Being a Bibliophile, I have an undying love for classic novels. A fortnight ago, a friend asked me to refer the best classic novels to read in the 21st century. While referring some best novels, I lost my count with some 50+ novels for her as a beginner.

“Don’t you think it will be tough to remember the names of all these books as a naive reader?”, she asked. Well honestly, it will be. “But all these books are amazing, please read them.”, I replied.

Realising a little later that remembering the names of the books can be difficult, but not the name of the authors. So here is my list of top 5 writers, you can relate to and who are never going to die.

Jane Austen
Jane Austen is the best! Her books are way ahead of the time they are written in. Austen was a feminist in the 19th century, who portrayed the reality of the lives with wit and irony. Her novels deal with the basic choices involved in being a woman, however she refuses to discriminate her characters on the basis of gender. Austen was a satirist, and who doesn’t like satire in the modern world? Pick up any work of Jane Austen to dive into the world of intellect and sarcasm with her style of writing.

Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf is considered to be a modernist writer but why? She laid the groundwork for the writers of 20th and 21st century to write on the stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness is a narrative style of writing where an author puts his or her thoughts on the paper. Woolf strongly depicted her multiple feelings and thought for the readers to associate with, in the modern world. While ‘Mrs. Dalloway’, ‘Orlando’, and ‘To The Lighthouse’ are some best works of Woolf, she is best known for ‘A Room of One’s Own’ to give words to her own plight.

Sylvia Plath
I think, there is not one person on Earth who has not read Plath’s work. Plath was an American poet and novelist dealing with depression for most of her adulthood. While there are a numerous quotes written by Sylvia Plath, it is hard to leave them unread on the internet. Due to depression, she wrote what ached her heart and is now a voice of million other depressed people. Plath came up with confessional poetry is best known for her published collection of poems. “Intoxicated with madness, I am in love with my sadness.”, she quoted. (Just incase you have missed her work! ;))

George Orwell
Let me tell you, George Orwell is not a writer for the 1984 era, he is a writer for 21st century. Since his most influential novel ‘1984’ rightly depicted the future of politics, there is a flash of illumination and contemporary values in his work. Orwell was aware of the social injustice in the society and was outspoken in terms of political arguments. The writer knew what was coming and a reader who has a profound interest in politics should definitely begin with his work!

Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll is your go to person when you want to read something absurd. His books are an example of the ‘literary nonsense’ genre, where nothing makes sense. However, he is noted for his logic in the fantasy world by playing with words. He smartly connects politics, society, and entertainment for a reader to never get bored in his fantasy world. Carroll is popular for his word play with his characters and evoking humor in the daily lives of people. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and its sequel ‘Through The Looking Glass’ are his most bizarre yet amazing works.

My friend has started reading them depending upon her mood, you may also pick the best of these writer’s work to go into the world of fiction.