The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Since the consensus, from everything I've read, is that The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole was the first novel to use the term "Gothic" I think this would be a good place to start.

Book 1
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Wk 1 May 21 - May 27: Preface - Chap II
- Note: Oddly enough my version (Alma Classics) has the preface to the first and second editions in the Appendix.
Wk 2 May 28 - June 3: Chap III - Chap V

Book 2
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wk 1 (June 4 - June 10): Jekyll & Hyde - entire story
Wk 2 (June 11 - June 17): The Body Snatcher & Olalla

Book 3
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
Wk 1 (June 18 - June 24): Intro, Preface, Chap I & II - or - Vol I Chap I & II
Wk 2 (June 25 - July 1): Chap III & IV - or - Vol I Chap III & Vol II Chap I
Wk 3 (July 2 - July 8): Chap V, VI, VII - or - Vol II Chap II, III & IV
Wk 4 (July 9 - July 15): Chap VIII, IX, X - or - Vol III Chap I, II & III
Wk 5 (July 16 - July 22): Chap XI & XII - or- Vol III Chap IV & V

Book 4
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Wk 1 (July 23 - July 29): Chap I - VII
Wk 2 (July 30 - Aug 5): Chap VII - XVI

Book 5
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Wk 1 (Aug 6 - Aug 12): Chap I - V
Wk 2 (Aug 13 - Aug 19): Chap VI - X
Wk 3 (Aug 20 - 26): Chap XI - XV
Wk 4 (Aug 27 - Sept 2): Chap XVI - XX
Wk 5 (Sept 3 - Sept 9): Chap XXI - XXV
Wk 6 (Sept 10 - 16): Chap XXVI - XXVII

Sept 17 - 30 we will be taking some time off for those who are still reading to catch up.

Book 6
The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader by Eaton Stannard Barrett
Wk 1 (Oct 1 - 7): Chap I - XII
Wk 2 (Oct 8 - 14): Chap XIII - XXIV
Wk 3 (Oct 15 - 21): Chap XXV - XXXIV
Wk 4 (Oct 22 - 28): Chap XXXV - XXXIX
Wk 5 (Oct 29 - Nov 4): Chap XL - XLIX



Book 7
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Wk 1 (Nov 5 - 11): Volume I
Wk 2 (Nov 12 - 18): Volume II
Wk 3 (Nov 19 - 25): Volume III

Thanks for posting this so soon as knowing I will be reading the Monk in July and August affects my reading decisions as I may now back off from a July buddy read I was about to commit to. Whew, as I hate to overcommit to or back away from reads.

Since The Monk will definitely be in the Gothic Read I can change my vote from it in the Group Read poll. Hmmm, "Olive" or "The Beetle?"

I presumed the Gothic read would be in chronological order as a college survey class might, but now that I see what you scheduled, I bet it will make for a more enjoyable and less tedious reading experience to jump back-and-forth in time rather than being so linear. I appreciate that this group is looking for the more enjoyable rather than the more scholarly approach here. Good show, Gem.
EDIT: I just purchased all 3 in Kindle versions.

I have just ordered The Castle of Otranto, but might not get it before the end of May. The Monk is also on its way. So I should be able to read along with that one.

Brian E wrote: "Thanks for posting this so soon as knowing I will be reading the Monk in July and August affects my reading decisions as I may now back off from a July buddy read I was about to commit to. Whew, as..."

Sorry for the delay... things have been crazy around here with my husband having surgery. I selected those three books to get us started The Castle of Otranto because it is considered by most of academia as being the first "gothic" novel. It isn't highly rated (3.18 stars on Goodread) so I selected the next two because they have higher ratings and were on the list that folks said they would be interested in reading. I simply did not want to have multiple older books that were difficult reads and have everyone lose interest.

I will lead this project as long as those who are participating are interested. After we finish the second book (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror) I thought we could do a poll with the participants to pick the fourth book. And so on.

I have read the first two books and liked them both. Which date we are beginning The Monk?

Gem wrote: " Book 2
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wk 1 June 4 - June 10
Do we want to read the "Other Tales of Terror?""

Since the edition I have only has Dr. J and Mr. H, without any additional stories I don't really care. But if I had bought the edition with "Other tales of Terror" which seems to be the Penguin & Oxford editions, I'd want to not waste the rest of my purchased book.
I'm happy to sit out for a few weeks while those who have the stories read them. I'd only suggest that you list the specific stories. I've see editions that include "other tales" w/o specifying terror so they could be different ones, I may even spend the money and get another edition with the extra stories if I end of liking Dr. J & Mr. H.

This sounds great! I’ve read “The Monk,” and really enjoyed it.

Nidhi wrote: "I have read the first two books and liked them both. Which date we are beginning The Monk?"

It depends on if we only read Dr Jekyll or we read the entire book. I'm open either way.

As I have read just Dr.Jekyll ..,...I will join for other stories....

Gem wrote: " Book 2
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wk 1 June 4 - June 10
Do we want to read the "Other Tales of Terror?"

I bought the (a?) Penguin Classics edition. In addition to J&H, it contains "The Body Snatcher" and "Olalla," along with an abridged "A Chapter on Dreams" and an essay about J&H. Unlike the edition The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror listed on Goodreads, mine is only 178 pages long and does not include "The Beast Within."

I'd enjoy reading "The Body Snatcher" (22 pages) and "Olalla" (42 pages) after we finish Jekyll and Hyde.

I'd also enjoy reading more of Stevenson's "tales." I don't have an edition that includes them, but I assume they're short and easy to find and read online.

JP wrote: "In addition to J&H, it contains "The Body Snatcher" and "Olalla," along with an abridged "A Chapter on Dreams" and an essay about J&H."

My edition is the same as JP's.

The Body Snatcher is 19 pages available on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/426

Olalla is 40 pages available on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/344

A Chapter on Dreams (Annotated): (how dreams inspired the classic author) is an essay, I'm not sure this fits very well into the category of Gothic. That said the entire essay is available on Lit2Go: https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/110/select...

I'm not inclined to read Diagnosing Jekyll but will if anyone feels strongly about it. It's 17 pages long and is included in this online edition of the Penguin Book (including the stories above): https://fb2bookfree.com/uploads/files...

How about if I add a week to Jekyll and Hyde so if anyone wants to read they can and anyone who doesn't want to can take the week off?

Re: The schedule for The Monk. I was unable to get a physical copy of that selection. When I selected an epub edition it told me the book was 336pgs but when I downloaded it I've got over 500pgs. I'm not sure if the schedule is realistic, so we can adjust it if we need to.

I like the idea of an extra week for Jekyll and Hyde to read "The Body Snatcher" and "Olalla."

I bought the Penguin edition of The Monk. It's 377 pages. By my count, the schedule above would be

Week 1: 81 pages
Week 2: 84 pages
Week 3: 74 pages
Week 4: 56 pages
Week 5: 56 pages

JP wrote: "I like the idea of an extra week for Jekyll and Hyde to read "The Body Snatcher" and "Olalla."

I bought the Penguin edition of The Monk. It's 377 pages. By my count, the schedule abov..."

Thanks JP

I think the schedule for the Monk is perfect, the best that could be done. Even using a 500 page edition rather than a 377 page edition, the longer first 2 weeks would be approximately 120 pages. This is a bit long for some (though a preferable length for me) but it is better than either splitting chapters or stretching the book out to 7 weeks with 42 to 60 page, depending on the edition, one-chapter weeks at the beginning, A slower paced reader can catch up in the last two weeks anyway.
I also like the Dr. J & Mr. H schedule with the short story option. I appreciate the information about using Gutenberg for the short stories.

My edition of "The Castle of Otranto" came yesterday. I will read that in the coming weeks and skip Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, which I know already, and hopefully join again for "The Monk", which I also received yesterday.
I just wanted to say something so you know why I have not participated in any discussion so far.

Hedi wrote: "My edition of "The Castle of Otranto" came yesterday. I will read that in the coming weeks and skip Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, which I know already, and hopefully join again for "The Monk", which I a..."

It will be good to have you. Once I started reading Castle, I could not put it down. It was a quick easy read for me.

Thanks, Gem, for the update on the books we'll read after The Monk. Count me in!

I will definitely be participating. Thanks for the update, Gem.

Yes, thanks for the update. It helps me plan. As I've read 3 of them I will likely only join for The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader.
However, the idea of reading Carmilla and then immediately following it with Dracula is so logical and so enticing that it is tempting me to re-reads. I better not, though, as reading both vampire books in a row many be too sensual for my 70-year-old heart to endure.
But then again my obituary would memorably say: "He died with a book in his hands," and I could leave word prior to the read to have that put on my headstone too.
As I read both stories before on Kindle, if I do decide on re-reads, I better get paperbacks. I don't want it to read "He died with an I-Pad in his hands."

Brian E wrote: "Yes, thanks for the update. It helps me plan. As I've read 3 of them I will likely only join for The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader.
However, the idea of reading ..."

Haha, good point!
I'm rereading Carmilla and Dracula this summer with a local book club (followed by The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, which I just finished and gave 3 stars), so that works out. They really want us to read the edition of Carmilla that has notes by Carmen Maria Machado, so I have it through inter-library loan.

Oh, thanks, Lori. I read Carmilla last year on Kindle, but like Brian, I was thinking of getting a paperback for the reread. I enjoyed Machado's In the Dream House and would be interested in reading her notes.

I'll plan on finding this one

JP wrote: "Oh, thanks, Lori. I read Carmilla last year on Kindle, but like Brian, I was thinking of getting a paperback for the reread. I enjoyed Machado's In the Dream House a..."

I'm still waiting to read In the Dream House! It's on hold at the library, but there are two people ahead of me still. That's fine, though, it will give me some time to catch up on these books.

Brian E wrote: "Yes, thanks for the update. It helps me plan. As I've read 3 of them I will likely only join for The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader.
However, the idea of reading ..."

I'll miss your comments on the books you will not be reading.

tempt, tempt, tempt

JP wrote: " I enjoyed Machado's In the Dream House a..."

I never heard of the book until you mentioned it. As Lori thought about reading it too, I looked it up and ordered a copy.
I always have one non-fiction read going at a time and, as they are usually long and slow historical books, I like to throw in a quicker read every so often. Machado's looked like a good candidate for a respite between the heavier historical books.

Gem wrote: " tempt, tempt, tempt."

I see you realize that I'm the type that not only would have eaten the offered apple in the Garden of Eden but would have also asked for a second. We shall see.

Brian E wrote: "Gem wrote: " tempt, tempt, tempt."

I see you realize that I'm the type that not only would have eaten the offered apple in the Garden of Eden but would have also asked for a second. We shall see."

Lol

I just finished Chapter III of The Monk and, according to the schedule, expected to run into Chapter IV but instead ran into Part II, Chapter 1. My edition has 3 parts and restarts the chapter numbering in each part. But there is the same 12 Chapters so I just did my own math and changed my chapter guides which I have on my calendar to reflect my edition.

So, Gem, nothing to bother yourself about. This is the second time this has happened to me with a classic. I think it was The Italian.
So it happens whenever I read a gothic novel with nuns and monks. Very eerie.
Or maybe it's just because I read the freebie or cheapo Kindles of these older novels, editions which sometimes differ from the editions from Penguin, Oxford World Classic, Modern Library and other reputable publishing houses because . . . they are freebie or cheapo editions.

Brian E wrote: "I just finished Chapter III of The Monk and, according to the schedule, expected to run into Chapter IV but instead ran into Part II, Chapter 1. My edition has 3 parts and restarts the chapter numb..."

Thanks for that hint. I had not checked that yet, but I have the same with my Oxford World Classics edition. Mine has 3 volumes.

We had a similar issue in the Musketeer project. There is was even stranger how some of the books were split up and the names of the chapters were translated differently in the different editions. So it required a complete second schedule. ;-)

Brian E wrote: "I just finished Chapter III of The Monk and, according to the schedule, expected to run into Chapter IV but instead ran into Part II, Chapter 1. My edition has 3 parts and restarts the chapter numb..."

Thanks for pointing that out, I will update the reading schedule.

Count me in for The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader. I've behind schedule on Dracula; a two-week break will give me a chance to catch up.

JP wrote: "Count me in for The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader. I've behind schedule on Dracula; a two-week break will give me a chance to catch up."

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll be reading The Heroine as well. Probably won't reread Frankenstein this time.

I think I will also read it, fascinating that by 1813 the genre was well-known enough to be satirized. That's even before Northanger Abbey.

I don’t plan on reading The Heroine, but I do plan to read Frankenstein if that is still on our schedule.

Nancy wrote: "I don’t plan on reading The Heroine, but I do plan to read Frankenstein if that is still on our schedule."

Provided there is still interest, yes.

Not sure I commented before but I am eager to start The Heroine, Or, Adventures of a Fair Romance Reader and have always wanted to read Frankenstein: The 1818 Text.

HELP!

I am looking for (unsuccessfully) to come up with a story or two, longer than a short story, not long enough to be a novel that would fit "gothic" and/or "ghost stories" for Christmas. If you have any ideas please post them in the Gothic Reading Schedule.

I'm going to post this in a couple of places. Thanks!

I thought of Gaskell's The Old Nurse's Story but then thought that I may have read it with this group already. So I checked, saw I did, and thought I would repost last year's thread on Christmas short stories.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Brian E wrote: "I thought of Gaskell's The Old Nurse's Story but then thought that I may have read it with this group already. So I checked, saw I did, and thought I would repost last year's thread on Christmas sh..."

Thanks Brian