I'm an avid reader, mostly non-fiction and literary fiction, and I'd
like a recommendation on the "best" book to read by some classic
authors that I just haven't gotten around to. If I were to read only
one book by X, what is the single best (or two best) to choose, in
terms of readability, narrative power, being representative of the
author's style, etc.? The authors I'm interested in are Henry James,
Mark Twain (other than TS and HF), William Faulkner, Charles Dickens,
Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Jane Austen (other than P&P), and Anthony
Trollope. (Other recommendations on single best book by multi-book
authors also appreciated.)

Hello dickgrote~

What a fun question! I, too, am an avid reader who loves nonfiction
and the classics :)

Here are my recommendations:


HENRY JAMES: ?The Portrait of a Lady,? no question.

MARK TWAIN: If I can?t pick ?Huckleberry Finn,? then I gotta go with
?A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.? (As an aside, some of
Twain?s nonfiction is quite compelling; take ?Joan of Arc,? for
instance.)

WILLIAM FAULKNER: ?The Sound and the Fury?

CHARLES DICKENS: A difficult choice! I would say ?Great Expectations,?
which is one of his better developed stories.

THOMAS HARDY: No question here, either: ?Tess of the D?Urbervilles?

JOSEPH CONRAD: ?Heart of Darkness?

JANE AUSTEN: ?Emma,? which I believe is one of her best novels.

ANTHONY TROLLOPE: ?The Warden? is a good introduction to Mr. Trollope.



I would also recommend:

George Elliot: ?Mill on the Floss?

Gustave Flaubert: ?Madame Bovary,? a beautifully written piece.

Theodore Dreiser: ?Sister Carrie?

Henry James: ?Washington Square?

Leo Tolstoy: ?Anna Karenina?

Fyodor Dostoyevsky: ?The Brothers Karamazov?

Willa Cather: Undoubtedly, ?My Antonia?

John Steinbeck: A toss up between ?East of Eden? and ?The Grapes of
Wrath??I think I might prefer ?East of Eden.?

C. S. Lewis: ?The Screwtape Letters?

Victor Hugo: ?Les Miserables,? but be sure to find a good, newer translation.

Alexandre Dumas: ?The Count of Monte Cristo?

F. Scott Fitzgerald: I still think ?The Great Gatsby? is his best.

Edith Wharton: Another toughie, but I?d choose ?Age of Innocence.?



You might also find these websites helpful:

The best novels of all times: http://www.scaruffi.com/fiction/best100.html

The 100 greatest novels of all time:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1061037,00.html

Top 100 Best Novels of the Century: http://www.oxfordbooks.com/fallo/topnovels.html

100 Best Novels: http://brilliantcorners.org/archive/2002/06/100_best_novels_project.php

100 Best Novels Since 1900: http://www.usd.edu/library/circ/best_novels.html



Have fun reading!

Kriswrite

Search Strategy:

Browsing through the Researcher?s own book shelves and internet bookmarks

An excellent response! I got just what I was looking for, fast, and
with a wonderful warm personal touch. I'm delighted with Kriswrite's
answer.

What an excellent list! I wholeheartedly enjoy all the titles that
Kriswrite mentioned. However, my personal taste would lead me to
substitute "A Tale of Two Cities" for "Great Expectations."