Beloved Books That Didn’t Age Well

Maybe it's time to trade in a few beloved classics for fresh takes from any of these selected by the Greatess review team.

Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is read in classrooms all over the country, however, the novel includes a disturbingly prejudiced view of Africa, including a moment when an African person is referred to as “a dog wearing trousers.”

We could do better by reading about Africa from authors who call the continent their home. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a great place to start. It’s the story of a brave, wealthy warrior named Okonkwo during the late 1800s.

Gone With the Wind

It’s no surprise that a story set in the Civil War–era Confederacy includes some revisionist history. In Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, African American slaves toil happily in the fields, singing and laughing as their owners flit around in pretty dresses and suits.

If you are craving a realistic read about southern women during the Civil War then consider Karen Abbott’s Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War.

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