Classics, by Barbara Kyle

 

 

Some things are simply never out of date, right? Thank goodness. Here are a few classics I hold dear.

 

Classic Clothes. I welcome autumn for the pleasure of pulling a smart, tried-and-true blazer out of the closet. And I'm always up for any chance to wear a little black dress; in this pic, it’s for my nephew’s lovely outdoor wedding.

 

Classic Books. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles are time-honored novels that I read as a teen and that influenced me as a writer. 

Modern classics I revere are John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Ian McEwan's Atonement, and anything by P.G. Wodehouse who has more than once rescued me from blue days with his ineffable comic genius.

Classical Music. The music of Bach and Mozart has enriched my life for decades, and because I play the violin my favorites works of theirs are any that feature that instrument. 

 

A modern musical classic I adore is Leonard Bernstein’s exuberant and heartbreaking West Side Story. Violinist Joshua Bell shines in any genre, from Bach to Bernstein. Listen to him play the West Side Story Suite. It's twenty minutes of perfection.

 

 

 

Classic Movies. I’ve watched Casablanca at least a dozen times and the story never fails to thrill me and move me.

So does the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. My favorite bit in that fine old film is the small role of Scrooge’s cockney housekeeper played with endearing spunk by Kathleen Harrison. (She's in the middle of the photo below.)

 

 

 

Classic Cars. As a young woman, I considered the Jaguar XK-E the epitome of elegance. That British sports car, manufactured between 1961 and 1975, is still widely admired as a true classic. 

 

I never did get an “E-Type” but my husband and I recently bought a 2003 Miata and I love driving it on a sunny day with the top down. My pal Ann drives a 2000 model. That’s us in the photo with our Miatas (Ann on the left in purple, me on the right).

 

 I don’t know if our Miatas are technically “classics” but I figure she and I – two “old broads” – pretty much are!

 

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Barbara Kyle is the author of the bestselling Thornleigh Saga series of historical novels and of acclaimed thrillers. Her latest novel of suspense is The Man from Spirit Creek. Over half a million copies of her books have been sold. Barbara has taught hundreds of writers in her online Masterclasses and many have become award-winning authors. Visit Barbara at https://www.barbarakyle.com/