North & South discussion

So how does the group read work?

Hi Myra -

Tonight I'm going to post up the discussion threads for the chapters, in sets of two or three chapters. Then - starting tomorrow-ish - we essentially all read the novel along together, and post our thoughts and discuss the book as we go along. :)

If you gave any other questions, feel free to ask!

Thanks - I am looking forward to my first online group read!

You're welcome. :) I think this is my second or third group read, but the first one I've attempted to organise myself. I'm looking forward to it too!

Hi, I just joined and need some help navigating :-) can you direct me to where this group read discussion begins? Thanks for your help .... this is my first experience with this but I've read North & South before, have watched the miniseries again and again and really love the story so I thought I'd give your group a discussion a shot .... plus it's my way of honoring the incomparable. Mr. Armitage on his birthday :-)

Thanks for your help,
Clo

Hi Clorinda,

If you go to the group home page, last night I set up a folder for the Group Read. :) For the most part I've given one thread to every three chapters in the book, for people to discuss when they get to that part. If you have any other questions about the group, feel free to let me know, I'm more than happy to help.

I too have read the book once before, and have seen the mini-series an astounding number of times, but I thought that reading North & South would be a lovely way to - as you put it - 'honour the incomparable Mr. Armitage on his birthday'. Speaking of which, I really should go and post something to that effect on our birthday list thread...

I look forward to seeing you around the discussion threads!

Becca. :)

THanks so much, Becca .... I actually found the threads after I posted here. I look forward to participating in discussions here :-)

LOL, I've watched the miniseries 7 times in the past two months ... can't seem to get enough of it :-)

Are you on Twitter? Last night Richard gave us a birthday present ... he joined Twitter :-) He already has over 13,000 followers :-)

You're very welcome. :) Haha, when I first bought the N&S DVD, I literally watched it on loop for about three weeks - at least four times a week, possibly more. It was my entertainment while I was doing my Christmas wrapping. :D

o_O o_O WHAT?!?!?

... That's it, I'm joining Twitter just to follow him. Generally I dislike the idea, but I just read that he joined to be more involved with charities and fans, so I think that's very sweet of Richard. :) I suppose I should start learning how to use hashtags if I'm going to follow a Richard, right? Okay then, um... #excited! :D

THANK YOU CLORINDA!

You've literally just made my day... definitely my week, my month... and quite possibly my whole year. :D I just joined Twitter and spent the whole morning looking at Richard's first ever tweets. :) *happy sigh*

Becca wrote: "THANK YOU CLORINDA!

You've literally just made my day... definitely my week, my month... and quite possibly my whole year. :D I just joined Twitter and spent the whole morning looking at Richard's..."

You guys crack me up. Of course, I say that having never watched Richard Armitage in anything except the Hobbit movies and Captain America. :)

Clorinda, I just finished reading Regency Buck. Is that by any chance where your name comes from? I've never heard it anywhere else.

Tadiana wrote: "You guys crack me up. Of course, I say that having never watched Richard Armitage in anything except the Hobbit movies and Captain America."

Haha, I'm glad I'm amusing someone else, not just myself. :D I've seen Richard in both those things, but also in Robin Hood and the Vicar of Dibley, and I'm planning to go see Into the Storm as soon as it's out in NZ.

... You have seen him in North and South, right?!

Becca wrote: "You have seen him in North and South, right?!"

Nope! Not yet. Hopefully soon.

o_O *dies*

Lol!

Well come on now, that is just shocking. :P

LOL, my pleasure, Becca :-) I am so smitten with Richard. Did you see his ALS challenge video? Not only did he take up the challenge, he donated to ALS, as well as two other charities, he did it on his birthday outside the Old Vic's Stage Door right after his performance in The Crucible while wearing a gorgeous three piece suit ... what a man :-) he posted it up on his Twitter.

Tadiana, you must see him as Mr. Thornton, and as Guy f Gisborn in Robin Hood, and as Harry in Vicar of Dibley and as, my favorite, Lucas North in the Spooks (MI-5) series ...oh, and all of his earlier work :-) I'm going to see Into the Storm tomorrow.

I haven't read Regency Buck ... you mean there's a character with my name? I'll have to read it :-) it is my real name ... I was named after my grandmother :-)

In Regency Buck, "Clorinda" is what the Earl of Worth calls the heroine when he wants to tease her (and remind her of the time he stole a kiss from her). :)

Clorinda wrote: "LOL, my pleasure, Becca :-) I am so smitten with Richard. Did you see his ALS challenge video? Not only did he take up the challenge, he donated to ALS, as well as two other charities, he did i..."

Haha, yes, I've seen everything he's posted today! He is such an adorable, amazing man, to join Twitter and get in touch with his fans on his birthday... and on top of that, perform in a long play, and the get videoed having ice-water dumped on him, for charity, wearing a suit. Just... wow.

I've seen most of his work that you've just mentioned, with North & South and Robin Hood continually fighting for the spot of my favourite Richard Armitage show - I decided to un-confuse the issue by putting the Hobbit films in a different category and saying that they're my favourite films of his. :D I haven't seen Spooks though, I've always suspected it would be a little too violent and depressing, besides which I heard about the water-boarding scene... *shudders*

And I think I'm going to watch Sparkhouse this evening! *happy dance* I am so jealous that you get to see Into the Storm! On Twitter I was the NZ girl complaining that we don't get it for another two weeks. :P

Isn't he just amazing? I love everything about him ... his incredible talent, his amazing good looks, the fact that he's an all around good guy and that voice .... oh, that voice :-) have you listened to any of the audio books he reads? I have Hamlet and The Lords of the North so far.

Sparkhouse was really good ... Richard's character was so sweet. I only bought the DVD about two months ago ... I need to watch it again. I've never been a big fan of Wuthering Heights (I always found Cathy and Heathclif annoying) but I found this modern revamping of the characters and story very interesting. I hope you enjoy it.

I love the entire 10 seasons of Spooks ... I originally got interested in it because of Matthew MacFadyen but grew to love the whole series and every one of the characters. Lucas is probably my favorite of Richard's characters because it was the first thing I saw him in ... so he's near and dear to my heart ... plus, his character is so compelling. Yes, there is violence but not that terrible, it's mostly government and political intrigue. In truth, I am addicted to the series and rewatch it quite a lot. The water-boarding scene is quite disturbing especially knowing of poor Richard's aversion to water, but it very short.

Have you seen him in Moving On, Cold Feet, Between the Sheets, The Impressionists?

Oh, and I adore The Hobbit .... read it, and the trilogy, three times over the years :-) the films were wonderful .... and Richard was spectacular as Thorin.

Awwww, two weeks isn't that long.? I know, easy for me to say since it's already here in the US .... and I actually did see your tweet :-)

Now, I should go back to reading N&S so I could participate in the read :-) once I get started talking about Rich I don't shut up :-) but it's so much fun to meet and chat with other fans who love him as much as I do.

Tadiana, I still can't believe there's a book with my name in it ... outside of my family, I never heard it before :-)

@ Clorinda:
Yes, he truly is! I love absolutely everything you mentioned about him, along with the fact that he has an amazing sense of humour and he's one of the most considerate celebrities I know towards his fans. I have listened to some of his audio-books; the three Georgette Heyer narrations, one of the Robin Hood short(ish) stories, and I hope to get my hands on Hamlet at some point. Oh, and I've seen and heard him reading those adorable bedtime stories. <3

Sparkhouse sounds promising! I read an abridged version of Wuthering Heights when I was a child, but I don't remember much of it. I don't suspect it will affect my viewing of Sparkhouse over-much. I shall be sure to tell you what I think of it when I'm finished watching it! :)

I might give Spooks a go at some point, just not right now - but your points are very reassuring. I doubt Lucas would ever get to be my favourite of Richard's characters (Guy and Thornton are having too hard a time fighting it out at the top to let anyone else in, and the both of them are very close to my heart), but I'm sure I'd like him a lot. I have seen a couple of clips, and he looks great. :) But I have heard that in the ninth season the script and Richard's character go a little off the rails... apparently Richard threw the script at the wall once or twice.

Thanks for the reassurance about the violence! I've got a pretty good threshold for it, I just know a lot of characters die (and doesn't Lucas try to hang himself at some point?), and generally if something gets depressing I can't handle it. Oh, that water-boarding scene! I almost cried reading an interview from Richard about doing it. That poor, brave man, I can't even imagine... But I really respect and love him all the more for doing it.

No, I haven't! Ah, I have so much catching up to do! But it's sort of nice to know I have a place to go, more to discover about Richard's work, and I've definitely done and seen enough to call myself a fan without any qualms.

So do I! I'm a New Zealander too, so it has a special place in my heart. You know I saw Richard at the Premier in 2012? And I can barely remember it! *sobbing* A friend had mentioned his name to me in passing, so I know I saw him. But I only became a proper fan... of his about eight months... after and... I can barely... remember... seeing him... *trails off into more sobs* Sorry, I'll get a grip on myself. Richard was spectacular as Thorin, I agree, especially when you consider all those prosthetics!

Lol, true, especially not when you're already counting down the days to the Hobbit. But it's still hard. Oh, you did see that? Haha, was it an odd thing to say? I'm new to Twitter, so I'm just doing my best. If you want we could... what is the term? Follow each other? Sounds very stalkerish if you ask me, it's better to just ask if you want to be friends. :D Anyway, yes, if you like you could tell me your username and we could be Twitter-friends. :)

I'm going to try and read chapters two, three and four tomorrow, and then weigh in a bit more on these discussions. It's so nice to talk to you, you know - lovely to find another person who loves Richard and is happy to talk about him. And I can be very hard to shut up about him too! That's the best thing about talking to other fans, though... they don't tell you to shut up. ;)

(Also,just realised I have seen some of Richards scenes in both Cold Feet and Moving On. In Cold Feet Richard was great as usual, but I didn't much care for the character or the show, though perhaps my opinion would change if I saw more of it. I adored what little I saw of his character in Moving On. :) )

I was reading a few things about N&S last night, both the book and the series. Richard's website has a really interesting couple of pages about the casting process and his thoughts on the role. Anyone here who hasn't seen it yet should go take a look. Warning: a little bit spoilerish.

http://www.richardarmitageonline.com/...

I love how he calls it "the role of a lifetime."

Tadiana wrote: "I was reading a few things about N&S last night, both the book and the series. Richard's website has a really interesting couple of pages about the casting process and his thoughts on the role. Any..."

Thanks, Tadiana. I used to spend hours gazing at that page's content ;). Have you seen the videos on YouTube with Richard reciting poetry? His voice is... celestial!

Here's a button: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHe1E...

I will definitely watch that, Marquise!

Thanks for those links, you two! Both great. :)

Tadiana wrote: "In Regency Buck, "Clorinda" is what the Earl of Worth calls the heroine when he wants to tease her (and remind her of the time he stole a kiss from her). :)"

I was assuming that Clorinda's name was a reference to Regency Buck too. That is such an unusual name!

I was wondering too, although I think in Regency Buck he's quoting something, an earlier story?

I had a quick google and this has already been discussed a little here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Wikipedia also says that Clorinda, Queen of the Sheperdesses was an earlier name for Maid Marian. I think this is probably the reference Worth was going for.

And from Mumsnet I found that there was a portrait called Clorinda that was painted by Thomas Guest in the early 1800s so possibly a link there too? Unfortunately can't find a pic of it

@ Clorinda: Just finished watching Sparkhouse! I quite liked it, and it was a really interesting adaptation. But it wasn't amazing and it was a bit depressing at times, and the main characters annoyed me. First impressions:

~ Mr. Lawton: Pretty cool guy. Not perfect, but thumbs up from me. :)

~ Mrs. Lawton: OMG, you are so annoying, get out of here already.

~ Lisa: Awwwww! (Also, loved seeing that Richard Armitage and Holliday Grainger have been in more than one series together)

~ Andrew: You. Are. A. COWARD! And irritating. And... ugh. I get it, life sucks sometimes, but he was SO selfish, and just couldn't keep his hands off of Carol. He had some of my sympathy, and I loved him at the start, but I was very close to hating him by the end.

~ Carol: Sometimes hated her as much as Andrew, but at least she improved, and some of her stuff at the end with John could be quite sweet, though her earlier manipulation was so cruel. (view spoiler)[How could she kill the dog though?! How is it the dogs fault? I hated that. :'( (hide spoiler)]

~ John Standring: Most. Adorable. Person. EVER. Definitely the best thing about that entire show, I loved Richard's character so much. Such a sweet, kind, un-selfish character, and brilliantly acted, as usual! In my personal opinion John Standring needs a better taste in women, but I really hope that Carol grew to love him a lot more than she did when the story ended.

Right, apologies for my babbling, everyone! But I can't help it... just saw something else with Richard Armitage in it, what else am I gonna do? :D

@Becca, I'd love to be Twitter friends with you .... I am @LadyClorinda

Yes, counting down to the last Hobbit film ....going to be very sad and since I already know what's coming I'll be bringing a box of tissues with me.

Still watching Spooks but since I started reading N&S again I feel the need to watch it tonight .... just might have to give my Lucas a rest for tonight and go with John ..... and speaking of John, have you seen him as John Porter in Strike Back? So wish I could have gone to London to see The Crucibles. I can't wait to see what his next project will be .... I'm wishful thinking but am hoping that he'll be Matthew Clairmont, if and when the All Souls Trilogy ever gets made (of course it will have to be soon).

@Tadiana. .... I love that interview. There is a wonderful interview with Richard in the special features section of the N&S DVD.

@Marquise, I only just heard Richard recite The Night Watch a few weeks ago ..... yes, celestial is the perfect description of his voice :-)

@Ceri, thank you so much for that information about Clorinda :-) ..... hmmmmm, Maid Marian? You know where my mind is going don't you, LOL? Sir Guy :-)

Clorinda wrote: "@Becca, I'd love to be Twitter friends with you .... I am @LadyClorinda

Yes, counting down to the last Hobbit film ....going to be very sad and since I already know what's coming I'll be bringing ..."

Thanks! I've just started following you - my Twitter name is @BeccaMaywyn. :)

What are we down to now... 110 days? I was counting on my hand, but the number got rubbed off a couple of days ago and I forgot to put it back on. :D I'm definitely taking a handkerchief to the Hobbit movie, and making sure I sit next to one of my more understanding friends that won't give me weird looks if I start weeping.

Nope, haven't seen Strike Back yet! Should I? Again with the whole violence thing, and I'm generally not fond of war films. As to his next project - Richard has hinted at a couple of things, but nothing conclusive as yet. I know he's still got the Crucible going for another month, and after that... I guess we'll see! :) I had heard a few people wanted him to play Matthew Clairmont, though I've not come across the All Souls Trilogy personally.

P.S. - Sorry for the random Sparkhouse spiel! I was just very excited to have watched it. :D

@Becca .... YES, my thoughts exactly :-) Loved Andrews father, couldn't stand his mother .... I could understand why he strayed. I liked Andrew at the start too .... but halfway through I was ready for him to be gone ... I felt that Carol did try to move on but he wouldn't let her. As for Carol, I kept thinking she was a psychopath (or is it sociopath? I get them mixed up) .... but, after we learn about her childhood I started to feel some sympathy for and understanding of her. I hope she was good to John. And John, I loved him .... such a kind, good, sincere, pure hearted man who was almost an innocent, but not naive (he called her out on her motives for marriage by telling her not to make a fool of him). Yes, as always, Richard nailed that role .... what a gifted man he is :-)

As I said earlier, I was never a big fan of Wuthering Heights but, while Sparkhouse could have been better, I did enjoy this version very much .... probably because of Richard *wink*

Yes, I was excited to see a young Halliday Granger as Lisa ... no wonder they had good chemistry in Robin Hood :-)

Clorinda wrote: "@Becca .... YES, my thoughts exactly :-) Loved Andrews father, couldn't stand his mother .... I could understand why he strayed. I liked Andrew at the start too .... but halfway through I was r..."

Really? :) How cool! I absolutely couldn't stand Andrew's mother - I mean, you could see how sorry her husband was for straying, and he tried so hard to make it up, but how can you with a woman like that? With Andrew, you expressed it perfectly. He and Carol were beautiful together at the start, but by mid-way I was simply thinking "Please leave. Just go, and stop spoiling John and Carol's chance for happiness because you're too selfish to let go." ARGH!

Considering Carol's childhood, I did have a lot more sympathy for her than Andrew. While she was often out of line, at least she was strong in her way, to face up to what she did. But Andrew was a weak, pathetic, selfish, spoiled brat.

Honestly though, I was so in love with John - I would throw something out the window if I learned that Carol was not kind to him. You really put that perfectly, saying that he was very close to being innocent, but stopped short of naivete. He was so sweet and awkward, and even when he knew people weren't perfect, he never blamed anyone and was always sincere and kind towards them, no matter who they were. Richard was so perfect - both in portraying the emotions and in the way he used his height and physicality to accentuate John's sweetness and awkwardness. And didn't you just love the accent? (view spoiler)[Speaking of which, what joke does he tell in the bar? I simply could not hear it! (hide spoiler)]

I should give Wuthering Heights another go sometime, but from what I know of the story I don't think it's something I'd be incredibly fond of. I agree, Sparkhouse could have been better... but Richard couldn't have been. ;) He was amazing, and it's lovely to see him in anything.

It took me a little longer than it should have to recognise her! A bit shameful, really, but she was a bit younger then, so I have some excuse. (LOVE those two in Robin Hood)

I will fly to London tomorrow to see The Crucible on 26th and hopefully get my N&S book signed by Richard! *sigh* When I come back I hope to join in the group discussion - don´t be too quick please! lol

Michaela wrote: "I will fly to London tomorrow to see The Crucible on 26th and hopefully get my N&S book signed by Richard! *sigh* When I come back I hope to join in the group discussion - don´t be too quick please..."

I. Am. So. Jealous!!!

But I hope you have an amazing time - in fact, I'm sure you will, and I insist upon being told all about it when you get back so that I can quietly seethe with jealousy for an entire week. :D Some of our members are already twelve chapters through! So you might have a little catching up to do, but I'm sure the discussions will still be going on when you get back. :)

Michaela wrote: "I will fly to London tomorrow to see The Crucible on 26th and hopefully get my N&S book signed by Richard! *sigh* "

Seriously?! Because his signature on the book would be so cool!

Michaela wrote: "I will fly to London tomorrow to see The Crucible on 26th and hopefully get my N&S book signed by Richard! *sigh* When I come back I hope to join in the group discussion - don´t be too quick please..."

Lucky you! Any chance of a picture of him to share with us, Michaela? It'd be great.

Yes! Picture! Pllleeeeeaaaaasssseeee! :D

I was just wondering what kind of pacing we should be aiming for with the group read? Or are we just going for it at our own speed? I don't know how you guys do these things, when I've done group reads before we've aimed to read up to chapter whatever by x date so we're all at roughly the same point in the story

Becca has set it up with groups of chapters so that we can read it at our own pace and just comment in the right thread when we get there, which seems to work quite well, we've done a few Jane Austen reads that way.

You've got it pretty much right, Louise. :) I'm trying to let everyone read at their own speed somewhat, and myself I'm *attempting* to participate in all the discussions and keep up with the anti-snail-readers in the group.

I prefer "gazelle" over "anti-snail." :D

... Nah, anti-snail is funnier. :D :P

(Gazelle does sound slightly more graceful though, I can understand why you might prefer it. I'm generally an anti-snail/gazelle myself, and I believe I've pretty much caught up to you now, but this last week has unfortunately been particularly busy.)

As promised a review of my Crucible experience:

I arrived in London on Monday the 25 August in the evening and went to the Old Vic at about 8.30pm to have a look and collect my tickets. After having done that, I saw that the play had been cancelled this day and asked a very nice lady of the staff what had happened and whether the play would be performed on Tuesday. My first thought was that RA was ill and/or had lost his voice. She told me there was a technical problem and that RA had been there 10 minutes before. I was a bit disappointed having missed him by that short time, as I had wanted to meet him this day too, but was glad that he wasn´t ill. Also told her where I came from and about the lady from Australia who had wanted to see him this day. I didn´t know the details then, as I had no internet device in London, heard them from some members I met on Tuesday for lunch.

So I was glad that I could see the play on 26th, as it was my only chance.
I sat in the Circle, so I couldn´t touch Richard, but had a very good view over the whole stage and the theatre. I didn´t understand all of the English but most of it, as I had read the book twice, otherwise I would have been lost as to the contents. The theatre was nearly full, but the people quiet except for some laughters I found inappropriate concerning the play. Either those people didn´t know the seriousness of the theme or they wanted to relax from it by laughing at some points. I also didn´t understand that they took their beverages and ice cream to their seats and ate and drank during the play (something which would never happen in Vienna).

Something which occurred to me is that Yael Farber did quite a conservative interpretation. Although it was played in the round, it was mostly theatre of the actors, no new ideas of the director and no political implications, which Arthur Miller had intended and which could have been modernized concerning new politics. There was though a very good choreography of the ensemble done by Imogen Knight, and I also liked the sound by Richard Hammarton. The burning of the herbs and the smoke made some people cough though. The movements were either very quick and wild or very still. When there is this hysteria in the court, all girls and even the judges move, only RA not, as he isn´t impressed at all by what he knows to be impostors.

The play was very intense and touching, the ensemble very well acting together. Besides RA I mostly liked Adrian Schiller´s Reverend Hale, Samantha Colley´s Abigail and Anna Madeley´s Elizabeth as well as the ensemble of women. Richard´s voice sounded a bit husky in the beginning, but improved to his usual self during the first act. It sounded deeper though than the one I´m used to. He didn´t yell as much as I had expected, and when his voice sounds hoarse or breaks later on, it is his intention concerning the contents of the play. Very touching the scene when his wife is brought into jail and he remains desperate and crying as well as the fourth act, when he, having been tortured, sees his wife for the last time and she assures her confidence in him. This farewell scene brought tears not only to my eyes.

There were standing ovations for the ensemble and then Richard alone, which he received very humbly. What I didn´t think appropriate was two women running after him through the aisle. When I went to the stage door afterwards, there was quite a long queue still. While waiting I talked to the lady before me and she saw Adrian Schiller leaving the theatre and we called out a "thank you" to him.

Then Richard arrived very quickly, but didn´t do the queue as speedy as I had expected. I was instructing my husband to take many pictures of him, which he did, but it wasn´t so easy as there were many people standing crowded. Richard didn´t appear to me to be as huge as I had expected, but very thin and also tired or still in the role. When he came to me, I held out my North and South book and he signed it. I had wanted to say a lot to him like wishing him a belated happy birthday and most of all thanking him for the play and all he had done in the past years, also explaining why I had brought N&S. If he saw the book, he would have known I think, but there was no time for talking much. I only brought out a "Could I have a photo please?", on which he said "Where is your camera?". I pointed to my husband who took the picture. I had awaited to be taken round my waist, but he didn´t do it and I didn´t dare to, as well as going to the end of the line again to tell him my thank yous.

On the whole I liked my stay, the play and the meeting with Richard very much, I still can´t believe it all happened.

Wow Michaela! Thanks for sharing that with all of us. :) I'm ever so slightly seething with jealousy, but I'm truly very, very happy for you. What a wonderful experience to have! I'm sure it's still sinking in, but at least you'll have the autograph to prove it was all real. ;) <3

Michaela--Vielen Dank! That was a great, detailed report and I love the pictures, especially the autographed page. :)