The Readers discussion

wuthering heights, of course.

i wish i were more familiar with the time period, but i think i like mostly poetry from this time. i especially love christina rossetti and manley hopkins.

i suppose a question i might have is how do writers manage to get such lovely details of the mores of society when writing historical fiction? i would be interested to know the research process.

of course, it might be more widely known in england than the states.

something else i am thinking of just now is the influence of victorian writers on american writers. authors such as whitman and thoreau. does one consider the impact of this artistic movement on
the rest of the world?

Simon wrote: "Hello one and all,

Apols for the last minute nature of this, very much my bad as we knew she was coming on The Readers I have just been a little hectic, but we have Essie Fox joining us on The R..."
I thought Elizabeth's questions were great, she used mine all up. . . my favorite Victorian novels. . .
1. Great Expectations - such a page turner with characters you could really relate to
2. Middlemarch - one of my all time favs, Casaubon, what a jerk writing his big book which is really crap, Dorothea, a heroine you could imagine as your best friend in 2012. . . also it's a time period where everything in life is changing b/c of the railroad, sort of like now with the internet, etc
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - for the plot. . . what a great plot!
I heard that Jane Eyre has been made into a movie 19 times and I love the movies but just never really got into the book that much. . . locks his crazy wife in the attic and broods all the time? What's the attraction?

Becky wrote: "Simon wrote: "Hello one and all,

Apols for the last minute nature of this, very much my bad as we knew she was coming on The Readers I have just been a little hectic, but we have Essie Fox joining..."

Hi Becky -

Adrienne Rich has a brilliant essay on Jane Eyre in her book On Lies, Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose, 1966-1978 . I used to have the same problem you did with Jane Eyre (though I do like the bits about her childhood) and never found Rochester to be a particularly romantic hero. But Rich discusses how liberated Jane is for her period. It made me appreciate the book and the Bronte sisters all the more. (There's also a nice essay on Emily Dickinson in there that made me re-think her work as well).

Tara wrote:Adrienne Rich has a brilliant essay on Jane Eyre
Hey, thanks! Will check it out. . .

Loved the interview!! I can't wait to read The Somnambulist! It sounds SO good.

I really enjoy your book recs so i'm sure I'll enjoy this one as well!