Victorians! discussion

Please post your nominations here. One nomination per person and per author. Nomination thread will be up for one week or when we reach eight nominations. If possible, please include the link to the book you've nominated.

Eligible nominations should be written and published in Great Britain between 1837 and 1901.

For this round of nominations, please exclude the following authors:

Wilkie Collins
Charles Dickens
Arthur Conan Doyle
Elizabeth Gaskell
Thomas Hardy
Anthony Trollope

Based on several comments from members, we've decided to have at least one month where we try to explore some less well-known Victorian authors. Hopefully, you can come up with some interesting nominations within these limitations and can look forward to trying something new in April.

The Way of All Flesh
By Samuel Butler

"Written between 1873 and 1884 and published posthumously in 1903, The Way of All Flesh is regarded by some as the first twentieth-century novel. Samuel Butler's autobiographical account of a harsh upbringing and troubled adulthood shines an iconoclastic light on the hypocrisy of a Victorian clerical family's domestic life. It also foreshadows the crumbling of nineteenth-century bourgeois ideals in the aftermath of the First World War, as well as the ways in which succeeding generations have questioned conventional values.
Hailed by George Bernard Shaw as "one of the summits of human achievement," this chronicle of the life and loves of Ernest Pontifex spans four generations, focusing chiefly on the relationship between Ernest and his father, Theobald. Written in the wake of Darwin's Origin of Species, it reflects the dawning consciousness of heredity and environment as determinants of character. Along the way, it offers a powerfully satirical indictment of Victorian England's major institutions—the family, the church, and the rigidly hierarchical class structure."


The above is from the GR description of the book. Please let me know if it is not eligible because of the publication date.

I believe Butler's novel was accepted for nomination previously, so it will stand.

Natalie wrote: "The Way of All Flesh
By Samuel Butler

"Written between 1873 and 1884 and published posthumously in 1903, The Way of All Flesh is regarded by some as the first twentieth-century novel..."

Loved this book. A good time for a re-read.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I'm assuming Ireland is considered part of Great Britain. If not, delete post

Esther Waters by George Moore

I nominate

The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson.

The Master of Ballantrae

I nominate Salem Chapel by Margaret Oliphant. I read Miss Marjoribanks a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it.

Pride And Prejudice

Unfortunately, Pride and Prejudice was published before our time parameters. Would you like to nominate something else, Jon?

Editing my link. See below for Salem's Chapel

Deborah wrote: "I'm assuming Ireland is considered part of Great Britain. If not, delete post

Esther Waters by George Moore"
Ooooh! I have been wanting to read something by him. I see this will be a very difficult choice.

Renee wrote: "Unfortunately, Pride and Prejudice was published before our time parameters. Would you like to nominate something else, Jon?"

Thank you Renee. I apologize for the misfire.

How about Middlemarch? It was published in 1872.

Sorry, Jon. We just read that in November.
Care to take another try?

Thank you Renee. I’m sorry I missed the read.

I think I’ll just sit quietly by the hearth for now and puff on my briar.

Lol. Don't be disheartened. There are several interesting looking nominations already. And we're starting The Woodlanders this week. Lots of cozy reading ahead!

Not disheartened in the least, but thank you for your solicitude.

Looking forward to joining the throng!

This is the version of Salem Chapel that I have: Salem Chapel https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Thank you, Jane. I've just been doing a little GR cleanup & combining the Oliphants & their lists. (And, hopefully not messing things up.)

Ginny wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I'm assuming Ireland is considered part of Great Britain. If not, delete post

Esther Waters by George Moore"
Ooooh! I have been wanting to read somet..."

Did Esther Waters get seconded? If not, I do. It's sitting on top of one of my several tbr piles, waiting its turn. If we pick it, its turn will have come!!

Nominations so far...

The Way of All Flesh
Esther Waters
The Heir Of Redclyffe
A Little Princess
The Master of Ballantrae
Salem Chapel

I'm going to nominate Uncle Silas
*whispers... because April is the cruelest month*

Hi Deborah!
You've probably been answered long ago, but just in case, the answer to your question is very technical. Briefly, Ireland was not part of Great Britain which is a union only of England, Scotland and Wales. During Victorian times all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, so, of course, your book by George Moore (of whom I, shamefully, have not heard) fits the bill! (Nowadays only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.)
Sorry if this is entirely redundant now, but I hope that if Mr Moore is chosen (or if not!) that it will prove to be a really enjoyable read!

Hilary wrote: "Hi Deborah!
You've probably been answered long ago, but just in case, the answer to your question is very technical. Briefly, Ireland was not part of Great Britain which is a union only of England..."

Thanks for the info. Moore is a great writer, but typically lost somewhere in history. He writes very strong female characters in a time when that was rare.

There are wonderful nominations here. I think the idea of looking at some of the less frequently read novelists is a great idea, and one we should continue.

So, on that note, I'm not going to nominate another author because there are three authors already on the list I want to read. What I would nominate is the idea that we consider this as a regular feature of the Victorians!

Thank you, Peter. Here's hoping that the discussion goes over well enough for this to become part of what we have to offer. Perhaps alternating between well-known and lesser known Victorian novels. Since we've started off 2017 with two lesser known novels from well-known authors, there seems to be an interest in stepping off the beaten track. (Sometimes, at least.) :)

Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

The Mill on the Floss

You're welcome, Deborah. :-)

Okay, Vics, that gives us 8 nominations and 8 great books from which to choose. I'm officially closing this thread.

I'll set up the poll this week (as soon as I can get to a PC). The poll will be open through the weekend.