A Word on Reading Classics




A teacher once told me that it doesn’t matter if you understand every single word in a text, what matters is that you get the essence of the text. 

I think that is a really good thing to keep in mind when reading classics. There are a lot of small details, that I probably miss, but if I don’t feel like they’re essential for my understanding, I don’t stop to look up words or Google it. I just keep reading. Only if something comes back again and again and seems to play an integral part in the plot will I look it up. Mostly it isn’t necessary to look up stuff, so my reading flow is undisturbed. 

If you still feel slightly daunted by the old-timey language and terms, there is usually a film or a series adaptation of the book that you can watch. You can watch it before you read the book, but the BBC/Andrew Davies series are usually so true to the text that you can watch it and follow along in the book. By watching the film or series, you will know the story line and know what to pay attention to in the book and what you can skip if you don’t understand it too well the first time around. 

A few recommendations for series and movies: 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, 1995, BBC

Bleak House by Charles Dickens, adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Gillian Anderson, Anna Maxwell Martin, Richard Harrington and Carey Mulligan, 2005, BBC

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Foyles, Andy Serkis and Tom Courtenay, 2008, BBC/WGBH Boston

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Felicity Jones, JJ Feild and Carey Mulligan, 2007, WGBH Boston/Granada Productions

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, NOT the Hugh Grant one! This was adapted by (surprise) Andrew Davies and starred Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, David Morrissey and Dominic Cooper, 2008, BBC/WGBH Boston

North and South (not the American Civil War one) by Elizabeth Gaskell, adapted by Sandy Welch, starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe, 2004, BBC

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, adapted by Douglas McGrath, starring Charlie Hunnam, Romola Garai, Anne Hathaway and Jamie Bell, 2002, United Artists Film Corporation/Hart-Sharp Entertainment/Potboiler Productions


These are the ones I have watched and enjoyed. There are many more out there, so take a peek around and see what suits your fancy. Just remember that these adaptations are not necessarily true to the books, and while you might get the main story, there are often more details in the books. So I recommend you read the books as well as watching the series and film adaptations. 


Happy reading and watching :)

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