Victorians! discussion

Hi all,

Jassmine, Theresa and I have been planning a buddy read of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell for September/October this year. Details to be finalised, but I wanted to let you know now in case someone would be interested in joining us but needs time for planning.

Start date: mid-September (10th, 15th, TBD)
Schedule: TBD, I'd prefer around 4±1 week(s) (until latest 15th October)
Structure: One thread with appropriate spoiler warnings (but can do (bi-)weekly threads, if preferred)

I have seen that there was a group read of Mary Barton in 2023, which might be useful as well: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

I’d love to read Mary Barton with you!

Lindenblatt wrote: "Hi all,

Jassmine, Theresa and I have been planning a buddy read of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell for September/October this year. Details to be finalised, but I wa..."
Thanks for this Linda. Yes, I would like to be done earlier in October so I have plenty of reading time for other Victorian books.

Lindenblatt wrote: "Hi all,

Jassmine, Theresa and I have been planning a buddy read of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell for September/October this year. Details to be finalised, but I wa..."

Glad to have you Gayle.

Gayle wrote: "I’d love to read Mary Barton with you!"

You are very much welcome, Gayle!

Theresa wrote: "Lindenblatt wrote: "Hi all,

Jassmine, Theresa and I have been planning a buddy read of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell for September/October this year. Details to be..."

The earlier the better for me as well. Let me know if you have any preferences regarding the/a schedule and structure of this thread.

I am so glad that we finally managed to find a time to read this together!

Just as a reminder: In about two weeks, I’ll set up two threads for the buddy read of 'Mary Barton':

starting 21st September: Vol. 1 (Ch. I-XVII)
starting 1st October: Vol. 2 (Ch. XVIII- XXXVIII)

The novel was originally published in two volumes, “reflecting its narrative structure”. Thus, this split seems to make sense without putting too many restrictions on us.

You can start and finish (earlier/later) as it suits you, but the aim would be to have a check in at the beginning, around the middle and, of course, at the end. The end will be around 10th October.

Comments can be posted at any time when you feel like sharing your thoughts and impressions. Please use spoiler warnings (and spoiler tags), if you want to discuss details. For example starting your message with:

*********************CHAPTER VI***********************



Let me know if this plan sounds good to you.

One of my all time favourite novels. I have read this recently in a group read but I will be reading your posts with interest ( if that’s OK.)

I have recently discovered that Mary Howitt (a celebrated writer of the period now largely forgotten) encouraged Elizabeth Gaskell to write and publish Mary Barton.

Here is a snippet about her from the excellent ‘Elizabeth Gaskell House’ website which has many great resources for Gaskell lovers.

https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/w...

Trev wrote: "One of my all time favourite novels. I have read this recently in a group read but I will be reading your posts with interest ( if that’s OK.)

I have recently discovered that Mary Howitt (a celebr..."

Of course it is okay if you join us and thank you for the link.

I would love to join in as well!

Lindenblatt wrote: "Just as a reminder: In about two weeks, I’ll set up two threads for the buddy read of 'Mary Barton':

starting 21st September: Vol. 1 (Ch. I-XVII)
starting 1st October: Vol. 2 (Ch. XVIII- XXXVIII)
..."

Looks great to me with maybe a first impressions area. Thanks again Linda for setting this up.

Theresa wrote: "Looks great to me with maybe a first impressions area..."

That's a good idea, Theresa. I'll open a 'First Impressions (no spoilers)' discussion thread and then the other two which may contain spoilers.

@Jen, it would be great, if you could join us! The more, the merrier.

@Trev, thank you for the link. I have visited the 'Elizabeth Gaskell House' website while reading The Letters of Mrs. Gaskell last/earlier this year. It's a great resource indeed, though the picture at the top of that article was creepy...

Hi everyone, you can also revisit the discussion threads from 2023, if you'd like to!

Lady Clementina wrote: "Hi everyone, you can also revisit the discussion threads from 2023, if you'd like to!"

Thank you, Clementina! I will certainly make use of that discussion. I am sure it will be useful as always.

Lindenblatt wrote: "Thank you, Clementina! I will certainly make use of that discussion. I am sure it will be useful as always."

It is (and NOT because I took part in it ;-)): it offers lots of background reading for those who want to delve deeper.

If you care to cross reference as you go, here’s a link to the 2023 Archive mentioned by Lady C. …

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

We also read it in 2013, so I’ll add that link here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

The contributors are completely different (or nearly), so the discussion might be worth a peek.


*Both the 2023 and 2013 Reads are organized by chapter groups, which should help with spoilers.*


P. S. The 2013 Read was early in the year so you’ll have to navigate to the earliest posts once you use the link.

Hi everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all!

I'm Thaizi Ono, and I've joined you from Brazil.

English Literature was my major a while ago, but I’ve since moved into the business field professionally.
So, while my love is business, my passion is definitely literature!

I'm particularly excited to be reading Gaskell, who I discovered through the wonderful Katie Lumsden on YouTube.
I was so taken by her writing style and how she addresses social class issues.
I've read North and South, Cranford, and Curious if True and they were all fantastic.
I’m looking forward to our discussion of Mary Barton and will be reading it in Portuguese (my native language) to get the full nuance.

Thaizi wrote: "Hi everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all!

I'm Thaizi Ono, and I've joined you from Brazil.

English Literature was my major a while ago, but I’ve since moved into the business field professi..."

I am glad you decided to join us. I guess I was lucky to find you over on discord.

Theresa wrote: "Thaizi wrote: "Hi everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all!

I'm Thaizi Ono, and I've joined you from Brazil.

English Literature was my major a while ago, but I’ve since moved into the business..."


Thank you for the invitation, Theresa.
It is such a joy to be here and read Elizabeth Gaskell with other people :)

Hi everyone. I'm new here but loved Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I'm not good at doing groups on my phone but am going to try. Looking forward to reading with you all. -Chris M

Chris wrote: "Hi everyone. I'm new here but loved Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I'm not good at doing groups on my phone but am going to try. Looking forward to reading with you all. -Chris M"


Hi Chris, welcome to the group! It's wonderful that you'll be joining us in this group read. No worries, this is supposed to be a relaxed and enjoyable experience. As a group buddy read, there will be less moderation, but we hope to have some good exchanges as we all read the same book.

@Renee & sabagrey: thanks so much for your additional input. It's very much appreciated!

Chris wrote: "Hi everyone. I'm new here but loved Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I'm not good at doing groups on my phone but am going to try. Looking forward to reading with you all. -Chris M"

In case this is helpful… I alternate between the GR app and using the browser in my phone to access the website… depending on what I’m trying to do. There are some functions that are just easier for me from the website.