30 Day Book Challenge // Day 25: A Classic You Love

Day 25: A Classic You Love

I've always been fascinated by classic books. I grew up watching adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and plenty of Agatha Christie stories, and it really encouraged me to read more of these older stories.

One of the stories that I watched so many times, and that I eventually read and adored, is A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.

Classic novels often get a bad reputation for being stodgy and difficult. I myself do find some to be difficult, and I definitely have to concentrate more on older books than on contemporary stories. However, I chose A Room with a View for its light feel, and the ease of reading it brings.

For anybody who hasn't heard of it, here's the blurb:

Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her, until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Bertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.

Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

This is a real coming of age story, and I absolutely love Lucy Honeychurch as a heroine. She's fierce and independent, but with a kindness and softness that she can't help but express. This is a really sweet read about being true to yourself, and it's such a gentle story to get invested in.

Set against the backdrop of Italy, this is a wonderfully summery read that really lifts my spirits. It's a great classic to get you started if you aren't sure where to begin!