VICTOBER 2025 discussion

Here's the place to share your Victober 2025 reading, including challenges met, favorite reads and surprises.

I had a good Victober and was able to complete all of the challenges (if you count a "ghost story" as fantasy):

I finished 6 books, 2 short stories and 1 play:
Memoir of Jane Austen, by James Austen-Leigh (biography)
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (a re-read), novel
The Hand of Ethelberta, Thomas Hardy, novel
Red Pottage, Mary Cholmondeley, novel
Dr Wortle's School, Anthony Trollope, novel
The Children of the New Forest, Frederick Marryat, novel
The Library Window, Margaret Oliphant, short story
The Canterville Ghost, Oscar Wilde, short story
A Woman of No Importance, Oscar Wilde, play

I think my favorite novel still remains Jane Eyre, and this re-read only reinforced that. Everything else I read was new to me.

Of the new to me reading, I enjoyed the most the two short stories (The Library Window and The Canterville Ghost), more than anything else. I also was really wrapped up in Wilde's play, A Woman of No Importance--it surprised me in its seriousness and I will need to re-read it or watch it to completely appreciate it.

Although there wasn't much new material for me to learn in the Austen biography by James Austen-Leigh, it was still an enjoyable reading experience. My copy was from the library and I plan to get my own copy at some point.

I enjoyed Dr Wortle's School and Children of the New Forest from the novels I read, and these are the most likely for me to re-read. The Hand of Ethelberta was interesting--not the best Hardy, but certainly not a bad book. I did not get on, however, with Red Pottage, which was a disappointment. But we can't love them all!

I read the following:
#The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle
(for Ros's prompt). This is truly so racist and does shade its author terribly.
#The Danvers Jewels - Mary Cholmondeley
(Ros's prompt + Kate's friendship prompt + Elizabeth's prompt for a lesser known author). Another plonker for me. But the friendship was key to the plot so...
#Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte (Hannah's, Catherine's and Milena's prompts).
Anne Bronte was known to be influenced by Jane Austen (I don't know why Charlotte was so negative about her given they all read her) and Agnes bears a strong resemblance to Jane Fairfax, who I always believed Austen intended us to view as the 'main' character in the shadows of Emma's great ego.
#Amy Levy's verse collection, "A Minor Poet.." (Katie's prompt)
#Aurora Leigh - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Katie's prompt) although this would probably be classified today as a novel-in-verse.
#A Florentine Tragedy - Oscar Wilde (Jess's prompt - set in another era)
#The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde (Roy's - fantasy prompt)
#A Woman of No Importance - Oscar Wilde (Marissa's prompt - change in status )
(and then I reread the whole of "The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays" (Penguin classic edition) - Oscar Wilde

Best reading experiences by far - Agnes Grey, Aurora Leigh, and Amy Levy's poem called 'Xantippe'.

My Victober 2025 Wrap-up

1. Kate: Friendship
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
2. Katie: Not a novel
The Autobiography of Margaret Oliphant by Mrs. Oliphant
3. Marissa: Change in status
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Ros: Empire spotting
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
5. Elizabeth: Underrated woman writer
Hester by Mrs. Oliphant
6. Hannah: Education
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
7. Jess: Set in a different era
The Pirate by Frederick Marryat
8. Milena: Colourwheel cover = Red
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
9. Roy: Fantasy
The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth
10. Catherine: Connection to Austen
A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh

My favorites: Hester and A Memoir of Jane Austen

Caroline wrote: "I read the following:
#The Danvers Jewels - Mary Cholmondeley."
The Cholmondeley novel I read (Red Pottage) didn't work for me, either. There's something about her writing...like she was trying to imitate George Eliot and failed miserably.
I do love Agnes Grey, too. Been a while since I re=read that one.
I just bought that Penguin Oscar Wilde collection (A Victober gift to myself), and I plan to read through it. I found a performance online of A Woman of No Importance, starring Eve Best that I plan to watch.

Zuzana wrote: "My Victober 2025 Wrap-up
My favorites: Hester and A Memoir of Jane Austen"

There's something about that memoir that was so touching. I think because today biographies and memoirs are often set out to tell everything--warts and all. And this was so lovingly done. Biased for sure, but in a good way.

Kathy wrote: "There's something about that memoir that was so touching. I think because today biographies and memoirs are often set out to tell everything--warts and all. And this was so lovingly done. Biased for sure, but in a good way."

I think it's very beneficial to read an edition of this book with good annotations. It's interesting to see where JEAL supressed some information from family members, what he edited out from the letters, where he wasn't accurate and where he was just guessing. It's also really interesting that there was competition between different branches of the family to publish something about their (great-)aunt first.

This was not my year for Victober: I am yet on chapter VII of Our Mutual Friend. On the positive side, I am loving it, so I hope to finish it this year, or at least before next Victober starts XD

My 2025 Victober was better than the one of last and I've read some interesting books.

-El gigante egoísta by Oscar Wilde(in Spanish)
-She by H. Rider Haggard
-Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw
-Cousin Phillis by Elizabeth Gaskell
-The Doom of the Griffiths by Elizabeth Gaskell
-Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
-Alice Dugdale by Anthony Trollope
-Hester by Mrs. Oliphant
-The Semi-Attached Couple and the Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden.

Zuzana wrote: "I think it's very beneficial to read an edition of this book with good annotations."
Thanks for the tip...the edition I read was old and had no notes. I'm making a mental note to buy a newer edition with notes.

Meriyou wrote: "This was not my year for Victober: I am yet on chapter VII of Our Mutual Friend. On the positive side, I am loving it, so I hope to finish it this year, or at least before next Victober starts XD"
Although not my very favorite Dickens, it's probably in my top 5. And it has many characters and plots that Dickens so masterfully weaves together by the end. I hope you will find Bella Wilfer one of Dickens' best female characters. Enjoy!

Misa wrote: "My 2025 Victober was better than the one of last and I've read some interesting books."
Yes, I'd say you did VERY well this year, with quite a wide variety of works!
-I just picked up from the library "Victorian Fairy Tales" and "The Selfish Giant" is one of the tales which I hope to read soon.
-"Cousin Phillis" is my favorite Gaskell story.
-I read the Emily Eden books many years ago; did you enjoy them? If I remember correctly, I liked the first one a little better than the second, but I should re-read them--I remember enjoying both.

Kathy wrote: "Misa wrote: "My 2025 Victober was better than the one of last and I've read some interesting books."
Yes, I'd say you did VERY well this year, with quite a wide variety of works!
-I just picked up ..."
I had such a great time with most of the books I've read and Hester even if it was a bit too long was interesting, I want to discover more of Mrs.Oliphant works. I liked Emily Eden's two novels. I plan to read more Victorian authors even after Victober.