Joining the Winter Classics Challenge

Since hearing about the Winter Classics Challenge from Jill of Individual Take was one of my main motivations for starting a blog, I'm definitely going to try it. My five titles are


1. The Odyssey - Homer
2. Mary Barton - Elizabeth Gaskell
3. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
4. Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
5. something by Trollope
5a. possible substitutions for some of the above:
Pickwick Papers - Dickens; 39 Steps - Buchan

For years, I've been telling myself I'd read The Odyssey to better understand its influence on so many subsequent narratives, but never could manage to sit down and get through it. I'm hoping that committing to the challenge will provide enough incentive to complete it (especially since the Fagles translation has received so much praise).

I've added Mary Barton after seeing it on Jill's list, and Oliver Twist because the eponymous heroine of Katherine Paterson's Lyddie loves it so. The Scarlet Pimpernel is there for something lighter, a filler; the Trollope title will remain open until I figure out which of the ones on the bookcase seems the best choice. The two alternatives are other works that I keep hearing about but have never tried.