Classic novels: their past, present and future

Twenty-six letters. Hundreds of thousands of combinations. Millions of stories. Classic novels are valued items on a bookshelf, but what makes them ‘classic’ and why are they so valued? Books such as ‘Little Women’, ‘Emma’, ‘Jayne Eyre’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, and ‘The Great Gatsby’, are all considered classic novels alongside many others and their titles are household names in many places around the world. Alongside this, there are many shared characteristics in classic novels, almost as if there’s qualifications to become considered a classic. These traits are what led to these books being read, hundreds of years later. Many classic novels were written over 100 years ago, but still hold the same merit, if not higher, than they did during release. All classic novels share a number of characteristics, the most prominent ones are; quality, appeal, longevity, influence and relevance. These traits attract readers and help the book to withstand many different time periods. Two of these traits; longevity and relevance apply to Jane Austen’s work in the 1800’s, when she wrote three ‘classic’ novels: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. These are some of the most well-known books to date, and they still have relevance in today’s society, proving their worth of a ‘classic’ title. Pride and Prejudice, for example, is said to have a ‘classic’ and ‘timeless’ plot and Emma is commended for its quality of language. Reading and understanding classic novels helps to understand where our society has come from and in what ways it has developed over time. They provide universally understood and recognized concepts, as well as sayings and they help us to understand the nuances of humanity. A common term, ‘down a rabbit hole’ is instantly recognizable as loosing track of time and being distracted by an event. It comes from Alice in Wonderland written in 1865. This is just one of the many examples of commonly known phrases that came from classics. Literature has continued to change and develop over time, with new writing styles and plots explored. There has been an increase in novels written recently, could any of these ‘current’ novels become classics in the future? What books would become classics? Some already have. These are considered ‘Instant classics’ - modern books that become extremely popular, very quickly. The Harry Potter series, for example, has sold over 500 million copies, outselling Pride and Prejudice which has sold just over 20 million. The series is said to be the best-selling series of all time. As well as this, the books have achieved incredible financial success coming from movie deals, merchandise and

multiple “Harry Potter World” sites opening. Typically, classic novels and the most famous novels are translated into other languages to make them accessible worldwide. Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” has been translated into around 50 languages; The Great Gatsby lower with roughly 40 languages, and Harry Potter being translated into 80 languages. It may be argued it was easier for a novel to become a classic, as it was a more selective process, back then. Nowadays, there are many more authors, and they don’t always need to go through the traditional publishing route. There are many ways to get your novels out online social media has really contributed to the significant increase in writing. In the past, authors would need to go to the editors, publishers and then have it printed, advertised and promoted. This meant less people followed through with this as it was time consuming and costly, making it easier for those who did to become widely known and successful. With the help of technology, authors now can just put a book out and advertise it online. However, coming up with an original concept is now much harder, as most ideas and concepts have already been explored. Again, in the past, it wasn’t as hard come up with a completely unique storyline as there were more possibilities of untouched plots and characters. Recently, E-Books and audiobooks have become more popular and much more easily accessible. With the release of the Kindle in 2007, it became more practical to carry a kindle as opposed to multiple books. With devices like this on the rise, how much longer will we be putting ink to paper? I believe that classics are the foundations of literature and novels today. They inspire people to write, and they also inspire people to read. People who consider themselves well-read will undoubtably have read several classics in their lives. Classic novels are embedded in our history and should be for years to come. However, are we now looking at a future where modern novels never make it to print? Where a Netflix adaptation deal determines whether an author is successful? Will there be another classic with the influence of one like Jayne Eyre? I believe it is in the world’s best interest that physical books live on forever. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” - George R.R. Martin.

By Georgie HS (Re)