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    Book Suggestions

    Please suggest a happy classic novel

    I just finished Wuthering Heights and HATED it. I can honestly say I hated it more than Tess of the D’Urbervilles and that’s saying something.

    I don’t mind a tragedy if the characters are lovable or a story with a pleasant ending. To give an idea of my book preferences, here are some classics I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed:

    Pride and Prejudice (honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read)

    Hunchback of Notre Dame

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    by -ReginaAngelorum-

    View 26 Comments

    26 Comments

    2. The_Ref17 on

      If you read Pride and Prejudice and enjoyed it and are looking for something happy, I suggest another Austen book — Northanger Abbey. It is a silly take on Gothic tales so popular at the time 😊

    3. exitpursuedbybear on

      Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, it’s not exactly a novel but a travelogue it’s great fun.

    5. wildgrassy on

      a happier Bronte book is “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” by Anne Bronte

      Wuthering Heights is a novel about terrible people doing terrible things. Wildfell Hall has a terrible character, but it has a pleasant ending

    8. _SubtleTea_ on

      Another Dickens recommendation… The Pickwick Papers!
      It’s a happy read, kept my attention and brought characters in and out so that I would always remember who they were and from when in the storyline. My favorite book character of all time: Sam Weller ❤️

    10. Grouchy_Account4760 on

      Silas Marner by George Eliot has a happy ending despite some tragic things happening. And Silas is a character you (well at least I) learn to love.

    11. Comprehensive_Cod170 on

      I feel you, Wuthering Heights is on my list of least favorite books ever. Weirdly I did like Tess of the D’Urbervilles though. I just HATED Heathcliff and cannot, to this day, figure out why anybody would think of his abusive butt as a romantic figure.

      Long book but I loved David Copperfield. Well worth reading or even better, just listen to it. Every character was so interesting.

    16. PatchworkGirl82 on

      A Tangled Web by LM Montgomery. She wrote it for an older audience, and it is delightful. It’s the story of a large family waiting to see who inherits an heirloom jug, hijinks ensue.

      Lark Rise to Candleford is another favorite

    17. stormbutton on

      May I recommend a lesser-known work by L.M. Montgomery?

      Like I would simply die for Anne Shirley but also The Story Girl and On The Golden Road are my comfort reads. They are hilarious and tender and sweet and lovely.

    20. Turtles_are_Brave on

      Lots of good happy classics.

      *Where the Red Fern Grows* is a heartwarming tale about the love between a boy and his dogs, so that’s a good one.

      *Jude the Obscure* is a nice book about blended families.

      *For Whom the Bell Tolls,* because it’s really nice to lie in the pine needles sometimes and just think.

      *Anna Karenina,* if you enjoy trains.

    22. food_travel_books on

      A little modern (1937) Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Not a novel but “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare

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