Victorians! discussion

Just wanted to say hello and give a reminder that if anyone is still interesting in joining in the Little Dorrit discussion, I am still immersed in the book myself and will be happy to discuss along at any point of the book. Over a two-month discussion (Jan-Feb), I think readers do dip in and out as they have time to do the reading. Please anyone else interested in this intricate Dickens novel, do join in.

Also a reminder that the poll to select the March book for discussion will close today, so vote if you are interested in the group discussion for that month. Please let us know if you have a question about the polls. Have a great day!

What part are you on Sarah. I finished the book a while back but am happy to discuss book with you, or anyone else, Should this be in the Little Dorrit end of book discussion?

Very nice, Robin. I actually left a specific comment for you somewhere in the discussion! I forget where!

I am sort of commenting all over Book Two right now. I have finished the novel but continue to find things I want to go back and look at more, so I thought others might still be taking their time over certain sections too. If you want to revisit and see my post anywhere within, comment if it is anything that interests you.

I've finally started Book Two, and am enjoying the change of scenery from miserable London (as consistently portrayed by Dickens) to the French Alps. I look forward to see the interplay among the various characters, and especially to Little D's siblings and father getting some sort of comeuppance, although I'm beginning to wonder if they are capable of any insight at all into their very flawed views of their lives and what's owed to them.

Happy Birthday Mr. Dickens!

It's the birthday of Charles Dickens, born in Portsmouth, England (1812), who had a relatively happy childhood until his father's debts sent the Dickens family into poverty. At the age of 12, Charles was pulled out of school and had to work in a factory pasting the labels onto shoe polish, while his younger siblings lived with his parents in debtors' prison. In some of his most famous novels, Oliver Twist (1837–38), Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), and A Christmas Carol (1843), he revealed the plight of England's poor. After he became one of the most famous men in England, Dickens used his wealth and influence to convince the upper classes to give to the poor. He was also opposed to capital punishment and worked internationally for prison reform, helped set up a halfway house for former prostitutes, and promoted public education and better sanitation systems throughout England.

An amazing man -- and next year will be 200 years since his birth! wow

SarahC wrote: "Just wanted to say hello and give a reminder that if anyone is still interesting in joining in the Little Dorrit discussion, I am still immersed in the book myself and will be happy to discuss alon..."

I have unfortunately been very slow in my reading of LD. I had read and enjoyed it years ago, but don't remember it well enough to discuss it intelligently. But I probably won't finish this reading because of other priorities, including getting started on Portrait of a Lady, which I have never read before and so is of particular interest to read. I wish I had the ability to read as actively as I used to be able to, but unfortunately . . .

Due to its lenght and depth , can we have two months to read the March book ?

Hey Scott, I definitely see what you mean. I think what we can do is if we have a good core group of members discussing the Lady book and find we need more time amongst us, we can delay the start of the April book. I think that will give us a chance to see the pace of the discussion and get a feel for what people need. That will keep us flexible.

We had believed that Little Dorrit would have required a two-month time frame for discussion, but not many people actually participated and some of the members read through pretty quickly and were done. So it is hard to gauge. I read and discuss more slowly though, so you and I may find ourselves at a closer pace.

I know it is personal preference, but I plan to actually start reading Lady now, so I can digest it some before the start date. You may have other things going and unable to do that though.

I had to give up on LD for now. Was just too daunting for me at this time. I hope to go back to it in a few months when I can devote more time to just it. I started too many big books at once ... at least for me.

Martha, I often feel the same way -- those books are thick for a reason, right? -- they include much detail and seem meant to really immerse the reader into whatever world is within the book. It is hard for me to get into more than one of them at a time because I seem to not enjoy the details then. If I need a break from a dense book, I will pick up something lighter and shorter and read for a few hours, but that doesn't contend for my attention like another heavy read would.

I'm looking forward to whatever you choose to join us in next because we are certainly glad you are here.

SarahC wrote: "Martha, I often feel the same way -- those books are thick for a reason, right? -- they include much detail and seem meant to really immerse the reader into whatever world is within the book. i..."

That's an excellent point! At the same time, they help us develop and strengthen skills which are quickly diminishing in the world of email, text messages, talking points, Twitter, and the like -- the ability to sustain involvement over a period of time and over a work of some length, to allow ideas to mature and ripen, to as you say immerse ourselves in the details (I think of it as pointillism writing) which create a rich and detailed tapestry against which human activities and emotions can play out.

Sounds like a plan.
The first three chapters were easy reading.
However, the Preface written by James for the 1907 Edition is so heavy with French phrases and Victorian words that I stopped half-way through and started reading the book itself.

SarahC wrote: "We had believed that Little Dorrit would have required a two-month time frame for discussion, but not many people actually participated..."

Twenty-six people voted for Portrait of a Lady. It might be interesting if, once the schedule is set for reading it, somebody with more time than I have were to write a PM to each of those 26 people telling them that the book they voted for had won, when the discussion was starting, and how much we looked forward to their participation in discussing the book they chose to read here. (Wouldn't take that much time with a cut and paste post. I sometimes do this for my own group, but can't for others.)

What edition of a Portrait of a Lady do you all recommend? If I remember correctly, the copy on my bookshelf has too small type for these eyes so many years older, although I don't want large print either. I do like decent notes, too, but Norton editions are becoming less attractive to me because of the type size frequently used.

The Modern Library edition that I just bought has footnotes for French phrases and other topics. There is also a good Intro by Anita Brookner, which goes into James' portriat of what makes Americans unique; which was one of the threads of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It also has James' Preface to the 1907 Edition.

I will go looking for that edition too, Scott. So far, I have just been listening to the audio, but need the actual book to dabble in for the discussion. Lily, the Modern Library is usually a good edition for notations, as Scott said, and has bigger type than some of the others.

Everyman, I know you are speaking from experience, so we will try to arrange some type of reminder for the discussion. I am looking forward to it and hope at least most of the voters are too!

Scott wrote: "The Modern Library edition that I just bought has footnotes for French phrases and other topics. There is also a good Intro by Anita Brookner, which goes into James' portrait of what makes Americ..."

Thx, Scott and Sarah, for the recommendation.

Lily wrote: "What edition of a Portrait of a Lady do you all recommend? If I remember correctly, the copy on my bookshelf has too small type for these eyes so many years older, although I don't want large print either. I do like decent notes, too, but Norton editions are becoming less attractive to me because of the type size frequently used. "

I'm with you there, Lily. You would think, with the aging of America, that publishers would get a clue and increase the print size of books (as well as the seat size on airplanes!). But it seems that print sizes are getting smaller, to save paper and costs, not bigger. I think Norton assumes that most of their books are bought by college kids with their younger eyes. Ah, if they only knew.

This is why I love my Kindle. I have two paper copies of Portrait, both bought many years ago (one in the Library of America edition, which uses a fairly small type size to cram lots of stuff into each volume), but I'm finding that I'm only comfortable reading Portrait on my Kindle. No notes, sadly, but at least I can read it without squinting for hours.