I first read 1984 in high school and did not really understand it then. I've read it again a few times since then. Each time I read it I am more impressed.
A Tale of Two Cities requires a knowledge of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror to understand. It is an interesting period in history. Les Miserables is not about the French Revolution but rather a later time in France.
The Prince is interesting if you understand that period in the history of Florence and Italy. It is dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici and was Machiavelli's unsuccessful attempt to gain the patronage of the Medicis.
I doubt anyone except a very rare few have actually read Origin of the Species or Ulysses. The Wealth of Nations is an important work because of a few of the principles that are learned in economics. I don't think you need to read the entire book.
Read John Granger’s Harry Potter’s Bookshelf. In it he makes the argument very well that A Tale of Two Cities is a book about alchemy. So is Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame which I actually prefer to Les Miserables. Watch for gold, red, and white in any of these books. Also twins and dopplegangers.
I think there should be a mandatory class for Seniors in American High Schools and each student would be required to Read:
1. Atlas Shrugged
2. 1984
3. Animal Farm
4. Brave New World.
Sadly I think the liberal education dweebs would happily agree and morph the books into "How To" instruction manuals for aspiring Socialist Nutjobs!
“Les Miserables is not about the French Revolution but rather a later time in France”.
Yes, one of the commenters over there busted the author pretty well on that detail! I had to look it up after I saw the movie, since they show you the year at the beginning (maybe throughout, don’t remember!), so I realized it wasn’t THE French Revolution, just A french revolution.