VICTOBER 2025 discussion
Victober 2020
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Suggest your Victober reading challenge ideas!
For Mood Readers: Read a Victorian Novel that fits your mood. (It would be fun to see the suggestions you come up with to fit different moods.)
Read a children's book from the Victorian period.
Too many Victober challenges take too much time, so my suggestion is to memorize a Victorian poem.
Read a novel by one of Queen Victoria's favourite authors (Dinah Craik, Mrs Oliphant, Marie Corelli, but she was also fond of more popular authors, such as Wilkie Collins, George Eliot and Charles Dickens). Or, to make it easier, it doesn't have to be a novel - a poem, a short story, anything really. I found an article about this topic on WordPress, I'm not sure if there are some more sources about this topic.https://hilliardandcroft.wordpress.co...
Read a Victorian book that intimidates you.Read a Victorian book that already sits on your bookshelf.
Read a Victorian book written from a female point of view.
Finish reading a Victorian novel that you have already started reading once but never finished.
Read a Victorian book mentioned in another book that you have read (recently or some time ago).
Read a Victorian novel which has only one word in the title.
Read a Victorian novel that has a famously good film/TV adaptation that you haven't seen yet.
How about Esther Waters by George Moore
Read an American author from the same period.I had a lot of fun with Kate last year so: Listen to an audio while doing some kind of craft.
I also like Sharon's idea: Read a children's book from the Victorian Period.
Read a horror or Mystery from Victorian period.
Read a biography about a Victorian author.Read the diaries/letters/journal of person during the Victorian era.
Read a horror book by a Victorian author
Read a book by a Victorian author you have read before.
Read a book by a Victorian author you have not read before.
Read a victorian book you have never heard of.
Read a book by a Victorian author you have read before.
Read a book by a Victorian author you have not read before.
Read a victorian book you have never heard of.
My suggestion would be to read a Victorian horror novel or book of Victorian horror short stories.
What about a challenge to read a short story collection?
Read a Victorian book that was originally serialized!
-Read a Victorian nonfiction book(letters, journals, memoirs, history texts). You may also read poetry or short stories to fulfill this challenge. -Read a bildungsroman Victorian novel that merely focuses on the mind of the central character.
-Read a book written during the Victorian period outside of the British Isles from America, France, or other countries.
-Read an underrated Victorian book written by a female author from the 1850s to the 1880s. It would also be interesting if you could find a female author who kept her gender a secret.
-Read a Victorian children's book is my favorite.-Read a Victorian book whose summary would not be your first pick.
-Read a Victorian short story set.
Read a Victorian novel/author that inspired a favorite contemporary author.Read a novel from another country set during the Victorian Period.
Read a Victorian sensational novel.
Read a lesser known/less praised work by a favorite Victorian author.
Read a Victorian novel that you should have read for school but didn’t. (We’ve all been there!)
I like Tiana's idea about reading one you should have read in school. I also like the Victorian novel idea Teresa's idea on reading an American novel written in the Victorian. I also love Lana's idea about reading one that is a favorite of author of Queen Victoria's. So many great ideas that i don't think I could come up with anything different. haha
What about a Victorian book written/published in one of the colonies? Such as India, Canada, Jamaica etc. Or a Victorian book that has been on your tbr for a long time?
-Read a Victorian book by an author of color-Read a Victorian book by a queer author or about a queer character (this could be kinda broad b/c obviously modern standards of queerness wouldn't apply but it's possible to find stuff that fits into a general idea of queerness like anything by Oscar Wilde or Jill by Amy Dillwyn or Anne Lister's diaries)
-Read a Victorian historical fiction (I don't know about anyone else but I tend to find classic historical fictions to be mildly hilarious, especially when the author doesn't even try to be accurate to the time period they're writing about; I'm talking Ann Radcliffe levels of "this is set in the distant past but we're just gonna hand wave the time because ~drama~" levels of accuracy)
-Read a Victorian book set in a foreign country
-Read a Victorian science fiction or fantasy novel
-Read a Victorian nonfiction book (not about the Victorian era, but by a Victorian author)
- Read a book by a Victorian author you've disliked in the past
Read a piece of Victorian Literature who’s author shares at least one initial with yourself eg my initials are A L so I could have Anne Brontë, Anthony Trollope, Sheridan Le Fanu, or Amy Levy if I wanted to be a an over achiever and use both initials. Include middle names as well if needs be xx
Shirley by Bronte or The Woman in White by Collins
Read something written by a black Victorian
1. Read a book which is mentioned in a Victorian novel. e.g. ‘Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe’ mentioned in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins‘The Tales of the Alhambra’ mentioned in ‘North and South’ by Elizabeth Gaskell.
‘Against Nature’ by Joris-Karl Huysmans which is suggested as the book that Dorian Grey is reading (The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wild)
2. Read either the tattiest physical book you own that is Victorian, the one that is a real eyesore on the book shelf- with the broken spine or a truly awful cover design. The one that you keep because you want to read the book, and then if it becomes a favourite invest in an aesthetically pleasing copy or treasure the battered one in all its hideousness. Or alternatively read the most beautiful edition of a Victorian novel you own.
3. Short story all rounder- read short stories. Victorian authors that I love like Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell or Anthony Trollope all wrote lots of short stories and while I have read many of their novels I have neglected the short stories. Try to read from as many different authors as possible and as many different genres – gothic, detective etc…
4. Listen to an audiobook of a Victorian novel while doing a Victorian activity – embroidery, knitting, cooking using a Victorian recipe, admiring the ferns in your Wardian case, etc.. Extra points to be awarded for unusual or challenging activities such as – chimney sweeping, improving working conditions in nearby cotton mills, learning ‘use of the globes’ in order to have the necessary qualifications to be a real Victorian governess, making architectural drawings of cottages for local tenant farmers, etc..
Read a novel by the relative or spouse of a Victorian novelist- such asFanny Trollope – mother of Anthony Trollope
Rhoda Broughton – niece of J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Marie Clothilde Balfour - cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson
George Henry Lewes- husband of George Eliot
Rosina Bulwer Lytton – wife of Edward Bulwer Lytton
I like most of the suggestions above but I'd like to add that the 'read a book you were supposed to read in school' one presupposes that Victorian literature was actually a part of people's English curriculum. Naturally, I can't speak for everyone from a non-English speaking country, but as someone who went to school in Germany I can say that it very much wasn't. (Literary history wasn't a big part of the English highschool curriculum to begin with, and most of what we read - if at all - were short stories because everything else was way beyond people's English skills.)
Merry wrote: "I like most of the suggestions above but I'd like to add that the 'read a book you were supposed to read in school' one presupposes that Victorian literature was actually a part of people's English..."I went to school in England and we weren't given any Victorian novels to read either. Although we did read ‘The Speckled Band’ – an Arthur Conan Doyle short story
My parents had to read 'Northanger Abbey' and a few Dickens novels - Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and so on as part of their school reading. I think it’s a generational thing.
I look at the university reading lists for Victorian literature courses sometimes to see what they’re reading http://lib5.leeds.ac.uk/rlists/broker...
Wow, there are some fab suggestions. Mine is a bit boring, but I’m getting really interested in memoirs of women in the period. I’ve already selected A London Child of the 1870s by Molly Hughes as a free choice for me She sounds fascinating and the blurb indicates she was a quiet trail blazer for women.I just realised this wasn’t published until 1934 so can’t count 🙈
'Lark rise to Candleford' is a lovely memoir of Flora Thompson's childhood at the end of the 19th century. Although it's rural rather than city based.
Read a non-fiction Victorian book.Read a children Victorian book.
Post 5 or 10 Victorian books you love, one per day, no review, just the cover.
Read an underrated book (instead of Lucy's "Read an underrated book fro the same year as your favorite book.
Read a Victorian Play
Post a part from a Victorian poem
I already mentioned this on an Instagram post, but what about a Victorian author who has a big birthday this year (or death) like 150, 200 years old, or x number of years since death.
I vote for Sharon's idea to read a children's book from the Victorian period and Bri's suggestion to read a Victorian horror novel. I am also always up for film and TV adaptation.
How about research something that puzzled you in a book? For instance, the likelihood of Tess Durbeyfield suffering the fate she did, or how Heathcliff might have managed to get so rich aged 19,
I will be reading Vanity Fair as my main book so I like the idea of reading a spooky novella or short story collection on the side.
Read a work that inspired a Victorian author, or read a book mentioned in a Victorian novel.
Sobriquet wrote: "Read a novel by the relative or spouse of a Victorian novelist- such asFanny Trollope – mother of Anthony Trollope
Rhoda Broughton – niece of J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Marie Clothilde Balfous - cousin ..."
Great idea! I had only heard of Fanny Trollope, so thanks for the info!
Lana wrote: "Read a novel by one of Queen Victoria's favourite authors (Dinah Craik, Mrs Oliphant, Marie Corelli, but she was also fond of more popular authors, such as Wilkie Collins, George Eliot and Charles ..."Sobriquet wrote: "1. Read a book which is mentioned in a Victorian novel. e.g. ‘Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe’ mentioned in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
‘The Tales of the Alhambra’ mentioned in ‘North and S..."
Thank you for sharing! Great info and great idea!
I have several suggestions:FAVORITE AUTHORS, NEW-TO-ME Books. Choose a favorite author and read a book by him/her that you've never read before.
HOME AND FAMILY. Read any book with a focus on family life and relationships between family members. (The relationships do not have to be healthy.)
NAMES AS TITLES. Read any book where a proper name (a person, a place, etc) is the title of the book.
LONG TITLE OR LONG SUB-TITLES. Victorians could be RIDICULOUS and a bit over-the-top with the titles and subtitles of their books. Choose to read one with a long/longer title and/or subtitle.
Read a book by an American author, written during the Victorian era. Such as Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter or The House of Seven Gables would be perfect reads.
The suggestions that I like the most (so far) are Read a Victorian horror story and Read a book from or set in the Victorian era colonies
read a victorian novel from the last 6 years of the victorian period (1895 - 1901) read a victorian that was published the year you were born minus 100 yrs? idk if that would work but it could be fun!
read a socialist victorian novel
read a queer victorian novel
Read a non british victorian novelRead a queer victorian novel
I LOVE the suggestions to read a Victorian era children's book and to memorize a Victorian era poem. And Victorian horror/thrillers! Ties in with the month of October/Halloween very nicely.
I'd also suggest read a Victorian short story (or collection of short stories). Those are easy to fit in to a busy reading month :) There are some very fun collections of Victorian ghost stories-- hits both horror/supernatural and short story!
I'd also suggest read a Victorian short story (or collection of short stories). Those are easy to fit in to a busy reading month :) There are some very fun collections of Victorian ghost stories-- hits both horror/supernatural and short story!
I like the idea of reading a work in translation from the same time period, but not originally written in English.
A Short Storyor
An authour that is completely new to you
or
A poem
1) Read a Victorian work about The New Woman2) Read a lesser known work of one of your favourite Victorian authors
3) Read a work of Victorian non-fiction
4) Read a Victorian work that either deals with industrialisation (for example its effects on Victorian society) or that is set in a rural landsscape
5) Read a Victorian novel or a work by a Victorian author you have long wanted to try
6) Read a Victorian historical novel (for example set during the Napoleonic Wars or the Middle Ages)
7) Read a novel by a lesser known Victorian author (by today's standards)
Listen to something musical based on Victorian literature. e.g. Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush, War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne, the musical Oliver, the Disney Jungle Book soundtrack.
If the challenges have not been decided upon yet, could one of them allow me to read The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot, which I've just bought. It's a series of essays about Victorian politics written in 1867. I hope he's a better writer than John Stuart Mill. J.S. Mill might have been right about everything, but he wrote a very boring essay.
Kevin wrote: "Listen to something musical based on Victorian literature. e.g. Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush, War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne, the musical Oliver, the Disney Jungle Book soundtrack."I love this idea! There's a lot of options to suit everybody's taste.
Could actually listen to a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
VICTOBER 2025
Books mentioned in this topic
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (other topics)Liar's Poker (other topics)
The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy (other topics)
Vanity Fair (other topics)
Jill (other topics)
So, whether you've participated in Victober previously or are planning in participating this year, let us know your reading challenge ideas! We'll pick our favourite from the ideas suggested here and over on our various social media accounts, and it'll be one of the official Victober challenges.
The challenge can be anything as long as it involves reading some kind of Victorian literature, but for reference last year's challenges were: Read a book by a Victorian female author; Reread a Victorian book; Read a Victorian book under 250 pages and/or over 500 pages; Read an underrated Victorian book from the same year as your favourite Victorian classic; and Read by candlelight.
We can't wait to hear your suggestions! You have a week (until Saturday 22nd August) to make your suggestions!