The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

**updated 11/13 - somehow I added an unnecessary week, which I have now removed - we will be done by 11/23 (although of course, feel free to read and comment at your own pace.)

This book has 54 chapters including the conclusion. Many of the chapters are 5-8 pages long and it's a pretty fast read. I think we can do this in 6 weeks as below. I put the start date below as Oct 13, as it's easier to do this by calendar weeks.

10/13 -10/19 - Ch 1-9
10/20 -10/26 - Ch 10-18
10/27 - 11/2 - Ch 19-27
11/3 - 11/9 - Ch 28-36
11/10 - 11/16 - Ch 37-45
11/17 - 11/23 - Ch 46-end

Can’t wait, I obtained my copy some weeks ago it’s sitting on my bookshelf between Elizabeth Von Arnim and Dante I imagine the authors conversing and comparing notes.

I'll be joining too. I had a hard time finding a description of the book that did not seem spoilery (maybe they're not, and those are all things that are revealed early on, but I'm not sure), so I didn't read any too closely. The book sounds good.

Looking forward to this. I live in Shropshire now and love discovering new local authors. I have a free copy for kindle from Amazon UK.

Great to hear everyone's enthusiasm!

The first book I read by Mary Cholmondeley was Diana Tempest and I liked it very much. So I went on to discover more of her works, and came across Red Pottage which I liked a little less at the time. I think this is a good opportunity to re-visit this book and, maybe, do it more justice.

sabagrey wrote: "The first book I read by Mary Cholmondeley was Diana Tempest and I liked it very much. So I went on to discover more of her works, and came across Red Pottage which I l..."

This is the only one of hers that I've read, I will check out Diana Tempest.

I am planning to join in for this read as well-looking forward to it!

Wonderful, happy to have everyone!

I have read all Mary Cholmondeley’s novels except Notwithstanding and some of her short story collections. Not only was she a clever writer, she pushed against boundaries and (especially in her short stories) could be classed as visionary.

Both ‘Red Pottage’ and ‘Diana Tempest’ have plots worthy of any of the esteemed Victorian authors, but it is the way Mary Cholmondeley writes that impresses me most. Such talented, (almost unknown) Victorian writers need more exposure, so a big thumbs up for Red Pottage being chosen for this group read.

Trev wrote: "I have read all Mary Cholmondeley’s novels except Notwithstanding and some of her short story collections. Not only was she a clever writer, she pushed against boundaries and (espec..."

Thanks, Trev. I have a few Virago books and somewhat randomly read this one a year or so ago and it struck me as quite different in style and story than the more famous writers of the era.

Hi, I'm new to this group. I've included 'Red Pottage' in my October to-read list, and I hope there's no problem if it spills over to November?

I'm reading just for the fun of enjoying a book, not because I have an exam to pass!😊

Mbuye wrote: "Hi, I'm new to this group. I've included 'Red Pottage' in my October to-read list, and I hope there's no problem if it spills over to November?

I'm reading just for the fun of enjoying a book, not..."

Absolutely, and welcome, Mbuye! Everyone can read at their own pace and comment on any thread as you get to it, even one from last year. The threads are always available. And - No exams! As a former grad student in French & English Literature, it's not so much the exams that I dreaded, but the 10-page essays, in the era of manual typewriters!

Robin P wrote: "Mbuye wrote: "Hi, I'm new to this group. I've included 'Red Pottage' in my October to-read list, and I hope there's no problem if it spills over to November?

I'm reading just for the fun of enjoyi..."

You had typewriters? My generation were given five 1-hour essays to write by hand! 🙂

I would have loved to read this with the group but, not expecting this group to read it anytime soon, I read it just last November in another group. I would have preferred to read it in this group due to its weekly discussions and classics-knowledgeable membership.

But I had gotten excited to read Red Pottage after reading the favorable comments about Diana Tempest. I very much regretted missing out on that group read experience. And Red Pottage was supposed to be even better.

I ended up rating Red Pottage at 3.7 stars rounded up to 4 stars but felt a slight disappointment as my expectations for it were too high. My rating was based on rating one storyline 4 stars and the other storyline at 3 stars. I explain why in my review
But, while there are no spoilers, it probably is better to avoid looking at the review prior to reading the book so you can read without knowing even the basic set-up that I describe in the review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Gosh, it's been so long since I've read a book with this group that I may have to break my vow not to bother with any more Dickens.

Mbuye wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Mbuye wrote: "Hi, I'm new to this group. I've included 'Red Pottage' in my October to-read list, and I hope there's no problem if it spills over to November?

I'm reading just for t..."

We did have exams with "blue books" that we wrote by hand, but we also had papers to write during the semester of various lengths. They had to be typed. There was white-out for corrections and then they came up with erasable bond paper, which was better. But if you decided a paragraph would be better somewhere else, there's no way you would redo the whole thing. And as a French major with only a standard American typewriter, I had to write in all the accent marks by hand.

Brian E wrote: "I would have loved to read this with the group but, not expecting this group to read it anytime soon, I read it just last November in another group. I would have preferred to read it in this group ..."

Feel free to comment on Red Pottage anytime from your memory of it.

Robin P wrote: "Mbuye wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Mbuye wrote: "Hi, I'm new to this group. I've included 'Red Pottage' in my October to-read list, and I hope there's no problem if it spills over to November?

I'm read..."

And to think they're complaining about AI!