If you’re new, thanks for dropping by and if you’ve been around for a minute, this month, we’re talking about romance, because it’s February and most people associate romance with February (even though I know Valentine’s day is just an excuse to eat chocolate— but hey I’m not complaining, I love chocolate and I’ll shamelessly eat it whenever I can.)
I digress. Today, in the bookish things’ category, I am giving you guys a February Romance Reading Challenge. It’s very much like Booktober, where the bookish community participates in various thriller, horror, and downright creepy reading challenges to get in the Halloween holiday spirit. However, this reading challenge comes with a twist: classics. In this reading challenge, we’re going to be reading classic romances. Not only will we start the year of strong with some of the well-known classics but will be in the mushy mood all month! Let’s get reading!
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, a young orphan under the care of her cruel, wealthy aunt attends the Lowood school where her life is less than idyllic. She studies there for years before taking a governess position at a manor called Thornfield, where she teaches a lively French girl named Adele. There, she meets a dark, impassioned man, named Mr. Rochester, with whom she finds herself secretly falling in love with. However, this classic romance transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than that which Victorian society traditionally allowed.
Click here to view Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte on Amazon
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I could go on and on for days about Austen’s Writing and she definitely has the novels to support that loving rant, but I’ll save you guys the sifting and just say that if you’re going to read Jane Austen, why not read her quintessential romance novel, Pride and Prejudice. It has all the elements of an amazing romance novel and is one of, if not the greatest romance novel of all time. It’s a witty comedy of manners that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.
Click here to view Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on Amazon
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
An American classic that inspired one of the most influential movies of all time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a classic romance that opens with the unnamed narrator meeting for the first time, Holly Golightly. The two are both tenants of an apartment building on Manhattan’s upper, east side. As the story progresses, the reader learns more and more about Holly and the relationship between her and the narrator as he recounts fondly their memories and finds himself quite enamored with her curious lifestyle. She, a country girl turned New York Café Society, works as an expensive escort (not prostitute) and hopes to marry one of the wealthy men she accompanies one day.
Click here to view Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote on Amazon
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Another novel from the other Bronte sister, this wild, passionate romance story of the intense and almost obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine’s father continues to strike readers today. The story is one of, if not perhaps the most haunting and tormented love stories ever written and tells the tale of the troubled orphan, Heathcliff and his doomed love for Catherine.
Click here to view Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte on Amazon
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
What list would be complete without a little Shakespeare and especially, his most famous story, Romeo and Juliet. Though anyone who has actually read it will tell you that the story doesn’t have a particularly happy ending (in fact, its particularly unhappy, if you ask me) the story is a classic romantic tale that showcases one of the most important questions humanity has ever faced, and that is: how far will one go for love? Elizabeth Eliot said, “There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” which eloquently and succinctly describes Romeo and Juliet.
Click here to view Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare on Amazon
Try reading these in order of most romantic to least romantic to start the month out with a really romantic read and finish it out on a little reader heartbreak. Or, read least to most romantic to end February with a happy ending.
What do you think of my February 2020 Classic Romance Reading Challenge? Have you read any of these stories before? Which of these five is your favorite and which is your least favorite? For me personally, I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and I look forward to rereading it this month, however I’d say Wuthering Heights makes number 5 on my list. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!