Victorians! discussion

Here is the reading schedule listed by chapters. There are multiple editions available, so page numbers will not work for everyone. I have included the number of pages per section. This is based on my Dover edition and while these numbers will vary according to your editions, this shows that the sections have been divided fairly evenly. No one should be reading 30 pages one week and 110 the next! If you would like a page-number breakdown for the Penguin edition, I can post that. Just let me know!

Discussion for each chapter will begin on the date listed (a Sunday) through the Saturday of that week. Threads will remain open for latecomers and those who follow at their own pace.

Reading Schedule

11/02 - Book the First (The Travellers, The Solid Side of Scotch Character, The Wreck of the Timber Ship) and Book the Second, Chapter I (The Mystery of Ozias Midwinter) - 67 pages


11/9 - Book the Second, Chapter II-V (The Man Revealed, Day and Night, The Shadow of the Past, The Shadow of the Future) - 59 pages


11/16 - Book the Third, Chapter I-VII (Lurking Mischief, Allan as a Landed Gentleman, The Claims of Society, The March of Events, Mother Oldershaw on Her Guard, Midwinter in Disguise, The Plot Thickens) - 76 pages


11/23 - Book the Third, Chapters VIII-XIII (The Norfolk Broads, Fate or Chance?, The Housemaid's Face, Miss Gwilt Among the Quicksands, The Clouding of the Sky, Exit) and Book the Fourth, Chapters I-II (Mrs. Milroy, The Man is Found) - 75 pages


11/30 - Book the Fourth, Chapters III-IX (The Brink of Discovery, Allan at Bay, Pedgift's Remedy, Pedgift's Postscript, The Martyrdom of Miss Gwilt , She Comes Between Them, She Knows the Truth) - 81 pages


12/07 - Book the Fourth, Chapter X-XIV (Miss Gwilt's Diary, Love and Law, A Scandal at the Station, An Old Man's Heart, Miss Gwilt's Diary (yes, there are two) - 81 pages


12/14 - Book the Fourth, Chapter XV (Wedding Day) and Book the Fifth, Chapter I-III (Miss Gwilt's Diary (make that three), The Diary Continued, The Diary Broken Off) - 83 pages


12/21 - Book the Last and Epilogue (At the Terminus, In the House, The Purple Flask, News from Norfolk, Midwinter) - 52 pages

I remember this as a very enjoyable read. The plot was a bit convoluted but totally worth the effort. Lydia Gwilt alone is worth the effort. :)

I'm in. This is one of Collins' that I haven't read.

A note inside my copy tells me that I haven't read this since February 2005! Definitely time for a re-read...

Very much looking forward to this!

I've only read The Moonstone, and meant to do The Woman in White next, but I found the description of this quite irresistable.

Emmeline wrote: "I've only read The Moonstone, and meant to do The Woman in White next, but I found the description of this quite irresistable."

Believe it or not, despite its fame, I found THE MOONSTONE to be one of Collins' weaker novels. I found some of the lesser known novels, including ARMADALE to be vastly superior. You're in for a treat!

I'm excited for this one! I haven't read it, but I did recently read another title by him that I enjoyed: The Haunted Hotel.

Paul wrote: "Emmeline wrote: "I've only read The Moonstone, and meant to do The Woman in White next, but I found the description of this quite irresistable."

Believe it or not, despite its fame, I found THE MO..."

Excellent! I liked The Moonstone, but not obsessively, and am quite happy to try something off the beaten path!

I have read six of his novels and three have become my favourite. My absolute favourite is The Woman in White. I liked The Moonstone, but I found it painfully slow going.

I'm excited to see so much enthusiasm! I agree, Paul, that we're in for a treat! And also with you, Renee--Lydia Gwilt is a fascinating character!

Thank you for posting the page amounts. I realize that the editions will vary but this does inform me of when it will be a lighter or heavier Armadale read week, a fact which may impact my other reading choices for that week. That is information I don't normally get.

Also, while most editions have more pages than the Dover edition so many of us will be reading 100 pages some weeks, that is far from burdensome and works well for me. I really wanted to finish this book in calendar year 2025 and I feared this discussion might go into 2026, resulting in my finishing reading ahead of the discussion schedule which is something that doesn't work well for me. Now I can add in a good Kindle Christmas read to follow Armadale.

So, thanks Cindy for both the schedule choice and the page information.

*When I see the title Armadale I still briefly think it's a Walter Scott novel before my brain manages to reorient itself to reflect the proper info stored there.

Brian E wrote: "Thank you for posting the page amounts. I realize that the editions will vary but this does inform me of when it will be a lighter or heavier Armadale read week, a fact which may impact my other re..."

You're welcome, Brian. Keeping track of the number of pages per section also helped me decide where to divide the sections. I was working from a schedule from the previous read, years ago, and it was a little more uneven. Some sections covered 35-40 pages, while others exceeded 100 pages. This helped me ensure that the number of pages remained consistent throughout. I'm glad it helps you, as well!

The Project Gutenberg edition starts with "Prologue". Going by the chapter headlines, this corresponds to "Book the First" in your Reading Schedule. -

But then it may get confusing, because "Book the First" starts with The Mystery of Ozias Midwinter.

So I'm grateful that the chapter headlines are given in the schedule - they, at least, seem to be the same.

sabagrey wrote: "The Project Gutenberg edition starts with "Prologue". Going by the chapter headlines, this corresponds to "Book the First" in your Reading Schedule. -

But then it may get confusing, because "Book..."

Interesting! According to the notes in my Penguin edition, the story was serialized with the first installment as Book the First. When it was published later in book form in two volumes, the materials were reordered and Book the First became the Prologue, Book the Second became the First, etc. It doesn't offer an explanation as to what motivated this change.

I have both the Dover and Penguin editions, and both begin with Book the First. The notes do not mention any other changes, so hopefully the chapter groupings within each "book" remain the same throughout. I'm so glad the chapter titles are proving helpful, Sabagrey!

I started today reading a Kindle from Amazon. It is organized the same as sabagrey's edition with a Prologue, followed by 4, not 5, numbered books and then a Book the Last., for a total of 6 "Books," the same as Cindy's Dover and Penguin editions.

We just have to remember that when the group is reading the 13 Chapters in Book Three, we will be reading the 13 chapters in our Book Two, etc.. It will be easy because of the Chapter titles for which, like sabagrey, I am very grateful for. We have the same titled and number of chapters grouped together exactly the same, with just a different title for each grouping, except Book the Last. Again, not a problem.
I wonder if the Book numbering with a Prologue is the older way of splitting the book up.

I’m reading the Oxford World’s Classic paperback and it’s organized like Brian Reynolds’s