The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Please post your nomination for September here.
I notice that we have been reading mostly books by European authors, so I think it is time we read a book by an author from the New World-- North, Central or South America. Of course, European books are welcome too,
The nominations will close after we have ten titles or seven days, whichever comes first.

Rosemarie wrote: "Please post your nomination for September here.
I notice that we have been reading mostly books by European authors, so I think it is time we read a book by an author from the New World-- North, C..."

And must fit into our time period

Mark Twain's Huck Finn.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Thank you for the reminder of the time period, Deborah.

Rosemarie wrote: "Thank you for the reminder of the time period, Deborah."

Which, as our group name says, is 1800-1910.

I am so glad someone nominated Huckleberry Finn. I have not read it, yet.

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, maybe?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

Lori wrote: "The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, maybe?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9..."

Group read in 2014. Rosemarie gets to decide whether to include it

The noneuropean suggestion is tough for this time period! I am a huge latin american lit fan but sadly found most of my favorites to be slightly out of the range. But I will keep thinking about it!

Anna Karenina

I found one! Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis. Shorter than I usually pick but excellent reviews. I see it was in the July poll also.

I nominate Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Deborah wrote: "Lori wrote: "The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, maybe?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9..."

Group read in 2014. Rosemar..."

Oh, sorry! Forgot to check the archives. I'll withdraw that suggestion and suggest Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I've never seen the movie either but would like to.

Obviously, it's a memoir, not a novel. Is that ok?

Lori wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Lori wrote: "The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, maybe?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9..."

Group read ..."

Finally determination is up to Rosemarie.

Are there any other Hawthorne novels that someone would like to nominate? 2014 is only two years ago, so it might be too soon for a reread. I think 3 years or longer is a better for a reread.

Twelve Years a Slave fits the time period so I think it is a good choice, and it will lend itself to a good discussion as well.

Rosemarie wrote: "Twelve Years a Slave fits the time period so I think it is a good choice, and it will lend itself to a good discussion as well."

That's one I've been wanting to read.

Deborah wrote: "Anna Karenina"

Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec....

Rochelle wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Anna Karenina"

Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec...."

Lol Rochelle. That would take care of noms and voting :)

I don't know if I can spend four months with Anna. If it wins we can each have a turn and still not finish the book. (Just kidding)

Rosemarie wrote: "I don't know if I can spend four months with Anna. If it wins we can each have a turn and still not finish the book. (Just kidding)"

Lol. Wonder what a discussion would be like if leaders were switched multiple times. :0

We will have to wait and see which book wins.

Here are the nominations so far:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twelve Years a Slave
Anna Karenina
Dom Casmurro
Frankenstein
The Pioneers
A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder
What Maisie Knew
The Scarlet Letter
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas

I am would like to nominate Clotel: or, The President's Daughter This is a book I have just come across and looks a very interesting read with good reviews

Also, if I can nominate two, The Pioneers which is a book I have wanted to read and is said to be the best of the author's books

Tracey wrote: "Also, if I can nominate two, The Pioneers which is a book I have wanted to read and is said to be the best of the author's books"

We can only nominate one book each since ten is the maximum number of books. Which of the two books that you chose is more readily available?
Some members have more difficulty getting books than others. I am very fortunate to have access to a large library system, which has both. They both sound like good choices.

Rosemarie wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Also, if I can nominate two, The Pioneers which is a book I have wanted to read and is said to be the best of the author's books"

We can only nominate one book each sin..."

Let me look and see and I will post the one that seems the most available.

I can get both from my library system but I will nominate The Pioneers if other people are interested in Clotel let me know if you can get it from your library and I will nominate it next time :) (we already have a nomination about slavery this month)

Sounds good, Tracey.

Rosemarie wrote: "Here are the nominations so far:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twelve Years a Slave
Anna Karenina
Dom Casmurro
Frankenstein:

Comments from searching availability of nominations considered:

Puttin' On Ole Massa: The Slave Narratives of Henry Bibb, William Wells Brown, and Solomon Northup by Gilbert Osofsky.

I found that when looking for Clotel: or, The President's Daughter by William Wells Brown in our library system. Besides the possibility above and the book as stand-alone, Clotel appears to be included in William Wells Brown: Clotel & Other Writings. The author (WW Brown) was himself born into slavery, escaped at twenty, and became a writer and an abolitionist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

(Yes, Clotel interests me, but I'll refrain from nominating it this time.)

Since I have sort of a "need" to read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne again and it would be delightful to read it with a group, I will nominate it if it is eligible. (I didn't find it on the group bookshelf.)

I would like to nominate What Maisie Knew by Henry James. It’s under 300 pages and so not one of his doorstops. (I haven’t seen any Henry James nominations in the time I’ve been in the group—if someone has a loathing for him, I’ll withdraw.) The story is about the daughter of irresponsible divorced parents—something perhaps a number of our readers can relate to?

Leads for anyone interested in early Canadian literature:

"Because Canada only officially became a country on July 1, 1867, it has been argued that literature written before this time was colonial. For example, Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill, English sisters who adopted the country as their own, moved to Upper Canada in 1832. They recorded their experiences as pioneers in Parr Traill's The Backwoods of Canada (1836) and Canadian Crusoes: (1852), and Moodie's Roughing It in the Bush (1852) and Life in the Clearings (1853). However, both women wrote until their deaths, placing them in the country for more than 50 years and certainly well past Confederation. Moreover, their books often dealt with survival and the rugged Canadian environment; these themes re-appear in other Canadian works, including Margaret Atwood's Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature. Moodie and Parr Traill's sister, Agnes Strickland, remained in England and wrote elegant royal biographies, creating a stark contrast between Canadian and English literatures.

"However, one of the earliest 'Canadian' writers virtually always included in Canadian literary anthologies is Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796–1865), who died just two years before Canada's official birth. He is remembered for his comic character, Sam Slick, who appeared in The Clockmaker and other humorous works throughout Haliburton's life."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadia...

Lily, as a Canadian, I have read all of the above books and enjoyed the pioneer books. The Clockmaker wasn't very good. The humour was very dated. Since I haven't nominated anything yet,I will look for a Canadian book.

A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder by James De Mille is my nomination of a Canadian book.

The list of the nine books is in Message 24. We have room for one more.

Dom Casmurro - Machado de Assis

Dom Casmurro

I posted as fast as I could when I saw there was room for one more! LOL

Hahaha... Now that I'm actually reading the topic, I saw that Dom Casmurro is already on the list... Sorry for that!

And thanks, Dianne! :)

I would nominate this one, instead... but it seems not that easy to find:

Senhora: Profile of a Woman

The link to amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/Senhora-Profil...

Rose, my library has only one reference copy, and there are a hundred branches of the Toronto public library, so it is hard to find. It sounds interesting too.
Would you like to nominate another book, Rose, or stay with that one. It is book number 10, so you have the final choice.

Ok, can I nominate another one from Machado de Assis? He is more famous worldwide than José de Alencar, so I guess it will be easier to find it. The book is The Postumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas.
link to Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/019510...

Rose wrote: "Ok, can I nominate another one from Machado de Assis. He is more famous worldwide than José de Alencar, so I guess it will be easier to find it. The book is The Postumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas.
lin..."

Thank you for that last suggestion The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis.

We now have our ten nominations for September.

See message 24 for the full list.