Best Books Pre-1900's

There is not one character in this book worth empathy, sympathy, or even the slightest bit of compassion. Every character is deplorable and they all get every heartache they deserve. And this is why this book is so amazing. It really takes an amazing author to create characters who are universally despised by everyone who reads this book. The story is awful and impossible not to love at the same time.

I read this book in 9th grade and I was immediately infatuated. I loved Pip and I hated Estella and Mrs. Havisham for being heartless but I loved them because they were deliciously selfish and evil. Pip must be one of the best Protagonists of all time, with Mrs. Havisham being one of the greatest Antagonists. This is the kind of book that makes people want to read, and love to do it as well.

The greatest love story ever told. Also, the most tragic. Many books and movies have been based on this premise but nothing will ever match up to the original. Two people from different worlds who should not be together but fall in love immediately and cannot live without one another. It is one of the most tragically romantic things ever written.

Dr. Frankenstein is one of the most selfish characters in literature, though he may not realize it at first. He builds himself a companion just so he won't be lonely, never thinking about how the monster will feel without anyone around. The monster tries to become a part of a family who is terrified of him based on his appearance. It is heartbreaking, and of course, a classic.

Elizabeth Bennett is a young woman dealing with many of the things that head-strong women had to deal with the 19th century London - arranged marriage, manners, and acting the way a woman "should" act. She, however, does not agree with all of this and fights to be herself. This is one of those books that tops every list of the greatest novels, and that is loved by everyone who reads it, and reads it multiple times.