‘Great’ writers who are no longer read (by so many)

[Mal]

There was Eng Lit O level in the sixties as I did it - Macbeth and Far from the Madding Crowd.
This is a current list https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/gcse/

It was still going in the 70s when I did it - Macbeth & Silas Marner. The latter seems a strange choice for teenagers. I was most upset when I saw, in the exam script, that 1984 was an option! I hesitated for a moment, thinking I might try answering the 1984 question... then saw sense. SF dystopias were definitely my thing at that time... these days I'd probably prefer Silas Marner...

[muzzer]

Silas Marner is fairly short isn’t it? For Eliot.

[muzzer]

Talking of Southern Gothic, I think we must add William Faulkner to this list. He was hugely famous in his lifetime, his books were widely bought and, of course, he won a Nobel prize, but I suspect many buyers did not get beyond the first pages. I adore his work, but confess to getting lost in the forests of his prose from time to time.

Faulkner is overdue a revival imho. Highly problematic by current standards of course, but truly radical and an electrifying talent.

[smittims]

CP Snow's novels seem to have been out of print for years. A few years ago there was a fine Radio serial of the 'Stangers and Brothers' series which led me to re-read the books. They've become favourites of mine, but I did notice he doesn't seem to have a high opinion of women generally, which might put off some readers especially today, when so many novels are written by women for women , and have little to offer the male reader.

[muzzer]

I started a CP Snow recently, need to check the title, set in a school, one of the S and B series. Immediately thought the writing was awful and put it down, which is rare for me. But only shows tastes change. Should give it another go, but there’s a queue…

[richardfinegold]

Faulkner is overdue a revival imho. Highly problematic by current standards of course, but truly radical and an electrifying talent.

If W..F was on a curriculum today, it will take about one second before an 18 year old complains that Faulkner makes him or her feel “unsafe” and demands that the Professor that added the book be fired.
I really enjoyed Light In August, and found the effort required for The Sound and The Fury rewarded, but frankly the rest of his corpus always seemed opaque.

[Barbirollians]

There was Eng Lit O level in the sixties as I did it - Macbeth and Far from the Madding Crowd.
This is a current list https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/gcse/

I see that Macbeth and Lord of the Flies that were in my early 1980s O level are still in there. I remember we did some Larkin for poetry.

[Serial_Apologist]

I see that Macbeth and Lord of the Flies that were in my early 1980s O level are still in there. I remember we did some Larkin for poetry.

I seem to remember Macbeth was our set play and Chaucer's Prologue the poetry for O Level. Any larkin' around would have got you detention. As for Mullarky, we would never have started from there...

[muzzer]

If W..F was on a curriculum today, it will take about one second before an 18 year old complains that Faulkner makes him or her feel “unsafe” and demands that the Professor that added the book be fired.
I really enjoyed Light In August, and found the effort required for The Sound and The Fury rewarded, but frankly the rest of his corpus always seemed opaque.

The Sound and the Fury is the really famous one, of course. I agree he’s difficult. I’m always as interested in the life as the work of writers I like.

[ChandlersFord]

I started a CP Snow recently, need to check the title, set in a school, one of the S and B series. Immediately thought the writing was awful and put it down, which is rare for me. But only shows tastes change. Should give it another go, but there’s a queue…

I agree. He wrote so badly, it’s no surprise he came from Leicester.

[gradus]

Lorna Doone abides in my remote memory but her author remains opaque, does anyone now read R D Blackmore?

[Barbirollians]

Chaucer was A level for me I think but my memory could be playing tricks re the Prologue as compared to some of the tales which we did for A Level.

[Maclintick]

Chucking out rafts of youthfully-devoured paperbacks Oxfam-wards recently -- Steinbeck, Hemingway, Updike, Bellow, Amis (fils), Ann Tyler, Robertson Davies, Hughes, De Bernières, Golding, Lodge, Coe, I found myself unwilling to part with Penguin's Graham Greene short stories, Travels With My Aunt, among others. His oeuvre hasn't been mentioned here as being no longer read these days, so I assume that's the case. As evocations of Britain's mid-20th century zeitgeist, they're unrivalled, IMHO.

[ChandlersFord]

Chucking out rafts of youthfully-devoured paperbacks Oxfam-wards recently -- Steinbeck, Hemingway, Updike, Bellow, Amis (fils), Ann Tyler, Robertson Davies, Hughes, De Bernières, Golding, Lodge, Coe, I found myself unwilling to part with Penguin's Graham Greene short stories, Travels With My Aunt, among others. His oeuvre hasn't been mentioned here as being no longer read these days, so I assume that's the case. As evocations of Britain's mid-20th century zeitgeist, they're unrivalled, IMHO.

I'd say Greene is still readable, but not always memorable. I re-read England Made Me over the summer, having read it once before when I was very young, and could remember not one thing about it. Ditto with The Power & The Glory, Burnt Out Case, End Of The Affair, Heart Of The Matter, The Comedians and ..... every other Greene I've ever read. I've usually enjoyed his work, but it rarely sticks in the mind.

[muzzer]

I’ve read a fair amount of Greene, and enjoyed his work. I think he’s out of fashion simply because he was such a massive figure in his day, and the world of books has turned. His books are short and highly readable, but require attention from the reader. Neither of these things are currently in vogue, more’s the pity.