When I read Les Miserables for the first time, it opened up an entire new world for me-literally. My taste in books quickly turned to classic and romantic literature, and I began to "read up" on the subject (horrible and obvious pun intended). Since then, I have indulged in a great amount of classic literature, and highly enjoyed all of it. For this reason, I have set aside a section on my website to list some of the books I have read, along with my thoughts about them. Perhaps some of you may follow my recommendations, and find a few new favourite books. The following novels I recommend to those who loved Les Miserables:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by our beloved Victor Hugo This is the only one of Hugo's novels besides Les Miserables that I have read. The writing style-descriptions, dialogues, and plot-will be familiar, as it is very similar to Les Miserables. However, I found that I could not get into this book as much, because I did not get overly attached to any of the characters. When I read Les Miserables, I found that I cared about the characters as if they were family to me. But in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, none of the characters really appealed to me. Quasimodo, the Hunchback, is hardly in the novel, and though I sympathized with him, as a character, I formed no strong feelings for him. Esmeralda, the gypsy girl, is described as more of an object then a character, and I found her rather silly besides. Claude Frollo, Quasimodo's keeper, was so twisted and foreign to me that I did not sympathize him at all. Now if it seems that I didn't like this book, that's not true; I just didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. I would still say to give it a shot, however.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens This is probably my favourite book besides Les Miserables. While many have read it in high school, I will attempt to give a short summary for those who have not: Great Expectations is a book about a poor boy named Pip who wants desperately to be a gentleman, gets his wish, and then finds that he is still not happy. Or something to that effect; it's quite a long book! The plot, while unlikely, is interesting and very enjoyable. All of the characters are colourful and interesting, my personal favourite being the ernest and delightful Herbert Pocket, Pip's best friend. The novel is also somewhat satirical in nature, so you may find yourself snickering softly at a few points. The only issue is that Dickens is an acquired taste, so you may find that you want to set it away after the first few chapters. Don't. It will be worth it by the end!
Anything by William Shakespeare! I just love Shakespeare; it's excellent writing. My personal favourite plays are "Hamlet," "The Merchant of Venice," and of course, "Taming of the Shrew," still hilarious over 400 years after it was written! I alos own all of his sonnets in a lovely volume, and I go to it once in a while. But, again, Shakespeare is an acquired taste. I find it helpful to read it outloud. Being the language in your mouth makes it much easier to understand, and, I think, much more enjoyable.
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux I will say upfront that I liked the musical more than the book, but I still enjoyed the book. I recommend this book highly to Mizzies, seeing as the Les Mis fandom and the Phantom phandom seem to be closely related, and intertwined in some cases. The book is enjoyable, and explains many things that are confusing in the show. By the same token, some parts of the book are confusing. The point of view jumps around too much for my taste. It would go from the narrator to Raoul to Christine to the Persian (who didn't even make it into the musical!) to God knows who and it got on my nerves after a while. Some of the minor characters were not developed enough in my opinion, but the three main characters-Erik, Christine and Raoul-were described in great detail, and I felt I understood them by the end of the novel. The ending was very poignant; it made me cry. Raoul was my favourite character; there is more than a little Marius Pontmercy in him!
Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne This is actually a short story, not a novel. It's short, only twenty pages or so, if I remember correctly, but greatly affecting. I can't say too much, lest I give the plot away, but it concerns a young man who falls in love with a beautiful but poisonous lady. One can read it online here. I highly recommend it.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Another book that many of you probably read in school. I actually read it in school, as a matter of fact. Either way, it is a very good book with commentary on the society of that time (the 17th century) that makes one think.
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson I hestitated whether or not to list this book, as it is fantasy, not classic literature, but it is such an amazing book that I have to strongly, strongly recommend it. It is the first of six, actually two trilogies, but read the first one to start off to see if you like it. The books have a small cult following similar to the one that The Lord of the Rings had before the movies came out. It is the story of a man named Thomas Covenant who contracts leprosy and loses everything he loves: his family, his job, and his life as he knows it. Then though some freak accident, he is sent into another world called The Land. In this world, he finds that he does not have leprosy. Assuming The Land is not real, he commits a horrible crime. From then on, his question is that whether or not The Land is real or not, should he have done what he did? These books are fantasy with a conscience. They make one think on a deeply moral level. I think that it will appeal to Mizzie's because, like Les Miserables, it deals with a great number of moral themes, and it is an extremely intelligent book with fascinating characters. One of the best things I've ever read. Seriously. Check it out.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy Whee! I love this book! In spite of what I consider to be some flaws in the Baroness' writing style (overuse of certain adjectives, some cliche lines, etc.) I really enjoyed reading this book. It centres around a young French woman named Marguerite who is reputed to be "the most clever woman in Europe." Unlike a lot of female characters out of the Romantic era, I find that Marguerite is an extremely real and three-dimensional character that the reader can really identify with. She is married to a seemingly witless Englishman named Sir Percy Blakney...but he is not what he seems. The novel takes place during the French Revolution, and the title character is a mysterious man who rescues members of the French Nobility from the Commitee of Public Safety. A French man named Chauvelin is absolutely committed to finding out his identity, and enlists the aid from an unwilling Marguerite, using the safety of her brother Armand as payment. That's about all I can say about the novel without giving too much away. A very good read! From the very first chapter, the reader is brought into the mystery and brilliance of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The second chaper was, to me, a bit difficult to follow, but after that, the novel is interesting and exciting. And let me say that ending absolutely blew me away!! There are several sequels to this book. If you are interested, the titles are as follows: Sir Percy Leads the Band, I Will Repay, Elusive Pimpernel, Lord Tony's Wife, Mam'Zelle Guillotine, Eldorado, Sir Percy Hits Back, Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Triumph Of Scarlet Pimpernel, Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel, League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, (the last two being collections of short stories), The Laughing Cavalier , The First Sir Percy, and Pimpernel and Rosemary (the last three dealing with decendants and ancestors of Sir Percy).
