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Teens are going crazy for classics like 'Wuthering Heights' thanks to this One Direction fanfic

Anna Todd
Todd with a fan at an "After" book signing event. Wattpad

Anna Todd's One Direction fan fiction saga "After" has people around the world picking up copies of her bestselling books, but the series has also inspired young readers to reach for a completely different genre — classic novels. 

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"After," first published on digital reading platform Wattpad, traces a torrid romance between the fictional Tessa Young and a fantasy version of One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles. Harry and Tessa, or "Hessa" as they're known collectively, make several references to tales like Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" in the book.

Here's an excerpt from "After," from a scene where Tessa peruses Harry's bookshelf for the first time.  

"I scan through the titles and I am impressed by the owner of this collection, there are many classics including all of my favorites. I grab 'Wuthering Heights' and pull it off the shelf. It is in bad shape, the pages showing how many times it has been read." 

In the fictional world of "After," Styles has a thing for the classics and fans of the stories have taken notice. 

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"The classic novels mentioned in 'After,' there’s a lot of younger girls who are reading them now," Todd told Tech Insider. "It’s become a trend."

Todd, known on Twitter as @imaginator1dx, says she regularly hears this from her fans.

Many of these titles are available in the public domain, so Wattpad users can read them for free online. One user has even curated "Hessa's Library," a digital bookshelf where fans will find all the classics referenced in "After."

hessas library
Classics available in Hessa's library. Wattpad

Since Todd's work started gaining popularity, a Wattpad representative says they've seen reads of these stories increase on the platform. Thanks largely to Todd, "Pride and Prejudice" currently has over 3.5 million reads on Wattpad and "Wuthering Heights" has just over 1 million. Staggering numbers, when you consider this is a platform best known for fanfiction stories about Disney princesses and Justin Bieber

It's not entirely surprising that Todd's fans find themselves enjoying "Pride and Prejudice" and "Wuthering Heights." While these stories might not feature members erotic scenes with members of a certain British boy-band, there's no lack of romance, a theme at the heart of "After."

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"Without you, I wouldn't know any Jane Austen books. I would have never read how much Heathcliff loves Cathy," one of Todd's fans wrote to her in post on Wattpad. "These writers are as good as you are! Even better I guess."

 

Despite increasing popularity on Wattpad, though, it's unlikely they'll surpass "After." Todd's series has been read more than a billion times and counting. 

 

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