VICTOBER 2025 discussion
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My favourites would be Jane Eyre and Wives and daugthers. It’s been a great month!
I loved Wives and Daughters! It was by far my favorite, but I enjoyed everything I read. I read Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Moonstone and the play Arms and the Man! I loved all of them!
It was my second time taking part in Victober and I think Victorian books simply aren't for me. Yet I keep wanting to pick them up. What is wrong with me?I've read 3.5/7 Brontë novels (currently finishing Shirley), North and South, Far From the Madding Crowd, Alice in Wonderland, The Picture of Dorian Grey, etc. and none got above 3 stars. (Not all this year, but you get my point.)
I remember liking Treasure Island as a teen, but I can't vouch I'd like it today.
There is plenty of authors I haven't tried yet (Dickens, for example), so maybe I would find some I love, but I'm not sure I want to try at this point.
(Sorry to be a downer)
I enjoyed reading Wives and Daughters, and also watching the BBC adaptation.I was very moved by The Mill on the Floss. George Elliot depicts the main characters so well that I could vividly imagine their appeareance and feel their successes and failures.
My first Dickens book, A Christmas Carol, came just in time since the weather is getting cold and the stores are starting to "dress up" for Christmas! :)
This was my first Victober, and its been great fun. Its made me read through five novels on my shelf I don’t think I’d have picked up anytime soon, and I’m now a huge Trollope fan after reading the Warden (which I loved). The best reads were certainly Wives & Daughters, The Picture of Dorian Gray and the Warden. Sadly (given that A Christmas Carol is one of my all-time favourite books) I was disappointed with Hard Times – I actually found Dickens’ style a bit incomprehensible at times (so now I’m questioning everything lol)!
But its inspired to me to buy the entire Chronicles of Barsetshire, and I’ll shortly be reading some Hardy and Elliot soon too, so thanks to the hosts for the event - its opened up a whole ‘new’ century of literature for me 😊
I enjoyed everything I read, but my favorites from this month were The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Reluctant Dragon!
My Victober was pretty good. I was not thrilled with Great Expectations, mostly because I just don't like the character of Pip. I am in the middle of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell and I hope it picks up soon, because the beginning was a real slog for me. I really enjoyed the travel memoir The Amateur Emigrant by Robert Louis Stevenson and his novelette The Story of a Lie. I enjoyed Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte to my surprise. I normally prefer books that are much more plot heavy, but this one was really good. I am, of course, LOVING my re-read of A Christmas Carol.
However, by far my favorite Victober experience was Wives and Daughters. It was just wonderful I really wish Gaskell had not died before it was finished. There were a few things for which I really wanted more explanation. I'll forever be wondering what the full story of Mr Gibson & his first love was all about and I really want to know what happened to a couple of the other characters too! Oh, for a couple more chapters!
It was my first and probably last Victober. I'm glad I participated, I read books I wouldn't have prioritised otherwise but this month I realised that I like 19th century literature, but not necessarily Victorian literature, even though I rated most of my reads pretty high. In October I read 10 books out of my 11 book list, 9 of them new to me and one a reread, and 2 unrelated books that ended up being my favourites of the month. I'm planning to read more Victorian novels in the future, just not as part of a Victorian-only challenge.
I joined Victober late, since I didn't start until Oct 15, but I did read all five of the books I selected. I think my favorites were Dracula (4 stars) and A Christmas Carol (5 stars). I gave Far From the Madding Crowd 4 stars, Agnes Grey 3.5/4 stars, and Black Beauty 2 Stars.
I didn't read as many as planned for Victober, but I thoroughly enjoyed rereading Jane Eyre(after 50+ yrs)! Watching the Brit series adaptation was alot of fun, seeing what was changed from book but it stayed quite close! Also watched Far from the Madding crowd but I didn't want to read it right away. I'm really enjoying Elizabeth's German Garden! I'd already read 2 other books by her before& liked them alot. Jane Eyre filled alot of challenges. I'd already read Wives & Daughters this year& it's still my favorite for the year. So pleased so many others have read it because of this group!!!
I didn't read as many books as planned unfortunately. However, a surprise for me was Treasure Island that I picked up on a whim, and ended up loving! I'm still reading (and enjoying) Wives and Daughters...I'll get to the end eventually!
My favorite reading was Wives and Daughters, and the TV adaption was quite enjoyable too.
Shirley was harder to get through, and a little depressing, but interesting. Charlotte Brontë has a very personal style and some chapters really make you think.
I was planning re-reading Agnes Gray and/or Wuthering Heights too, but I remembered most of them, too pick The invisible Man instead, which was ok.
My favourite was Olalla by Robert Louis Stevenson about a beautiful vampire.
I found Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling a little disturbing because of all the killing. No more disturbing than a war comic I suppose.
My second favourite was The Lifted Veil by George Eliot. Stylishly written, PITA narrator. I read her essay, Silly Novels by Lady by Lady Novelists. She objected to heroines who were too pretty, clever and pious and to unrealistic dialogue. She thought educated women should write better stuff or men would not think it worthwhile investing in their daughters' education.
I read three short stories by H.G. Wells. One was like Jaws but with giant squid. One was about a magic shop where weird stuff happened. The most interesting was the one where H.G. Wells prophesied tank warfare, but I can only give him 50% marks as a futurologist, because they weren't very much like what tanks turned out to be, and soldiers never really rode into battle on bicycles.
I thought The Old Nurse's Tale by Elizabeth Gaskell was a bit lame, but I find most ghost stories lame. I thought Curious if True was a bit lame too.
I really enjoyed Victober, I read 3 novels, 1 novella and a collection of letters.
1. Barchester Towers- Anthony Trollope
I recommend the Timothy West audiobook. I just loved this. The beginning however, felt rather slow to me and I kept comparing it to The Warden and thinking that it was not so good and overly long. But the second half drew all the threads together and it was such a pleasure to read. The turning point for me was when Eleanor receives a certain letter. I would recommend continuing at least further then that point because it is really worth it.
2. Adventures in the Rocky Mountains- Isabella Bird (letters)
This was so interesting, Miss Bird gets up to all sorts of adventures; she climbs mountains, rides astride, sleeps under the stars and is not fazed by anything. The edition I read it in contained only a selection of her letters to her sister, I would have preferred to have had biographical notes and all the letters, I would recommend finding a different edition.
3. Carmilla – J Sheridan Le Fanu. (Novella) –
I read this on ‘serial reader’ over twelve days. This was not the best format it would have been better to read it in one sitting on a stormy night, the way I read it affected my appreciation. I liked it idea of it more than the actual story - good but it’s not a favourite.
4. Lord Oakburn’s Daughter’s - Mrs Henry Wood
I went into this one having no idea of the story as there was no synopsis anywhere. I’ve written one to encourage people to read this book
The small country town of South Wennock has long been the residence of the doctors Grey, that being Mr John and Mr Stephen Grey, nice, pleasant gentlemen and very much liked and respected in the place. But there is another doctor there now, Mr Carlton, a fine dashing young gentleman as ever you saw. He came suddenly a few months ago and set up against the Greys. He’s not above thirty at the most and some say he has a private income. Anyway, Mr Carlton is getting into practice and it is said that he is liked. There is a family on the Rise where he attends constantly, and I’ve heard they think a great deal of him. It’s a Captain Chesney, an old gentleman, who has the gout perpetual. They came strangers to the place and settled there; very proud exclusive people, it’s said. There’s three Miss Chesneys; one of them beautiful; the other one’s older and the little one is but a child.
A mysterious stranger arrives in the town and after talking a composing draught drops down dead. But who is responsible? Was the bottle tampered with? And what of the ghastly figure seen outside the patient’s room? What follows is a tale of murder, love affairs, deceit, and dark secrets.
I very much enjoyed this novel. I felt during the first half of the book that the plot was moving too fast at the expense of character development however the second half is more leisurely and the characters are further developed. It was great fun to try and puzzle out the culprit, but as this is a pre-detective novel book the investigations are private rather than police driven. The court scenes were also very interesting. There are several characters that have shared focus in the story rather than a main character. This is a sensation novel; I would recommend it to people who like Wilkie Collins or Mary Elizabeth Braddon novels.
5. East Lynne- Mrs Henry Wood
This was by far the most fast paced and dramatic book I read and I recommend it, I devoured it in a week. I would just add that there is a turn in the plot that for me was too unbelievable – I can’t really write about it without giving it away. (view spoiler)
Only two of the books were on my original TBR. I’d forgotten how long Victorian novels can be and so I swapped some shorter things. I’ll keep that in mind for next year. My favourite read was Barchester Towers, he writes characters and conversations so well.
Thanks to Ange I read and loved Agnes Grey.
Posting a little late, but in Victober 2018 I read:Wives and Daughters Gatskell— loved it, so funny and moving
North and South Gatskell—somewhat more predictable, but interesting view of industrializing northern England.
Far from the Madding Crowd Hardy—picture of disappearing rural England contrasts well with North and South.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles Hardy
Return of the Native Hardy
I didn’t think I liked Hardy at all, but clearly went on a binge. It helps to be older and know more Bible, more classics, and have a Kindle dictionary. His characters and plot devices creak a little melodramatically, but he is clearly struggling to avoid “Victorianism.” Especially in his women characters.
Nicholas Nickleby Dickens—still find Dickens heavy going. Will give myself permission to avoid and concentrate on authors I like better.
Over the summer I read Middlemarch Eliot and was truly impressed. May read it again.
Thanks to hosts. Can’t wait for next year.
As we draw to the close of the final day of Victober, I thought I'd make a board for post-Victober discussion. How did we all do? What were people's favourite books read this month?
I think my favourites from this month would be Olive by Dinah Mulock Craik, East Lynne by Ellen Wood, and Doctor Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope - oh, and Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell but that was a reread.