Victorians! discussion

We'll be reading Aurora Leigh for our January/February read. It is a bit different from other reads we've done, as it is an epic poem. Since this is a bit of a short notice, we'll ease in with reading Book 1 in the first week, and then we'll do 2 books per week. If this schedule is too fast, we can always make adjustments as we go along.

Jan 3 - 9: Week 1: Book 1
Jan 10 - 16: Week 2: Books 2 & 3
Jan 17 - 23: Week 3: Books 4 & 5
Jan 24 - 30: Week 4 Books 6 & 7
Jan 31 - Feb 6: Week 5: Books 8 & 9

Nice choice. I am in.

I'm in as well.

I would like to give this a try. :)

Having never read any EBB I am going to join you for this-thanks.

One of my favourite Victorian poets, not just for her poetry but also for the way she managed to overcome all sorts of problems to become highly respected in the world and achieve happiness with Robert Browning. The published letters between her and Robert Browning, which were written in the two years before their elopement, are also well worth reading and can be found at Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive.

I have read Aurora Leigh a few years ago but it would be enjoyable to read it again as part of a group.

Here is a short biography for those who are interested in her life.

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK...

I will try to do this!!

I will try to join in!

I’m looking for an audio version.

I'm still to begin, but will soon. I'm experiencing a sort of a reader's block at present.

That’s the worst! I always feel so abandoned when that happens. :(

Yes, Renee. Totally upsetting.

Not to worry! Indulge in something else and once refreshed dive back into the pages :)

Thanks, Kerstin. My first read for the year was Zola's Therese Raquin which kind of disturbed me I think. :) I started this and read through book 1. Looks my kind of a book and very promising. Hope it'll be the boost I need. :)

Piyangie wrote: "Thanks, Kerstin. My first read for the year was Zola's Therese Raquin which kind of disturbed me I think. :) ."

I read a couple of Zola's for a RR project a few years back and swore never to read another, and I believe the whole project ended up dying out so you are not alone in your response!

Frances wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Thanks, Kerstin. My first read for the year was Zola's Therese Raquin which kind of disturbed me I think. :) ."

I read a couple of Zola's for a RR project a few years back and swo..."

I'm not comfortable with his naturalism. I think that style encourages him to choose from dark and dreary subjects which he then overexaggerates. Zola's not for me either, unless I can find a more cheerful work. I can well understand the fall in your Zola project, Frances. He is not an author you can like easily.

Piyangie wrote: "Frances wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Thanks, Kerstin. My first read for the year was Zola's Therese Raquin which kind of disturbed me I think. :) ."

I read a couple of Zola's for a RR project a few ye..."

Interesting you should mention Zola - I read a few of his recently for the first time (starting with Therese Raquin) and I enjoyed them on the whole. Therese Raquin was a strange reading experience - in a way it was repetitive so it felt almost too long for such a short book, but there are some scenes in it which I'm sure will stay with me for a long time. He is definitely dark though! I was startled to find just how much darker and more explicit his writing was than British novels of the same period, even though there were British writers who looked unflinchingly at slum conditions etc. I imagine Zola must have been shocking to contemporary readers when he was first translated into English.