oxford world classics) also include the poem 'Levana and our ladies of sorrow' and another piece titled 'Suspiria de Profundis'- almost worth buying the book for alone.

i just love the start
"TO THE READER.
I here present you, courteous reader, with the record of a remarkable period in my life: according to my application of it, I trust that it will prove, not merely an interesting record, but, in a considerable degree, useful and instructive"

[Johnno]

Since Irish guys seem to count, I have to add George Bernard Shaw.In that case read 'The Third Policeman' by Flann O'Brien. No Englishman ever used the English language as well as Irishmen like him. :D

[adouglasmhor]

And "The Gingerman" by JP Donleavy, I had forgotten how much literature the Irish came up with.

[Johnno]

And "The Gingerman" by JP Donleavy, I had forgotten how much literature the Irish came up with.While we're on the subject of great Irish literature, 'Down all the Days' by Christy Brown is a classic. Again, great use of language.

[furn]

My godness so many answer...thank you everyone !!! :D

I just wrote all you said on a list and start reading, english is not my first language as you can see by my poor writting skill, but i wanted to learn more...so i will read!!!

Thank you again!!!

[ocianain]

Furn, Read anything by Bernard Cornwell, Dudley Pope, George MacDonald Fraser, V.A. Stuart and C.S. Forester. The English have a penchant for writing excellent historical fiction; I found all the above writers top notch. Flann O'Brien rulz! James Stephens is another great Irish writer (often overlooked). You might also want to read Lady Gregory's Irish Myth's, great books!