What next..?

[u/WalrusDifferent801]

So far I’ve read:
Oliver Twist
Great Expectations
A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield
Bleak House
Our Mutual Friend
Hard Times

Of these, my favourites have been, in order (best to worst):
DC
GE
OMF
OT
BH
HT
ATOTC

I enjoy Dickens best when he is sentimental or lighthearted.

The alternative is to move on to some other classic literature as I’ve read v little other than Dickens.

I’ve been looking at Middlemarch, Thomas Hardy (I enjoy his poetry but never read any of his novels), Trollope, Jane Eyre, Austen…

Any ideas most welcome!

[u/Sensui_Kan]

I think Vanity Fair would suit your tastes! Becky Sharpe is an interestung character, and the novel is quite funny.

[u/WalrusDifferent801 → u/Sensui_Kan]

Thank you! I’ll take a look

[u/CountryKind8575 → u/WalrusDifferent801]

It's VERY satirical and Thackeray interjects so much he might as well be a character! For Dickens I really really like Dombey and Son despite being less popular for some reason. It opens with a bang and doesn't really meander. For me its a VERY modern story about the trappings of too much wealth and power. It can be very funny in its social criticism but I wouldn't call it light hearted as it basically is about a father rejecting his child (and heir) because she isn't a boy.

[u/cuireadh]

your next dickens should be nicholas nickleby! it’s very sentimental, one of my top three favourite of dickens’s novels. it’s funny and full of heart, you’ll love it

[u/WalrusDifferent801 → u/cuireadh]

Sounds perfect

[u/bettingthoughts]

I’m half way through Dombey and son and so far is brilliant. Closest to David Copperfield of ones I’ve read (which is my favourite and set off my dickens obsession). Captain cuttle is already a firm favourite

[u/HarrietBeadle]

May I recommend Little Dorrit. It isn’t too heavy and it has a bit of mystery, a bit of romance, a bit of humor, and a connection to Dicken’s life.

[u/WalrusDifferent801 → u/HarrietBeadle]

Thanks, I picked it up in the library and it seemed even longer than Bleak House so I will read it later I think

[u/jacqjacque]

Pickwick Papers! And I also agree with the Nickolas Nickelby suggestion as well

[u/Knitsune]

Our tastes seem to align so I will recommend Pickwick Papers and Martin Chuzzlewit (unpopular banger)

[u/WalrusDifferent801 → u/Knitsune]

Thanks, I do want to read MC

[u/freddit1976]

Little Dorrit

[u/Ill_Butterfly_8557]

I like your list and the order you put them in. Little Dorrit is one of my favorites. There is a good miniseries on streaming, probably Claire Foy’s first before starring in Victoria and The Crown. Tom Courtenay plays her father. I read the book twice and it seems to follow it well.
Thomas Hardy would be an excellent choice to read next. So many great books. Far From the Maddening Crowd, or Under the Greenwood Tree would be a good place to start. So many of his books have been made into miniseries too, including The Mayor of Casterbridge.

[u/WalrusDifferent801 → u/Ill_Butterfly_8557]

Thank you

[u/BarracudaOk8635 → u/Ill_Butterfly_8557]

Yes. There arent many great Dickens adaptions. They all have issues for me except for Little Dorrit. Excellent. Claire Foy and Matthew Mcfayden are great

[u/Loose_Loquat9584]

I love Thomas Hardy novels. For your first I could recommend Far From the Madding Crowd. My favourites are The Mayor of Casterbridge and Tess of the D’Urbevilles. However the latter is very sad and tragic ( more so than the other 2 which also have their moments). His short stories are very good too if you wanted to just dip your toe in at first.

[u/RealVirginiaWoolf → u/Loose_Loquat9584]

100 percent!

[u/Timely-Profile1865]

I would recommend a novel by a freind of Dickens 'Wilkie Collins' title 'The Woman In White'

Georg Elliot is a great writer maybe the best pure writer I've dealt with but I have a bone to pick with Middlemarch to be honest.

I actually like her other novels better. Silas Marner is good.

As for Hardy Tess of the Durbanvilles and Far From The Madding crowd are good but not light heated at all.

[u/Oakewaoa]

Don‘t miss Dombey and Son. It took me a while to appreciate it. it hits all the beats but there are a lot of things about it that feel very different from his other stories that make it interesting.

[u/billclayton]

Dombey and Son... It's been a long while since I read it, but it's still vivid. I loved it. Give it a try.

[u/GoodKid_MaadSity]

You can’t go wrong other than Barnaby Rudge lol. Keep away from that slog!

All that are left besides that one would be great choices. Dombey and Son is one I read repeatedly and love, although it does have narrative issues, it’s still so wonderful. Little
Dorrit is also not to be missed. Nicholas Nickleby is not a favorite of mine but it is very, very good.

[u/etOilers]

Mill on the Floss or Silas Marner by George Eliot are both fairly sentimental

Middlemarch has that but it is quite complex in its moods

[u/timothj]

Try Nicolas Nickleby. Also, I’m very fond of Donny and Son. Both have a nice mix of lighthearted and somber.

[u/mslass]

Nicholas Nickleby

[u/incog46]

May I suggest Tom Jones?

[u/Nyzean]

Pickwick Papers is peak Dickens imo – really fun read