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Hey ladies, I've exhausted L.M. Montgomery, all three Bronte's, and Louisa May Alcott. I love books like those, they make me feel like a kid again, just because they're full of laughter and beauty. I can't stand Jane Austen, but I need some more of these sweet old-fashioned books to read. Any recommendations?
What about Gone With the Wind?
How about the little house books
I would recommend the Little House books too. Even though they were written for children, they're still an excellent read for adults as well.
What about Mark Twain? Okay, not ALL of his stuff is like that, but the Adventres of Tom Sawyer and some of the other Tom books are, plus there's The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and several short stories. I think the name of the book where he writes about his experiences in the "Wild" West is called Roughing It and he's also got Life on the Mississippi, which I enjoyed.
And if you want to really get into his satire and wit, there's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Innocents Abroad and The Autobiography of Mark Twain, all of which I love dearly. And, lordy, I know that he's got more stories which I can't even remember.
Which reminds me that you could look up Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, OH! and A Great and Terrible Beauty and its sequel Rebel Angels which are recent publications by Libba Bray but take place in Victorian London at the turn of the century (so, almost Edwardian, just past Victorian).
I'm trying to remember the books that are more children than adult, but my endless years of English Majoring are showing. (oops) You'd probably like Karen Hesse's historical stuff, though. I lovelovelove Witness and The Music of the Dolphins by her. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
[img]graemlins/star.gif[/img] --- KERI --- [img]graemlins/star.gif[/img]
A woman after my heart-- love Louisa May Alcott and that sort of thing, find Jane Austen to be a form of torture.
Have you read any of the Shoe books by Noel Streatfield? They're British and just wonderful. A bit more recent than the others you mentioned (1930 and 1940s England) but they have that same sort of sweet feel to them. I adored them when I was growing up and still enjoy reading them. Some are out of print and she wrote some other books as well (not a part of the Shoe series) that are also quite good. Some titles:
Ballet Shoes
Theater Shoes
Skating Shoes
Family Shoes
Dancing Shoes
Gemma
Lois Lenski is another good author. Strawberry Girl and Cotton in My Sack were two of my favorites-- they capture the feel of specific times and places in American history through the eyes of children (is it any wonder I love AG?)
And my all-time favorite, The All of a Kind Family series by Sydeny Taylor. All of a Kind Family, More All of a Kind Family, All of a Kind Family Uptown, All of a Kind Family Downtown, Ella of All of a Kind Family. It's the story of a wonderful Jewish American working class family in New York in the early 20th century. There are five daughters and their parents, family and friends. Warm, full of love and a nice touch of mischief, simple stories with the ring of truth. I've read them to my daughter three times in the last two years and neither of us are the least bit tired of this series. They even have good history-- the first Jewish American fiction for children (the Jewish American library association has named their award for children's literature after Sydney Taylor). And they've recently been reissued so they should be easy to get a hold of. Can't recommend them highly enough.
If you haven't happened to read "A Little Princess" by Francis Hodgson Burnett, it would be the top of my list. It's written for children but very sweet (and also has a fair amount about dolls [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ). It's in the public domain so easy to find online if you'd like.
(Apparently, in her lifetime she was best known for her romance novels, so I guess you could try reading one of those too. [img]redface.gif[/img] )
I love Alcott! Such sweet books!!! [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]
Here are some more books that are sweet:
The Secret Garden
Sarah, Plain and Tall
The Great Brain (series)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cheaper By the Dozen
Daddy Long Legs
Charlotte's Web
A Wrinkle in Time
Dealing With Dragons (series)
And here is a modern series that you might want to take a look at. It is fantasy, but deals with classic novels and the characters we love. The first book in the series is:
The Eyre Affair (Paperback)
by Jasper Fforde
Thanks so much everyone. I'm discovering what a ridiculously large number of books I've read. Most of your recommendations are among my favorite books, but a few will be escaping from the library in my bag this week! Thanks again, I knew this was the place to go!
The Secret Garden was already mentioned, which is my all time favorite book. The Enchanted Woods Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede are fantastic books as well. (It starts with Dealing With Dragons; a quick search on Amazon should list the rest in order.)
Here's two others that have stayed on my shelf and are sweet and full of laughter.
Love from Your Friend, Hannah by Mindy Warshaw Skolsky
and
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman.
I just remembered a few more. These are a little more dramatic, but if you like the Bronte sisters, you'll appreciate drama a bit, I think.
The Island Keeper by Harry Mazer,
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (there's a sequel out now called Peter and the Shadow Thieves)
The Dear America diaries, of which the following are my favorites:
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly
Voyage on the Great Titanic (prepare for tissues)
A Picture of Freedom
A Coal Miner's Bride
Of the Royal Diaries, I suggest:
Elizabeth I
Marie Antoinette
Isabel
Cleopatra VII
Good luck!
*Kas
<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ September 18, 2006 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Kasatarina ]</font>