More often than not, the royals like to keep their private lives private, but every so often a picture or conversation gives us a rare glimpse into their personal interests—like their favorite books! The other day, Kate Middleton and Prince William shared photos of themselves from inside their workspace at Kensington Palace, and royal fans noticed the stack of Penguin Classics on Kate's desk. If you're looking for book recs, add these classics plus a few more royal-approved books, below, to your reading list during quarantine.
If you haven't watched Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women (2019), you're missing out. The Louisa May Alcott classic, which centers on the lives of the four March sisters, is required reading. Read it before you watch Gerwig's wonderful version.
Raise your hand if you skimmed through every chapter of The Count of Monte Cristo the summer before high school! (*Raises hand.*) Now that we all are spending more time at home, take a weekend (or five) to dive into Alexandre Dumas' story about a young sailor from Marseilles who ends up imprisoned.
Back in the day when Meghan Markle had a blog called The Tig, she shared a list of "badass books." Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements—an inspiring guide to personal freedom—made the cut. It all comes full-circle with the whole leaving-the-royal-family thing.
Another Penguin Classic found on Kate's desk, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights tells the story of the troubled orphan Heathcliff and his doomed love for Catherine Earnshaw. It will wreck you.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” reads the first line of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The classic novel tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest of five sisters who will inherit no money, and whose mother is keen to have her daughters marry well. Enter Mr. Darcy, a man of great wealth, who'd be a great match if he weren't such a snob. There's humor, heartbreak, love, and all the good things.
Virginia Woolf called George Eliot's Middlemarch "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people," which is quite the endorsement. The story explores the lives of ordinary people in a nineteenth-century Midlands town experiencing disappointment, love, and sorrow in an extraordinary way.
A year-and-a-half ago, Meghan Markle launched a community cookbook with the Hubb Community Kitchen featuring special dishes from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Eastern Mediterranean. Now's the perfect time to test a few recipes for you and your loved ones.
"My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else," Charles Dickens said of Hard Times, his classic novel satirizing life during the Industrial Revolution.
Before you dive into Jenny Lee's Anna K, the modern YA adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, read the original that's Kate Middleton-approved. (Though you might want to save it for after quarantine...it's a bit dark.)
Homer's The Odyssey is another one of the classics sitting on Kate's desk. Odysseus survives storm and shipwreck while withstanding the Sirens' song and a trip to the Underworld. A story of perseverance and strength in trying times. ••• For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter. subscribe here
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