VICTOBER 2025 discussion

A place to discuss what you're currently reading this Victober!

I started early.

Little Lord Fauntleroy: Illustrated C. E. Brock by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1885, 1886) 9/19/25


✔️ 1. Kate: Friendship
Little Cedric (the titular Lord Fauntleroy) has many friends, in fact he befriends everyone he meets. But among his fast friends are the grocer Mr. Hobbs and the boot-black Dick. These two will expose a fraudster who tries to rob Ceddy's title.

❌ 2. Katie: Not a novel
Nope.

✔️ 3. Marissa: Change in status
rags to riches - Little Cedric is a middle-class American boy who sudenly becomes a little English lord.

❔4. Ros: Empire spotting
Curiously almost none. If I squint I could maybe count an allusions to the American Revolutionary War.

"You forgot you were an Englishman, too.”
“Oh! no,” said Cedric quickly. “I'm an American!”
“You are an Englishman,” said the Earl grimly. “Your father was an Englishman.”
It amused him a little to say this, but it did not amuse Cedric. The lad had never thought of such a development as this. He felt himself grow quite hot up to the roots of his hair.
“I was born in America,” he protested. “You have to be an American if you are born in America. I beg your pardon,” with serious politeness and delicacy, “for contradicting you. Mr. Hobbs told me, if there were another war, you know, I should have to—to be an American.”
The Earl gave a grim half laugh—it was short and grim, but it was a laugh.
“You would, would you?” he said.
He hated America and Americans, but it amused him to see how serious and interested this small patriot was. He thought that so good an American might make a rather good Englishman when he was a man.
They had not time to go very deep into the Revolution again—and indeed Lord Fauntleroy felt some delicacy about returning to the subject—before dinner was announced.

✔️5. Elizabeth: Underrated woman writer (not the Brontës, Gaskell, Eliot, Barret Browning or Rosetti)
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

Is she really under-rated though? Her children's books were really popular and I would say that The Secret Garder is widely read even today.

Polly Hovarth writes that Little Lord Fauntleroy "was the Harry Potter of his time and Frances Hodgson Burnett was as celebrated for creating him as J. K. Rowling is for Potter". During the serialisation in St. Nicholas magazine, readers looked forward to new installments. The fashions in the book became popular with velvet Lord Fauntleroy suits being sold, as well as other Fauntleroy merchandise such as velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. During a period when sentimental fiction was the norm, and in the United States the "rags to riches" story popular, Little Lord Fauntleroy was a hit.
source: Wiki

❌ 6. Hannah: Education
There's nothing about education in the book with a 7yo protagonist? Yeah, no school, no master, no home education - unless you'd count Wilkins, the groom, teaching Ceddy to ride a pony. BTW, Ceddy learned to read by himself - it's mentioned.

❌ 7. Jess: Set in a different era
Nope. Published in 1885, 1886. Setting pretty much the same.

✔️8. Milena: Colourwheel cover = Red


❌ 9. Roy: Fantasy
Nope.

✔️10. Catherine: Connection to Austen
The first edition (1886) was illustrated by Reginald Birch. One of the later editions (1925) was illustrated by Charles Edmund Brock.

C. E. Brock is responsible for famous lovely illustrations of Jane Austen's novels. He illustrated some of them pre-1900 in the Cranford style (the same style as used by Hugh Thompson in 1894 - black and white with thin black lines) and post-1900 (cca 1906-1907) in a similar style, but colored with additional beautiful watercolors similar to his later Little Lord Fauntleroy illustrations.


More on Brock's illustrations of JA's novels: https://janeausteninvermont.blog/tag/...

Zuzana wrote: "Having People Over: A Modern Guide to Planning, Throwing, and Attending Every Type of Party

This sounds useful, but wondering how it relates to Victober reading??

Kathy wrote: "This sounds useful, but wondering how it relates to Victober reading??"

Oops, this wasn't meant to be posted here. It was meant for another group. Gonna delete it now. Thanks, Kathy.

Another early read.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë 9/27/25


❌1. Kate: Friendship
Nope. If anything it's Agnes's isolation and solitude when working as a governess that's focused on.
❌2. Katie: Not a novel
Nope.
✔️3. Marissa: Change in status
The family loses some money due to the father's bad investments at the beginning of the book. But their status (a clergyman's family on a brink of genteel poverty) stays mostly the same. The big change in status is Agnes herself, from a Miss in a (barely) genteel family pursuing her accomplishments to a governess - overlooked, disrespected and isolated.
✔️4. Ros: Empire spotting
I came across a mention of "india-rubber".
(view spoiler)[

“It must be a great consolation to you to have a home, Miss Grey,” observed my companion after a short pause: “however remote, or however seldom visited, still it is something to look to.”

“It is so much that I think I could not live without it,” replied I, with an enthusiasm of which I immediately repented; for I thought it must have sounded essentially silly.

“Oh, yes, you could,” said he, with a thoughtful smile. “The ties that bind us to life are tougher than you imagine, or than anyone can who has not felt how roughly they may be pulled without breaking. You might be miserable without a home, but even you could live; and not so miserably as you suppose. The human heart is like india-rubber; a little swells it, but a great deal will not burst it. If ‘little more than nothing will disturb it, little less than all things will suffice’ to break it. As in the outer members of our frame, there is a vital power inherent in itself that strengthens it against external violence. Every blow that shakes it will serve to harden it against a future stroke; as constant labour thickens the skin of the hand, and strengthens its muscles instead of wasting them away: so that a day of arduous toil, that might excoriate a lady’s palm, would make no sensible impression on that of a hardy ploughman.

(hide spoiler)]

“India rubber” is an old 18th–19th c. term for what we now just call rubber (natural latex). Its source was the sap of certain trees native to South America, but also found in colonial regions later. Europeans first saw it being used by Indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin. It was called “India” rubber because in English, “India” was often a shorthand for “the Indies” — which originally referred broadly to exotic overseas lands (East and West Indies alike). Many imported goods (ink, corn, pepper, cotton, cashmere) carried that tag whether they came from South Asia or not. The English chemist Joseph Priestley noted (1770) that this gum could “rub out” pencil marks — hence “rubber.” Combine that with “India” → “India rubber.”

By the early 19th century, rubber had become entangled with imperial trade networks: Though first sourced in South America, the British later cultivated rubber in their Asian colonies (especially Ceylon/Sri Lanka and Malaya, late 19th c.), creating one of the great imperial plantation economies. The term itself reflects the imperial mindset of the time: everything exotic or imported could be glossed as “India(n),” even if it didn’t actually come from the Indian subcontinent.

❌5. Elizabeth: Underrated woman writer
Anne Brontë doesn't qualify, but I would argue that she's more underrated than say Mrs. Oliphant.
✔️6. Hannah: Education
Yeah, the book fits this prompt like a glove. Education of spoilt genteel kids by a hapless governess.
❌7. Jess: Set in a different era
Not really. Agnes tells us at the end that some time had gone by since the events and that she used her diary entries to write the story. I would say that about 15 years. The book was published in 1847, I would guess that the story happens around 1830-1835.
✔️8. Milena: Colourwheel cover = Red

❌9. Roy: Fantasy
Nope.
✔️10. Catherine: Connection to Austen
The supposed link to Austen’s Persuasion (suggested by this year's exhibition at the Chawton House: "Sisters of the Pen: Jane Austen, Influence, Legacy" - Masha posted a photo of the relevant exhibition panel in the Discord chat) feels like a real stretch. The resemblance I see is more general: both Anne Brontë and Austen focus on the everyday lives of “ordinary” people in “ordinary” situations, without melodrama. But Austen’s world is far livelier, mischievous, and entertaining than Anne Brontë’s.

That might be because Agnes Grey is first-person, so we’re stuck inside Agnes’s dour, moralizing perspective. With Austen, the author’s witty, ironic voice is always present, brightening even the most mundane scenes. Agnes Grey does give us some irony, like in the sketches of Mr. Hatfield’s sermons and his uncharitable conduct, but it’s too rare.

Plot-wise, Agnes Grey actually feels closer to Emma. Think Jane Fairfax’s dread of the governess life, which Agnes lives out in detail. You can almost imagine Jane enduring the same humiliations from a family like the Sucklings of Maple Grove or their friends. And the parallels don’t stop there: (view spoiler)[In Agnes Grey, Mr. Weston marries a former governess. In Emma, Mr. Weston marries Emma’s former governess, Anne Taylor.
In Agnes Grey, the young, handsome, arrogant vicar Mr. Hatfield pursues a wealthy Miss Murphy, who secretly mocks his presumption before rejecting him. In Emma, the young, very handsome, arrogant vicar Mr. Elton woos Emma, only for her to be appalled at the idea of “a nobody” presuming to marry an heiress. (hide spoiler)]

Now I’m left wondering what Charlotte Brontë really thought of Agnes Grey. The very Austenian traits she criticized - attention to the ordinary life, lack of melodrama and "exciting" events & "big" emotions - are all over her sister’s novel.

Hello, my name is Heather. I am from Alberta Canada.. I really am interested in Victober but I’m also very confused. I joined discord and tried to get some info but either no one can see my post or everyone’s really busy lol. I just don’t know how to get started how to choose the books all these prompts seem like they have to be in different books or can they just be in one book each and how do you know they’re even in the book if you’ve never read the books and you don’t know what their about. I’m sorry I have 1 million questions about this whole thing. I’ve watched a bunch of YouTube videos with some of you in them trying to figure this out and I’m not getting anywhere. It seems like everyone has a lot of books to read in one month. How is that even possible ha ha. Anyway, any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Heather,
there are 10 prompts this year.

1. Kate: Friendship
2. Katie: Not a novel
3. Marissa: Change in status
4. Ros: Empire spotting
5. Elizabeth: Underrated woman writer
6. Hannah: Education
7. Jess: Set in a different era
8. Milena: Colourwheel cover
9. Roy: Fantasy
10. Catherine: Connection to Austen

You don't have to read a different book for each prompt. You can use 1 book for multiple prompts.

Victober is a primarily YouTube event. So if you're confused I would recommend to watch videos for challenges that give you trouble.

If you have time for only 1 video, watch "Victober #10 | Announcement and Recommendations" by Katie (on YouTube as Book-and-things): https://youtu.be/_RWZlJaUU-E?si=hPwU8...
Actually, it's the best place to start.

Heather wrote: "Hello, my name is Heather. I am from Alberta Canada.. I really am interested in Victober but I’m also very confused. I joined discord and tried to get some info but either no one can see my post or..."

You don't have to follow the prompts at all Heather. My first couple of years I didn't follow any prompts and just read a book written between 1837 and 1901 by a british or Irish author. I started with the basic authors, Dickens, Hardy, Stevenson, Gaskell, or Arthur Conan Doyle. My first Victober I just read one book. If you want recommendations, tell us your normal reading genres.

Heather wrote: "Hello, my name is Heather. I am from Alberta Canada.. I really am interested in Victober but I’m also very confused."

Welcome Heather! I sort of go at this backwards--I look at the Victorian books I own and want to read, and try to fit them to the prompts. Some of us have posted our potential TBRs on the TBR thread, so check there first to get an idea. And you can always look at summaries of the books on Goodreads to get an idea of what's in the book.

I would suggest you post a list here of a Victorian book or books you'd like to read this month, and there will probably be somebody here who can tell you what prompts they meet. Also "Empire Spotting" is not for a particular book--as you're reading, make note of any mention of the British Empire.

I was thinking of starting an "Empire Spotting" thread here for us to share our sightings of the British Empire in our reading. Would anyone be interested in that?

@Kathy, I'd be interested in that!

I'm currently re-reading Three Men in a Boat. I also read a short story by Elizabeth Gaskell this morning, The Grey Woman, which I did not like.

@Kathy, yes to the Empire spotting thread. A separate thread for Austen connection would also be fine.

OK, sometime later today or tomorrow I will set up a thread for Empire spotting and Austen connections.

Thank you, Kathy.

I just started The Moonstone. Page 1 starts in India in 1799, so definitely fits Empire Spotting prompt.

Happy Victober to all!

I started reading The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith.

I am also reading:
1) Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens, which features:
- friendships,
- a (temporary) change of class (from English heir to destitute immigrant),
- a discussion of the quality of apprenticeships (education),
- references to india-rubber, owning property in India and "the depressing institutions of that British Empire".

2) Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell, which features:
- friendships,
- a discussion of apprenticeships for girls (education),
- references to Indian ink and a ship bound for India

Finally, I finished reading Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti, completing Katie's (a poem) and Roy's challenges (a work of fantasy).

Discussions for Empire Spotting and Jane Austen Connections now posted. Please share your reading!

Due to Real Life stuff, I just started my Victober reading last night, and I read 2 interesting ghost short stories.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (1891) is very funny--An American family moves to England and purchases the Canterville Chase estate, despite being warned by the prior owner that the place is haunted by the ghost of a ruthless killer. The Americans laugh off the ghost story, but when strange things start happening, the family doesn't take it sitting down. A very funny & enjoyable story.

The Library Window by Margaret Oliphant (1896) is one of Oliphant's last published works. The narrator, a young girl staying with an elderly aunt, is recovering from an unnamed illness. She spends her time reading in the drawing room window seat and often gazes upon a library window across the street. This window, in normal light appears to be painted over or blocked, but each evening around twilight she sees a desk and eventually a man in the window. These visions disappear, however, when the light fades, and only return every evening around twilight. It is eerie--is the narrator seeing something real or is she having visions?

I'm using both of these for the "fantasy" challenge; they both also fit the "not a novel" challenge and the Oliphant story fits the underrated woman writer challenge. If there were any Empire mentions, I missed them.

Next up: either 1) Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley, a "New Woman" book I didn't get to one or two Victobers ago when Katie had that chaleenge OR
2) The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy, October's book in the Hardy readalong with Jen the LIbrarian.

Kathy wrote: "Due to Real Life stuff, I just started my Victober reading last night, and I read 2 interesting ghost short stories.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (1891) is very funny--An Ame..."

Love The Canterville Ghost!

Currently, I'm following the schedule for Hester and just started Cranford. I read My Lady Ludlow and "Mr. Harrison's Confessions" earlier this year to prepare for Cranford the novel and the miniseries.

Cranford is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. And the mini-series (with Judi Dench) is SO good.

I finished Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell, a brilliant book that addresses several of the challenges. Highly recommended!

✅️Read a Victorian book where friendship is featured.
Yes, there is friendship in this book. Between the Bartons and the Wilsons, in particular John and George. Strong and steady. And between the girls, Mary Barton and Margaret Jennings. Still shaky, but sincere.

✅️Read a work of Victorian literature where a character experiences a change in class status.
A little. Mary's aunt Esther is a fallen woman, which is alluded to at the start of the novel, but largely happens off page. However, we do meet her again later in the book and witness the devastating consequences of her fall. Also, Mary herself contemplates to marry above her station to raise her status, just like her aunt did before her fall.

✅️Empire spotting
Few small references to Indian goods (ink, spices, luxuries), but one big one: (view spoiler)[the British goverment sending people to other parts of the Empire (here Canada) to do work there for them (hide spoiler)]

✅️Read a Victorian work that discusses education.
Somewhat. There is a short discussion of pros and cons of different apprenticeship options for young women, e.g. factory workers vs seamistress. A few more mentions of the lack of education of the factory workers and its consequences, but not really a discussion.

I am not able to focus on one right now. I am reading and/or listening to The Master of Ballantrae (Stevenson), Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (Jerome), Can You forgive Her? (Trollope), and Dracula (Stoker). I am enjoying them all, but wish I could focus fully on one or two and actually finish them...but my brain is being fickle.

Having trouble getting into The Moonstone. Hoping Dracula and a reread of Wuthering Heights go better.

Are we allowed to reread novels?

Misa wrote: "Are we allowed to reread novels?"

Yes! I'm re-reading Jane Eyre, which will cover a whole host of prompts.

Misa wrote: "Are we allowed to reread novels?"

As long as it's Victorian. The hosts re-read all the time.

I finished Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens, which counts for the same prompts as Mary Barton above.

✅️Read a Victorian book where friendship is featured.
Big time! Tom Pinch is everyone's friend, if they only let him. There are many more friends and friendships in this book.

✅️Read a work of Victorian literature where a character experiences a change in class status.
Young Martin starts as the heir to his grandfather's fortune, then becomes an architect's apprentice and, finally, a poor immigrant in America. Only temporarily, though.

✅️Empire spotting
Yes. First and foremost, Martin immigrates to one of the Empire's former colonies, where they discuss "the depressing institution of that British Empire". One character manages to set up a fraudulent scheme, gaining the investors' trust by claiming to have property in India. And then the usual suspects of India rubber etc.

✅️Read a Victorian work that discusses education.
Marginally only. At the beginning, we get a glimpse into apprenticeship conditions at the time and its non-standardisation. It seems that any person could accept apprentices with no or few regulations regarding their training and payment.

Lindenblatt wrote: "I finished Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens,.."

Poor Tom Pinch! I did like him. My favorite character is Mark Tapley, who is also a good friend. I know Mrs Gamp became a popular comic figure, but I found her annoying. Several negative characters in this one: Jonas, Mr Pecksniff, Charity. Probably more that I've forgotten. The book has some parts that drag, if I remember, but it picks up towards the end.

Lindenblatt wrote: "I finished Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell, a brilliant book that addresses several of the challenges. Highly recommended!..."

I'm so glad you enjoyed this. I really need to re-read Mary Barton; it's been quite a few years and I've forgotten a lot. I may re-read that instead of one of the other books I planned for Victober.

Today I had some minor surgery. When I woke up from the anesthesia in the recovery room, the first thing I saw on a wall across the room was the following quote:

“Light tomorrow with today.”
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Who knew I'd find a Victorian in the hospital?!! ❤️

One of my surgery "recovery" plans has been to start Anthony Trollope's Dr. Wortle's School as my first book after surgery, and what a good choice--tonight I'm 50 pages in and I'm in my happy comfort place!

Kathy wrote: "One of my surgery "recovery" plans has been to start Anthony Trollope's Dr. Wortle's School as my first book after surgery, and what a good choice--tonight I'm 50 pages in and I'm in ..."

How nice Kathy. I hope your recovery continues to go well. I have hopes of getting to Dr. Wortle's School at the end of the month.

My Mid-Victober update:

• I’m continuing to read Hester: A Novel of Contemporary Life by Mrs Oliphant with the group
• I just started Phantastes - A Faerie Romance for Men and Women George MacDonald 1858 with 39 illustrations by Arthur Hughes and the Greville MacDonald Preface dated September 1905
• Tonight I begin watching Cranford Seasons 1 & 2. I’ve only seen a few episodes before
• I’ve fully completed 7 challenges placing me at Sherlock Holmes status! I have yet to fully complete Marissa: Change in Status, Hannah: Education, and Roy: Fantasy/Supernatural

Completed Readings:

Three segments concerning Jane Austen written by Margaret Oliphant taken from The Literary History of England in the End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth Century as I read in Persuasion 3rd Norton Critical ed. by Jane Austen edited by Rae Greiner
o Katie: Not a Novel but segments from a critical essay
o Elizabeth: Oliphant is an underrated female Victorian author
o Catherine: Jane Austen Connection: The segments by Oliphant directly address Jane Austen and her writing. The third segment that discusses Persuasion is in a footnote to the second segment.

“To W. M. Thackeray,” “To Charles Dickens,” “An Epistle to Mr. Alexander Pope,” and “To Jane Austen” From Letters to Dead Authors Andrew Lang 1886
o Katie: Not a Novel They’re Parodies and Criticisms in letter form. The one to Pope is a triumph in couplets; however, he’s not as good as Pope IMHO
o Milena: Gold cover
o Catherine: Jane Austen Connection: “To Jane Austen” directly parodies and criticizes Jane Austen

“The Last Generation in England” 1849 this becomes the basis for Cranford
o Katie: Not a Novel it’s Nonfiction
o Jess: Historical Georgian Era Gaskell reminisces about her time in Knutsford

Cranford Oxford ed. Elizabeth Gaskell 1853
o Kate: Friendship: The dynamics of Friendship and Family are major themes
o Marissa: Change in Status: There are several instances of changes in status, but adjusting to previous changes in status is a major theme, so not fully satisfied, yet
o Ros: Empire spotting: Major Empire References: the First Anglo-Burmese War 1824-1826, military men and women stationed in India, 4 types of tea, and many textiles
o Jess: Historical setting: set mostly in the Georgian Era, 1774-1837, with mentions of Queen Adelaide (1830-1837)
o Catherine: Jane Austen Connection: Austen-like in subject, characterization, tone, and style

“The Cage at Cranford” Gaskell 1863
o Kate: Friendship is central to the story
o Katie: Not a Novel a Short Story
o Catherine: Jane Austen Connection: Austen-like with ridiculous, character-driven humor that rings true

Hello, everybody! I started Dickens's Our Mutual Friend yesterday--Let's see how much of it I manage to read this month.

I finished 2 books this week:

Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley (1899) tells the story of Hester and Rachel, friends since girlhood and now in their late twenties. The book begins with recent life changes for each: Hester, an orphan who has been raised in London by an aunt, must now live with her brother, a conservative clergyman in a small village, where Hester feels stifled. Rachel, also an orphan, who has been scraping by as a typist and living in dismal lodgings in the East End of London, suddenly comes into a fortune. She must learn how to navigate "society." The book examines how they each handle their new situations and people, while remaining true to themselves.
Many people love this book, but overall I struggled with it. I had a hard time with the writing style of this book; I had to force myself to pick it up and read. Written at the very end of the Victorian Era and considered a "New Woman" book, it does examine the ways women were confined to strict conventions, but I became frustrated when both women have hysterical fits and faintings when disasters happen to them.
It does meet quite a few prompts:
--Friendship: the long friendship of Hester & Rachel
--Change in Class Status: experienced by both main characters
--Empire spotting: a cousin of Hester, Dick Vernon, returns from Australia, where he has been a successful wine merchant. Also at the end of the book, Hester & Rachel are traveling in India and plan to visit both Australia and New Zealand
--Underrated woman writer

Dr. Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope (1881) is a shorter work by Trollope and very accessible. Dr Wortle runs a boys school and Mr Peacocke is his assistant schoolmaster. Early on it becomes clear that there is a question about the legitimacy of Mr Peacocke's marriage to his American wife. The rest of the book is how Dr Wortle handles this possible scandal, both for himself, his school and his good friend Mr Peacocke. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and loved the way Trollope takes an ethical question and looks at all the various facets and sides to the story. It meets the following prompts:
--Friendship: between Dr. Wortle & Mr Peacocke, and between the wives of the two men
--Empire spotting--none, except that Mr Peacocke must travel to America to clear his reputation
--Education: set in a boys school, it examines relationships with some of the boys, the parents and the community
--Color: My color is black, and this has a mostly black (Penguin) cover

My current reads are:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847), a re-read, which I am listening to on audiobook, read by Juliet Stevenson. Among many other prompts, I've discovered it is set in the Georgian era (circa 1800-1810), and so fits the "different era" prompt.

The Hand of Ethelberta: a comedy in chapters by Thomas Hardy (1876), the next book in the Thomas Hardy chronological readalong

I read Dickens' Dombey and Son which answers six prompts: Friendship, Change in social status, Empire spotting, Education, Color wheel (smidge of orange, plus there are orange editions, and Connection with Jane Austen (via Daniel Poole's book What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew).

I also read some stories and poems by Kipling which fulfill the Fantasy category and something other than a novel.

Kathy wrote: "My current reads are:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847), a re-read, which I am listening to on audiobook, read by Juliet Stevenson. Among many other prompts, I've discovered it is ..."

I never noticed that! Does it give a date or does it say "30 years ago"? Did any of the many adaptations ever set it in its time, i.e. with Empire dresses? It could also be counted for the Jane Austen prompt. Nice find, Kathy!

Lindenblatt wrote: "I never noticed that!..."

It was new to me, too. I found a reference online. It's based on an event near the end of the novel: in Chapter 32, St John Rivers gives Jane a copy of "Marmion" by Sir Walter Scott, which St John describes as newly published. Marmion was published in 1808, so that would be the year Jane is at Moor House. Since Jane is 19 at that time, her estimated birth year is 1789.

The novel begins when Jane is age ten, therefore it begins circa 1799; she spends 8 years at Lowood and then takes the position at Thornfield, so she arrives circa 1807.

Since it's new to me, I hadn't thought about the accuracy of the adaptations--I'll have to pay attention next time I watch one. It does occur to me that there are no mentions of the railroad--all traveling is done by coach, so it certainly seems to be set before the mid-1830s, when train travel was becoming more common and accessible.

ETA: Here's the website where I found the Jane Eyre timeline based on "Marmion": https://jane-eyre.guidesite.co.uk/tim...

I just finished reading
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life

I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who loves Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell. Charlotte's story and Gaskell's dexterity are the stuff of legend.

Planning to read The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell next.

I've finished 3 more books this past weeks:

•The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy (1876) is the story of recently widowed Ethelberta, who hopes to support her working-class family by becoming a celebrated poetess. A typical Hardy heroine, she has several suitors who vie for her "hand." it meets the following prompts:
--Change in class status: Ethelberta is the widow of a wealthy man, but she was raised in a lower-class family.
--Cover color: black--My New Wessex edition has a mostly dark, black cover.

•Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847) is one of my favorite novels and I re-read it every few years. It meets many prompts:
--Friendship: between Jane and Helen Burns; and between Jane and Diana and Mary Rivers at Moor House
--Change in class status: Jane goes from being a dependent to a charity case to a governess to a penniless wanderer to a wealthy woman
--Empire spotting: Mr Rochester's first wife was from Jamaica where he met her. Later St. John Rivers teaches Jane Hindustanee in hopes that she will marry him & go to India with him as a missionary.
--Education: We follow Jane in Lowood school as a student, then as a teacher, then as a governess to Adele and finally the mistress of a girls' village school under St. John Rivers.
--Set in a different era: written in 1847, the novel is set circa 1799-1809
--Cover color-black: Penguin classics edition

•A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Austen-Leigh (1870) is an affectionate biography by Austen's nephew. It includes quotes from letters as well as recollections from other family members. It meets these prompts:
--Not a novel: a nonfiction memoir
--Empire spotting: mentions are made of Austen's brothers in the Navy
--Connection to Jane Austen

My last planned Victober read is The Children of the New Forest by Capt. Frederick Marryat (1847), which I'll start tomorrow. If I still have time at the end of the month, I might read an Oscar Wilde play, probably "A Woman of No Importance."

I read Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. I am so thankful to the Victober project for prompting me to read this, because I do think Agnes is one of my favourite main characters in a long time. I never stopped liking her even when her unhappiness made her a bit waspish and judgey. I loved the ending and thought it was quietly powerful as a novel of character, and not only a social commentary on the plight of governesses.
I also reread a lot of Oscar Wilde including my favourite of his fairy tales, The Happy Prince. In reading the plays afterwards, I realised that my preferences for his work have changed. I loved The Importance of Being Earnest in my teens and twenties, because of its humour. I love his more 'earnest' works now - A Woman of No Importance was my stand out favourite this year on a reread, and the fairy tales. I wish he had written more of these heart-stopping, sincerely emotional stories and plays.
Finally, thanks to Katie Lumsden I read A Minor Poet by Amy Levy and the poem Xantippe blew me away. I don't think there was a bad poem in the collection but this one and Medea were so powerful. I could not believe that I had never read this poet before. Women's voices are so easily erased if we are not vigilant.
Thanks to the hosts and organisers of the 2025 prompts. I have never really focused my reading around a seasonal challenge before and I got so much out of following this one.

Caroline wrote: "I read Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. I am so thankful to the Victober project for prompting me to read this, because I do think Agnes is one of my favourite main characters in a long time. I never sto..."

I am so glad you liked Agnes Grey because it is a favorite of mine.

Caroline wrote: "I read Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. I am so thankful to the Victober project for prompting me to read this, because I do think Agnes is one of my favourite main characters in a long time. I never sto..."

Mine, too, and with a male love interest that is admirable as well. Both Heathcliff and Rochester leave a lot to be desired.

And so glad you loved "A Woman of No Importance"--I will definitely get to it before the month is over! I haven't read Amy Levy's poetry, but I enjoyed her novels: The Romance of the Shop and Reuben Sachs.

Victober is such a great reading event--at first you would think it would be "limiting", but there's so much to explore and enjoy.

finished Dracula.

I have just started Aurora Leigh, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I do not think I will finish it by the end of Friday but so far it is riveting, and beautiful, and really easy to love. I have only read Sonnets from the Portuguese before, as well as a biography of EBB.

Finished Aurora Leigh in two days. I could not put it down. I slogged through the overly contemplative Aurora to find the gems amongst the allusions and anecdotes. I whizzed through the dramatic and emotional Aurora, and did nearly cry when Marian told her Paris experience in muted tones. This is truly a 'modern' epic poem and the hero at the centre being 'morally' heroic and a woman who stands up for her right to be herself instead of being typically (for Victorians) self-sacrificing is kind of awesome. I wish I could reach back in time and request a rewrite of the ending.