English A Level Coursework

I need to choose a pre 1900 and post 1900 book for my coursework that I can compare. I'm planning on doing Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg or A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara for my post 1900, what are some books that would be good to compare with either of these?
Thanks!

Reply 1

rwnsl

do you know what angle you want to take with your current book choices? i found it easiest to figure this out then pick my secondary text :smile:

Reply 2

thefigtree

Original post by rwnsl

do you know what angle you want to take with your current book choices? i found it easiest to figure this out then pick my secondary text :smile:

I figured with Howl I would go along the theme of counterculture, obscenity and sexuality but I've been struggling to think of any pre 1900 texts? Do any spring to mind!

Reply 3

oswalds

In terms of obscenity and sexuality, you might be interested in The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde? Counterculture is a little trickier for the 19th century - maybe something about pastoralism as a reaction against industrialisation (George Eliot may be of interest here, Silas Marner especially comes to mind)? Or the Bohemians - perhaps Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti? Maybe you'd be interested in Chartism, which appears as a theme in Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. Or something like News from Nowhere by William Morris with socialist themes (not as popular though so you may find it more difficultt to seek out literary criticism)? Les Miserables by Victor Hugo has interesting themes but is also very long, especially if you're already thinking of doing A Little Life. The Bloomsbury group would have been ideal but unfortunately they're out of your time period.

Reply 4

misseuropa

Original post by thefigtree

Personally, when I was trying to find a second text, I just googled similar texts to XYZ and came up a big list on goodreads. Might help to see if any texts do attract your interest