Victorians! discussion

Hello!

Nominations are now being accepted for the March 15 group read. For this selection we are trying something a little new; members can nominate any of the following:

1. True Victorian (written 1837-1901)
2. Neo-Victorian (where the majority of the book is set in the Victorian time period, but not written then)
3. Non-fiction (majority of book discussing a theme or general topic from the Victorian period).

When you nominate, please state which of the categories your book falls under. Also, we will take one nomination per person (total, not one per category), so if you nominate three books, we'll just take the first one.

Please also remember that if you nominate a book that wins, you are welcome to be the Discussion lead for that book if you would like!

Let the games begin! :)

EDIT: NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL FEB 5, AT WHICH POINT POLLS WILL BE OPENED FOR VOTING

I would like to nominate as a Victorian read:-
Anna Karenina,
basically as I am desperate to read it,I think that this would prove to be a timeless tale of love,duty and loss.
I could be very wrong in what I have just written as I have never read it and sincerely hope that anyone who has read it will forgive me.

I'm about 2/3 done, and do agree that it is a tale of love, duty and loss :) I highly recommend it! Once I finish it I'll be looking for a good film adaptation!

I think there was a BBC series which supposedly got good reviews and also there is an adaptation with Audrey Hepburn but I am afraid that I have never seen it so cannot comment....

Audrey Hepburn? Enough said! :)

If the group hasn't read it previously I would like to nominate the following:-

Victorian: THE WAY WE LIVE NOW by Anthony Trollope. I think it is a satire very pertinent to our own age:

'A scathing, satirical novel published in 1875...regarded by many as Trollope's finest work. One of his longest novels (100 chapters!)..it is particularly rich in sub-plot and was inspired by the financial scandals of the early 1870s. It lashes at the pervading dishonesty of the age, commercial, political, moral and intellectual.' (Wikipedia.)

Or the much shorter

SILAS MARNER, George Eliot's shortest novel, published in 1864, which 'combines humour, jealousy and rich symbolism with a historically precise setting to create an extraordinary tale of love and hope' and of sin and redemption.

For a Neo-Victorian novel I would like to nominate THE GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS by Gaynor Arnold which is ostensibly about the life of Charles Dickens supposedly told from his wife's point of view. It is well researched and: 'In this clever act of biography and fiction Gaynor brings him exuberantly alive: the entertainer, the raconteur, the Wonder Dad - always brightly dressed, captivating and magnetic, ready with a joke or a silly face' but with a dark side, not least his fascination with young women and morbid fear of poverty.

The non-fiction book I think people here might enjoy is A N Wilson's THE VICTORIANS (published 2004) which has been called 'an enjoyable romp through Queen Victoria's reign'' and which gives 'a dazzling array of facts, details and anecdotes' (It is very rich in amusing anecdotes). Available as a paperback.

I would like to nominate North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell as a Victorian read.

Hi Margaret - lots of good choices here (and I just picked up Wilson's book a few weeks ago!) but we just take one nomination per person. Which would you like to nominate? Thanks!

Lee wrote: "I would like to nominate North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell as a Victorian read. "

Yay! :)

Good choice Lee!

I would like to nominate "Lilith" by George MacDonald
"This great neglected work of fantastic imagination rivals anything written by Tolkien or Philip Pullman. It is a journey into another world of temptation and death, a Victorian version of Dante's Divine Comedy by a children's writer who, with Lewis Carroll, was one of the first to be also more than that." (Philip Davis,Prof. of Eng. Lit. @ Univ. of Liverpool.) It sounds exciting!
From Amazon: "this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him."

Paula wrote: "Lee wrote: "I would like to nominate North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell as a Victorian read. "

Yay! :)

"

What Paula said!

Sorry Paula! I thought it was one per 'section'. I'll go with THE GIRL IN THE BLUE DRESS then - details as above. Although I would 'second' North and South - one of my own favourites.

Oh I third North and South, it is actually next to read in my to read pile. Oh hello Mr Thornfield. :)

I nominate Victorian People and Ideas: A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature by Richard D. Altick for the non-fiction category.

Margaret wrote: "Sorry Paula! I thought it was one per 'section'. I'll go with THE GIRL IN THE BLUE DRESS then - details as above. Although I would 'second' North and South - one of my own favourites. "

Oh, you're right, I wasn't very clear - I'll edit the top post. Thanks!

DJ wrote: "I think there was a BBC series which supposedly got good reviews and also there is an adaptation with Audrey Hepburn but I am afraid that I have never seen it so cannot comment...."

She's in one of the wonderful screenings of War and Peace, but I don't think she ever did Anna Karenina. Christopher Reeve was a very convincing Vronsky in an Anna Karenina that I think was very well done.

I personally wouldn't mind re reading Anna Karenina however, I think Trollope deserves a look. Why not He Knew He Was Right?

I would like to nominate "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde (True Victorian)

Since its first publication in 1890, Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, has remained the subject of critical controversy. Acclaimed by some as an instructive moral tale, it has been denounced by others for its implicit immorality. After having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray is captivated by his own beauty. Tempted by his world-weary friend, decadent friend Lord Henry Wotton, he wished to stay young forever and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. As Dorian's slide into crime and cruelty progresses, he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay. Set in fin-de-siécle London, the novel traces a path from the studio of painter Basil Howard to the opium dens of the East End.

I would like to nominate Tess of the D'Urbervilles for the true Victorian category.

Dear Laurele
Thank you for correcting me :-)
I will put this down as a wish gift as I plan to read War and Peace next year...

Just a re-cap of the current nominations - apologies, I meant to add the re-cap yesterday but the day got away from me! Please let me know if I missed anything, and feel free to add more!

VICTORIAN

DJ: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy


Lee: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell


Laurie: Lilith by George MacDonald


Paul: He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope


Jamie: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


Grace: Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy


NEO-VICTORIAN

Margaret: Girl in the Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
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NON-FICTION

Peregrine: Victorian People and Ideas by Richard Altick

Jamie wrote: "I would like to nominate "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde (True Victorian)

Since its first publication in 1890, Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, has remained the..."

Love Wilde, love this. Yay!

I'd like to nominate Vanity Fair, if the group hasn't already read it. I'm dying to get to this one, and discussion would be awesome!

Vanity Fair is a great novel. Mitchell used a lot of it for Gone With The Wind.

I nominate East Lynne for the Victorian category.

Vanity Fair has not yet been read by the group, so it has now been added as a nomination :)

By the way - all the books we've read as a group are on the bookshelves as 'read.'

I am nominating The Warden by Anthony Trollope. I know this is the second Trollope nomination,, but I would love to read his two famous series in order, and The Warden is the first of the 6 Barsetshire novels, and I understand some of those offer a background (I believe) to his second series, the Palliser Novels. Plus, The Warden is a smaller book, so it would be a great intro for anyone who has not yet read a Trollope (like me!).

**NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED**
Please vote in the polls section through February 10!

We have a winner! By a very narrow margin, the group read beginning on March 15 will be
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

A book of beautiful depictions of rural settings, and a tremendous story about a young woman, this is sure to generate some great discussions. It also seems as though the group has wanted to read it for awhile, as it keeps appearing in nominations, so am hopeful it is one we all enjoy.

Grace - As you nominated the book, you get first dibs on acting as the discussion leader. If you do not wish to do so (no explanation needed if you decline) then we'll open it up to everyone to see if anyone else is interested in leading the discussion.

We are now opening up the Tess discussion to see if anyone would like to lead the discussion (or co-lead with a moderator). Just let us know if you're interested, otherwise Boof and I will be happy to do so. :)

Paula wrote: "We are now opening up the Tess discussion to see if anyone would like to lead the discussion (or co-lead with a moderator). Just let us know if you're interested, otherwise Boof and I will be happy..."

At any other time I would be happy to co-moderate it, but I will be leading a discussion of Middlemarch starting at the same time (in the Western Canon group), and I don't think I can do justice to moderating two books simultaneously. Sorry.

Sorry I wouldn't be able to do justice to the post at this time due to other commitments...

Thanks for the notes, but no need to let us know that you can't do it, just let us know if you can. If nobody volunteers, the moderators will lead the discussion - no worries at all :)

Thanks Paula
I'm really glad that the winner is one I already have as this is the one time I cent get about to Bookshop...

Yay! I already own this one so maybe I can start on time and be in the discussion while it is going on. :)

i am very excited for this also - I read Tess last year, and can't wait to discuss it with all of you!

It was one of my favorite books in college, by one of my most favorite authors. So I too can't wait to discuss it.

I'm very excited that one day soon I'll be done reading it - does that count? :) I think if I read this while sitting outside in the warm sun it would go over better.

Just don't watch that dreadful Tess by Roman Polanski. It isn't a bad movie, it just isn't Tess of the D'Ubervilles.

I am glad I already have this book! I loved Far from a Madding Crowd by Hardy!

That's a great book, I loved it !!!! It is true that the Polanski movie is quite different from the real story but it was a beautiful, touching movie though !!!! One of the scenes was shot where I used to spend my summer holidays as a child , in a beautiful manor house(I won't say which scene lest I should reveal the plot but thoses who have read it or seen the movie will guess......)by the sea on the Normandy coast.A place I love dearly.
Some friends who lived there, right by this seaside manor house had to modify/decorate some their windows because a part of their beautiful house appeared in a shot and it had to look really old...it was great for them because they saw the actors in period costumes ....Tess aka N. Kinsky running away in her victorian red dress......It was very exciting for them.I remember they took great pictures.
I enjoyed this movie very much but I must admit that I enjoyed the book much more, as often !!!

I love Hardy anyways.......

Virginie wrote: "That's a great book, I loved it !!!! It is true that the Polanski movie is quite different from the real story but it was a beautiful, touching movie though !!!! One of the scenes was shot where I ..."


That is an awesome story - I'm curious to see this movie now. I just wastched Polanski's 'Chinatown' about a month ago for the first time, and I'm a little worried after seeing that what he might do with Tess. (view spoiler)[ It is SUCH a dark novel to begin with that a director who often dives right in to the dark side of humanity might go a little too far . . .


(hide spoiler)]

In fact, a team of decorators put tape, horizontally and vertically(I don't know what is the architectural term for this type of windows, with a kind of metallic trellis ? ) on their already beautiful bow window(the houses on this D-Day beach are really stunning)so that it really looked "Old England" .I wish I could show you because I have pictures of these houses but I have no idea how to include a link to a picture of mine......from here.

This novel is dark and quite depressing, people struggling in vain against fate is a recurrent theme in Hardy's books...... but wait till you read "Jude the Obscure" !!!!!

I think Jude is the next Hardy that I'm going to read. Maybe I'll do it right before the next Parasol Protectorate novel comes out - that way I'll have something light and happy to read afterwards!

What is a Parasol Protectorate novel ?

Ohhhh !!! I see, I just checked this out....these sound indeed light and funny......Yes, you might need something like that after a streak of Hardy novels !!!!

The only problem that I have with Polanski's film is that Tess is just a victim. She isn't in the book and her relationship with Alec, and it is a relationship is more complex than that, she isn't raped but goes quite willingly to his bed. It isn't love or even feeling on her part, and the why is what makes reading the book an experience. That was the main, and only real problem that I had with the film. I thought Nastissia Kinski was wonderful and was the Tess I imagined on reading the book. I just wish it were more faithful to the novel.

Just a word of caution, please watch out for (or make note of) spoilers for upcoming group reads :) I know it's easy to get caught up in discussing a beloved book but we don't want to give anything away just yet. Thanks!

I hope I didn't.