The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Our July read is Olive by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. Here is the reading schedule. It is a pretty easy read, but since many of us are also reading Gothic novels I thought we should take a leisurely pace.

Week 1 (July 9-16): Chapters I – VIII
Week 2 (July 16-23): Chapters IX – XVI
Week 3 (July 23-30): Chapters XVII – XXII
Week 4 (July 30-Aug 6): Chapters XXIII – XXVIII
Week 5 (Aug 6-13): Chapters XXIX – XXXV
Week 6 (Aug 13-20): Chapters XXXVI – XLII
Week 7 (Aug 20-27): Chapters XLIII – end

I'm in for this one!

I hope to do this one but my dance card is pretty full in July!

Looking forward to this one!

Never before heard of neither author nor title! - so I think I'll have to join in this read. I'm always glad to discover new Victorian authors, especially women.

(the close relationship to Jane Eyre is pointed out everywhere - I hope that will not be an obstacle, because it is decades since I've read Jane Eyre, and have not felt the wish to re-read it since)

Glad you will all be joining!

Sabine, I went ahead and read it while drafting the schedule. I'm also not a fan of Jane Eyre (especially Mr. Rochester), nor of Emily's and Charlotte Bronte's books in general. The books are not similar. There might be a few parallels in some places we can discuss, but they're very different. The only real similarities are that the heroine is not conventionally attractive, and that she is a woman who works. (It's also worth acknowledging that there has historically been a trend of pitting the works of female authors against each other so I'm wondering how much of the book's description as "a response to Jane Eyre" has to do with that practice.)

Lori wrote: "It's also worth acknowledging that there has historically been a trend of pitting the works of female authors against each other."

Thank you for the encouragement (and I agree with you - I much prefer Anne Bronte to her sisters).

And yes, it's a nuisance that ALL female authors have been compared to ALL others, or rather: to the most famous two or three. There are countless 'Jane Austens of ... ' and probably as many 'Bronte-esque' writers: the way in which female authors are denied individuality is infuriating, but typical. (... would anyone dare to proclaim that 'Trollope is the gentry's Dickens' or some such nonsense?)

I’m in

I'm willing to give this a go and have started reading it on Gutenberg, but I have to say I may not last out, for oh! 'tis so very Victorian! >swoons<

Jenny wrote: "I'm willing to give this a go and have started reading it on Gutenberg, but I have to say I may not last out, for oh! 'tis so very Victorian! >swoons<"

LOL! loosen that corset a little bit and always have your smelling salts ready!

Haha, well there are fewer swooning scenes than in the Gothic novels, so there's that!

I just realized this isn't part of the Gothic project, I will try to catch up.

Robin P wrote: "I just realized this isn't part of the Gothic project, I will try to catch up."

It’s pretty easy reading so you will easily be able to catch up

If you haven't already, please remember to cast your vote for our upcoming October read-it is currently a close race so if you have a preference for one of the frontrunners and your choice is unlikely to win, you can also change your vote.