Minor classics not on any list ....

[dfloyd]

or at least on very few. Since joining this forum, I have read many best of, worst of, best liked, least liked lists. But what about those minor classics which very seldom or possibly never make a positive or negative list. For lack of a better name, I'll call them minor classics. I'll start it off, then you can post some minor classics. Post only those you have read, those you think wont make any best/worst list, and those you would reccommend to other people. These might make a list for lit newbies who are always asking "What should I read?" Keep your posts to novels only for simplicity. Here goes:

1. Scaramouche - Rafael Sabatini
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
3. The Beach at Falesa - Robert Louis Strevenso
4. Ben Hur - Lew Wallace
5. The Sea Wolf - Jack London
6. Nostromo - Joseph Conrad
7. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammet
8 The Black Tulip -Alexandre Dumas Pere
9. Camille - Alexandre Dumas Fil
10. The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
11. The Good Earth - Pearl Buck
12. Green Mansions - W. H. Hudson
13. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
14. Kenilworth - Walter Scott
15. Sister Carrie - Theodore Dreiser
16. Lost Lady - Willa Cather
17. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John Le Carre
18. From Russia with Love - Ian Fleming
19. Break of Day - Colette
20. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
and one for good measure,
21. The Prisoner of Zenda

[PeterL]

Most of these are on some kinds of lists. If you were trrying to let people know of obscure books, this doesn't work. I never heard of Break of Day, but the rest are, or were not that long ago, very well known. Willa Cather and Perl S. Buck won Nobels, and almost all of these were best sellers in their times.

[kelby_lake]

Same here. I've definitely seen Maltese Falcon on a list.

[mal4mac]

If a work would not make your "best" list then why would you recommend it to anyone?

"Nostromo" is definitely not a minor classic. It always comes high on the "best literature" lists of major critics. Most think it's Conrad's best novel. It is less "talked about" than other (lesser) classics.