Victorians! discussion

Happy almost New Year! And it’s a milestone. I can’t believe we are on the verge of 2020!!!

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.

Link to Titles Read within 3 years:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

May I recommend George MacDonald's Sir Gibbie? It's a much overlooked classic by a friend of Mark Twain and Lewis Carroll.

The above link is to the kindle edition, but I did have an unabridged translation published last year in an effort to revive interest in MacDonald (the broad Scots, which is heavier than in Scott or Stevenson for example, is a bridge too far for many and that's one of the reasons for MacDonald's current obscurity, but it's an important part of the flavour, so it's retained alongside the English in this version. Click this 2nd link for details.) Sir Gibbie

Oooh, George MacDonald. I enjoyed reading Phantastes a little while back. David, have you ever watched the documentary "The Fantasy Makers"? They have a huge segment dedicated to him and his role in inventing the fantasy genre and in turn his influence on the Inklings (Tolkien, Lewis, et. al.).

i nominate Cecilia by Fanny Burney. I have heard good things about this work and that it has been underrated by generations.

Kerstin wrote: "Oooh, George MacDonald. I enjoyed reading Phantastes a little while back. David, have you ever watched the documentary "The Fantasy Makers"? They have a huge segment dedicated to him ..."

Hi Kerstin, I have indeed seen The Fantasy Makers. I thought it was really well made, and it was great to see MacDonald being given as much credit as his heirs on this occasion. One of the contributors, Dr Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, actually endorses my translations of GM's Scottish novels...she told me she had been approached to do something of the kind herself in the past, but declined on the grounds that she thought a countryman of MacDonald's should do it. It's great to have the backing of a GM expert like her though-she really knows her stuff!

Nidhi, Fanny Burney is not a Victorian author. We are committed to reading only Victorian authors in this group. We read literature published between 1837 - 1901. You may make another nomination.

I nominate Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope

Ok.... Jude The Obscure by Hardy. If it’s not been already read by the group.

I nominate The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

Nidhi nominates Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Thanks, Nidhi.

So far we have...

- Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald
- Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope
- The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
- Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

I have been really trying to get to Villette by Charlotte Brontë. I would like to nominate it, and if it wins I will join you all. By January, my life and my reading should be less busy.

I'd be happy to join in with Villette if Sir Gibbie doesn't win! (not saying I wouldn't join in with the others, but Villette is another favourite of mine.) Incidentally, I think these are the only two novels in which I've come across a character with the name Ginevra.

Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens is on my reread list for 2020 so I nominate that book.

Any interest in North and South by Gaskell

Jane nominates Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, and Peggy nominates North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I want to say Hello to all. I just joined and love all these nominations. I will nominate Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmoore. This has been on my TBR and I've heard good things about it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

Welcome Linda! So many good books for this month - it won´t be easy to choose!

Thank you for your patience!!! The poll should open at midnight EST.

This nomination thread is now closed.

The poll is up and awaiting your vote!