Here are my answers to the Historical Classics Tag.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your tastes, and the little hobbies and things that your readers probably don't know about you!
I love the out doors and have discovered that I love hiking. I have taken to trying to compose music.
Something you probably don’t know is that I have a fondness for Giant Bunnies. I don’t own one, but they look so cuddly!
2. Books! We really do love them. . . but we all have preferences of what kind of books we love best. What is your favorite genre to read from (and to write in, if you happen to be a writer too)? Could you tell us why?
My favorite genres are historical fiction and fantasy. I like historical fiction because it makes history come to life for me and I know that these are real people that are in the stories. I like fantasy because it has the ability to be anything really. It can have dragons, magic, and all sorts of other stuff that does not exist in our world.
3. Are you fond of classic literature or do you generally find them too "dry" and hard-going for your tastes? Alternately, how much of your reading diet consists of books written by authors of the 21st century? Are you more fond of the old books or the new. . . or maybe a little bit of both?
I enjoy classic literature. I sometimes find them a little more difficult to follow and they may take me longer to get though but I still enjoy them greatly. I equally love old and new books They both have merits. What I want to read really depends on my mood at the time.
4. What is your favourite historical time period and setting? How did you come to be especially interested in it? Would you be happy to live in that time-period or era?
Gosh, It would be a tie between Victorian England and Tudor England. Victorian England would be a very interesting time I think. I love Tudor England with all the royal drama going on. I would probably not want to live in either. I love the opportunities that I have in the 21st century to much to wish to be in another time.
5.. List three of your favourite classic authors (authors from the 1500s and up to the very early 1900s such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain etc. . . )? What makes you love them so much?
The Bronte sisters are a top favorite. I have read many of the books by all of them and I feel in love with their writing. They are different but similar with just that unique something that only they could give to each of their books.
Jane Austen has to be on this list. I find her books to be entertaining in a way that makes me laugh and smile and yet she does a social commentary on the times she lives in. I sometimes feel like I miss some of her points though because I do not live at the time when her books were written.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has been rising through the ranks the more I read his stories. I find his stories to be a strange combination of easy reading with parts that are difficult to slog through.
6. What type of "Historical classic" is your favourite: Adventure and exploration, romance, mystery, social, memoir, or political?
I don’t think I have a particular favorite. I have read a few books form all of these categories and have enjoyed most of them.
7. Share some of your most well-loved heroines from historical novels in literature, and why you love them so much! What virtues/traits in them would you like to attain yourself?
Eleanor Dashwood. What can I say. I cannot express how much I love and adore her. I think I love her so much because she is the oldest daughter in her family and I am as well. She loves her younger sisters even though they sometimes annoy and frustrate her. She is calm and critical thinking. 
I fell in love with Esther Summerson quite quickly. She is a kind and gentle person. She is practical. She does not want to trouble others with her presence and yet she is quite endeared by those who know her. She has can sometimes have a righteous anger when something that is unjust or wrong is happening but she does not let that frustration rule her.
8. Who are your favourite heroes from historical literature? (You may share up to five). What makes them stand out among the rest as special?
Edward Ferris is shy and quiet but he has honor and he stands by what he believes is right. Colonel Brandon I like for similar reasons to Edward but Brandon also like music which I love. Mr. Knightly is witty and smart. He also knows how to behave in society.
9. List your favourite "classic" novels. . . (as this is a painful question, you may list more than one!)
Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey, Bleak House, Oliver Twist, North and South, and Mansfield Park.
10. Which period-drama movies, (adaptions from historical classic works of fiction), fall under your favourite pile? Do you prefer the more modern adaptions or the old ones? Faithful renditions, or the more exciting ones?
I like rendition that are faithful to the book and ones that have good actors and are well done. I find that the more attached to the book I am the more I am pick about how the film adaptation is done. I think film is a very different art than a written book so they are going to be differences.
That being said. Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, North and South with Richard Armitage, Pride and Prejudice 1995 are my favorite adaptations.
11. Which historical classic has inspired and influenced you the most?
Jane Eyre without a doubt has had the strongest impact on me. It was the book that truly got me into analyzing themes and characters and plots. I became very passionate about Jane Eyre and would talk about it almost constantly.
12. Give a list (preferably with pictures!) of your favourite period drama costumes (hats, hoops, gloves, parasols, etc) and from which movie/character they come from.
This is a really hard question for me. I usually just notice a dress or outfit and go “oh, that is nice” and then I completely forget about it. I mostly just care about how historically accurate the costumes are.
13. How accurate do you think classic authors were about depicting history and accuracy of different cultures? Were they sometimes prejudiced or melodramatic in their descriptions, or do you think they often had a point to make?
I am not an expert on classic authors or the times they lived in. I do know that they were human and therefore where susceptible to human limitation and faults. I do however think that they show a particular perspective and some where trying to make a point. I know in Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte that Anne is trying to show how hard and unfair a governesses live can be.
14. Think of the funniest "scene" in either a book or movie from classic literature, and share the quote/picture below (Gifs and animations allowed!)
The ending of North and South. Makes me laugh.
“How Shall I tell Aunt Shaw?” she whispered, after some time of delicious silence.
“Let me speak to her.”
“Oh, no! I owe it to her, – but what will she say?”
“I can guess. Her first exclamation will be, ‘That man!’”
“Hush!” said Mararet, “or I shall try and show you your mother’s indignant tones as she says, ‘that woman!’”
15. Which villain of historical literature strikes the most dread and loathing in you?
Who do I most detest? I will have to go with Willoughby. I am really upset that he would court someone and then just up and leave them. Not to mention other parts of his behavior and character. He does not respect people and makes fun of them.
16. How many Charles Dickens novels have you read? Do you enthusiastically love his stories, or sob in misery over them, or worse get bored by them?
I have read a total of 3 of Charles Dickens novels. I am working on rectifying this. I enjoy his books however sometimes I find that he goes on and on and on about the same thing for pages. That bores me. I want to know the story. So while I am not enthusiastic about his books I am not completely bored by them.
17. Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, or Elizabeth Gaskall?
Charlotte Bronte.
18. Favourite French Revolution novel?
I did not even know that this was a category. I don’t really have one as I have not really read any.
19. North and South or Pride and Prejudice? Mr. Darcy or Mr. Thornton?
This is a most difficult question. I will have to go with Mr. Thornton though despite how much I like Darcy. I relate to Thornton much more. I also find him much more interesting in a literary analysis way.
20. Which historical classic struck you with the most sense and depth of faith and the author's perception of morality, ethics and the Christian walk? Can you share a little bit about it?
North and South has the most strong religious morality in it. Elizabeth Gaskell was a parson’s wife which I think is why her books have such a strong religious tone to them. I was particularly grabbed by North and South because there was a lot questioning of faith in that book. At the time I was reading I was leaving Protestantism and converting to Orthodoxy. There were aspects of my faith that I had come to question.
21. Who is your favourite side-kick (secondary character) in literature of this genre?
Nicholas Higgins is my favorite side kick character. I am not sure he really counts as a side kick character though. I love his strong belief in his ideals and standing up to fight for them. I am not sure I always completely agree with him but I admire his commitment. 22. List five "Historical Classics" you are especially looking forward and eager to read in the near future.
A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Persuasion, The Time Machine, and Little Women.
23. What was the first historical classic novel you ever read and how did it strike you?
Pride and Prejudice when I was about 11. I was mostly just happy to have finally read the book as I had seen the 2005 adaptation several times with my mom. I was struck by the different style of writing to what I had read before.
24. What would inspire you to pick up a historical piece of literature - namely a "classic"? Do you believe it is important for our generation to get back to reading the classics? What do you believe are both the benefits, negatives and overall effects of treasuring historical stories written by authors of the past?
I think that classics are important to read many of them are a part of culture. There is also the fact that they come from a different style of writing. I think I have read articles about studies that have shown reading classics is good for your brain. It is also a way to glimpse how those in the past, how they thought and what issues where in their day even their personal views of their world.
I think reading classics and wanting to read them has to be a choice you make. It has to be something you want to do for your enjoyment.
I love Little Women! I cannot say how many time I have read that one, and of course, Good Wives as well. :)
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