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ZeMastor t1_j5i08g8 wrote

Modern Y.A. versions of the Classics.

The series that I think well of is the 1940's-1950's era JJ Little and Ives "Library Edition" classics. Original language modernized for mid-20th century high-schoolers, and the language used is completely understandable for today's readers. In particular, The Count of Monte Cristo is a magnificent adaptation of the original.

  1. The Deerslayer / David Copperfield
  2. Robin Hood / Last of The Mohicans
  3. Jane Eyre / Wuthering Heights
  4. Treasure Island / Captain Courageous
  5. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer / The adventures of Huckleberry Finn / The Prince and The Pauper
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo / The House of the Seven Gables
  7. Lorna Doone / Pride and Prejudice
  8. Robinson Crusoe / 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
  9. Two Years Before The Mast / Moby Dick
  10. The Red Badge of Courage / A Connecticut Yankee
  11. Ivanhoe / Kidnapped
  12. A Tale of Two Cities / The Three Musketeers

Another series that I'm looking at is the Globe/Fearon "Adapted Classics" from the 1990's. I haven't read too many of them, but I have read 11 abridged/simplified YA versions of Les Miserables, and the one on Globe/Fearon (ISBN 0835904733) is the one I keep going back to because it's great (and yes, I have read unabridged, but reading YA is a better experience).

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