Why don't they choose readable classics?
To begin with this article needs a bit of an introduction. A few weeks back I watched 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' on DVD (it came with the infinitely better 'Pirates of the Caribbean' in a twin pack). I was surprised to realise that I had never heard of one of the characters, Dorian Gray (all the characters save the token American hero are from 19th century literature).
So when I saw 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' at the bookshop I decided to buy it. I was surprised. Here was a book more than a hundred years old which was actually funny! It was witty and had some great one-liners which are still mimicked continually today. Why weren't books like this taught in schools rather than the frankly terrible Dickens monstrosities we were forced to read?
It's a damn travesty, I reckon.