Forgotten Classics and Other Lesser Known Books (or No One Has Read this but Me!) discussion

There are a lot of us who have read forgotten classics or found interesting lists of forgotten classics. Post whatever info you have here!

I came across some interesting articles focusing on "forgotten" books:

Remembering forgotten classics from The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/boo...

10 Forgotten Classics You Need To Read from Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-...

These two books look like great resources for a venture like this one... at least through the year 1800.

The Novel: An Alternative History: Beginnings to 1600 by Steven Moore

and

Novel: An Alternative History, 1600-1800 by Steven Moore

This book (in particular) caught my interest... not sure how good it is but the premise seems enjoyable:

The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox



"The Female Quixote, a vivacious and ironical novel parodying the style of Cervantes, portrays Arabella, the beautiful daughter of a marquis, whose passion for reading romances colors her approach to her own life and causes many comical and melodramatic misunderstandings among her relatives and admirers. Both Joseph Fielding and Samuel Johnson greatly admired Lennox, and this novel established her as one of the most successful practitioners of the "Novel of Sentiment."" [Amazon]

Haaze wrote: "This book (in particular) caught my interest... not sure how good it is but the premise seems enjoyable:

The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox

"The Female Quixote,..."

These are great thanks everyone! Also I have thought about reading the The Female Quixote before after seeing in on a list. Why don't you nominate it :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Well, err, it is just me posting in this thread at the moment... I'm not used to being referred to as everyone. Ha ha!
But is there a nomination thread?
Oh, I see - the Monthly selection thread! :)

Haaze wrote: "I came across some interesting articles focusing on "forgotten" books:

Remembering forgotten classics from The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/boo...

..."

Ouch. I've heard of 3 out of 10. This is a great list, if a tad Western-focused for my ideal list. I need to dig in on your first link now. You find and share the best resources!

Haaze wrote: "Well, err, it is just me posting in this thread at the moment... I'm not used to being referred to as everyone. Ha ha!
But is there a nomination thread?
Oh, I see - the Monthly selection thread! :)"

Lol I saw three posts and didn't check to see who they were by sorry lol! My dog was distracting me to go on a walk so I was rushing.

Here are a couple of other lists I found intriguing:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/g...

https://qwiklit.com/2013/04/29/20-cla...
And finally, I like Book Riot's list because it is more globally inclusive.

http://bookriot.com/2016/08/22/100-mu...

I'm at a stage in my life where --generally -- I am far more curious to read essential classics from Belgium, Switzerland, China, Laos, Angola and Turkey, then to check off that Hardy novel I haven't read yet. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say). But I'm not eschewing the Americans and Brits either.

Carol wrote: "Here are a couple of other lists I found intriguing:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/g...

https://qwiklit.com/2013/04/29/20-cla......"

I really like that list from The Guardian!! Thanks Carol! :)
The Book Riot list is certainly extensive (!!!!!) Wow! However, I do recognize a fair number of those titles.

I usually use the "this looks interesting" method of picking books, which isn't really practical for a book club.

Just going by Librivox blurbs, here's a couple of suggestions.
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. "generally held to be the first Gothic novel".
Wieland; Or, The Transformation: An American Tale by Charles Brockden Brown. "often described as the first American gothic novel".

Just some ideas of novels I've encountered this week:

The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson

A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar

Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor's Son by Sholem Aleichem

Year Before Last by Kay Boyle

The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark fits both categories, IMO.

A few relatively recent ones (all of these have fewer than 500 ratings):
Islands of Silence by Martin Booth
Electric Brae by Andrew Greig
Between Each Breath by Adam Thorpe
Hopeful Monsters by Nicholas Mosley

and one from 1930 which I read very recently:
The Weatherhouse by Nan Shepherd

Between Clay and Dust by Musharraf Ali Farooqi. First published in 2012. Fewer than 500 ratings. It was shortlisted for The Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 and longlisted for the 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

Correction by Thomas Bernhard. First published in 1975. 1613 ratings. #334 on Boxall's list. And an interesting article about it:

http://quarterlyconversation.com/thom...

Correction is already on my to-read shelf, but looks pretty tough for a group read!

Hugh wrote: "Correction is already on my to-read shelf, but looks pretty tough for a group read!"

It depends on the group, certainly. This group is special. In truth, if four or five readers were committed to engaging on it, I suspect they would each be more likely to finish than if they attempt it individually. That's st least my best shot. I'm highly intrigued by it, though.

Side Saddle for Dandy by Nancy Faulkner, published 1954. A YA novel, this was one of my favorites when I was younger. It is the very definition of forgotten - it has 3 GR ratings, 0 GR reviews, and there are 7 copies for sale on Amazon.

Has anyone read anything by Robert Ames Bennet? I have a very old copy of one of his books (Hot Lead - which I can't even find here on GR). I love it but I've not read any of his other works. Any opinions?

The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards. The reviews of three GR friends sold me. First published in 1981. 1134 ratings. Guernsey. I'm a sucker for great novels that involve islands, rivers, the sea...

@snickers, I'm unfortunately not familiar with either.

I'm not sure if this counts, since it was written fairly recently, (1959) but A Separate Peace by John Knowles was mandatory reading when I was in school and my children and their contemporaries have never heard of it. I think it was a terrific book to read as a teen and even a good one to revisit when you have a teen.

I agree with you, Kandice, that it is a great novel and it's fallen out of favor with those who develop high school curricula, but at 160,448 Ratings, I think it exceeds the current criteria. Not that you can't advocate for a different standard for forgotten than for under-appreciated .... to the powers that be, that is.

Carol wrote: "I agree with you, Kandice, that it is a great novel and it's fallen out of favor with those who develop high school curricula, but at 160,448 Ratings, I think it exceeds the current criteria. Not t..."

I wasn't really suggesting it for a group read here, just wondering who was aware of it. Last night at my RL book club I asked and none of them had heard of it or read it with one exception. She remembered the movie with Parker Stevenson.

I don't even have a copy, so think I'll need to get my hands on one and share it with my children.

Kandice wrote: "Carol wrote: "I agree with you, Kandice, that it is a great novel and it's fallen out of favor with those who develop high school curricula, but at 160,448 Ratings, I think it exceeds the current c..."

I wrote my AP English exam essay on it. It got me a 5; hence, my lingering fondness... :)

Carol wrote: "Kandice wrote: "Carol wrote: "I agree with you, Kandice, that it is a great novel and it's fallen out of favor with those who develop high school curricula, but at 160,448 Ratings, I think it excee..."

I'm glad I'm not the only one that felt it was a worthwhile read! I've been reading some reviews here on GR and am surprised at how many people disliked it. Funny how we can take negative reviews of a book we loved in an almost personal way. O_o

Here's a link to a great article in the NYT "unsung" American books of the last 75 years. Get ready to augment your TBRs.

https://www.nytimes.com/column/americ...

Carol wrote: "Here's a link to a great article in the NYT "unsung" American books of the last 75 years. Get ready to augment your TBRs.

https://www.nytimes.com/column/americ..."

Three more in the TBR.

This morning, a friend awarded 5 stars to a Russian classic with which I was unfamiliar, and now am intrigued to find and read: What Is to Be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky. First published in 1863, it is a response to Fathers and Sons by Turgenev . It's also been referred to as "the most politically dangerous book you've never heard of." With only 1,343 ratings, that label sounds right to me.

Seek the Fair Land by Walter Macken (304 ratings) was a solid 4 star read. It is the first book in a trilogy and I look forward to reading The Silent People (220 ratings) and The Scorching Wind (187 ratings).