The Challenge Factory discussion

The challenge is simple. Each month you will be given the name of an forgotten, obscure or unknown author who has quite a few books published before 1923. You will then pick one of his or her books to read during the month. Then write a review for the book here on Goodreads.

(Isn't that the whole point of Goodreads, to leave your impressions of a book so that others can make informed decisions?)

This month's forgotten author is May Agnes Fleming

Sources that host public domain books are Project Gutenberg, LibriVox (audio), Amazon, Manybooks, and Open Library.

Report which book or story you've chosen to read. Feel free to discuss what you're reading and the author's writing style during the month. Don't forget to leave a review of your selected work.

I think I will read

I've already read The Unseen Bridegroom or, Wedded For a Week and really enjoyed the unusual gothic tones it had. So I'm going to try Sir Noel's Heir A Novel.

I'm going to try Sharing Her Crime.

Kay wrote: "I think I will read "

Welcome to the challenge, Kay. I hope you enjoy your book.

Jonquil wrote: "I'm going to try Sharing Her Crime."

I hope that you like this book more than last month's. What made you decide on this one? The title does sound intriguing.

The Challenge Factory
Forgotten Authors~ May
Duration: 5/1/2015 - 5/31/2015

1 book by May Agnes Fleming

I've started reading my book for this challenge. How is everyone else doing?

Finished my book. Finally. I thought it a bad sign when I came across this line: "The book had no interest; her thoughts would stray, in spite of her..."

Just like The Unseen Bridegroom or, Wedded For a Week, this book had gothic tendencies. A dark and stormy night, terrible secrets, fainting women and orphans. But Sir Noel's Heir lost that gothic feel soon.

Another good line : "...crooked things will straighten themselves if we give them time."

I'd give the book 2 1/2 stars.

I'm about halfway thru my book, and it's interesting. Not at all like what I normally read, and rather a tragedy in the making, but I suppose that was due in part to the time in which it was written, and the thoughts and morals of the day. Still not sure it is something i will be able to say I actually like, but being a former literature teacher, I find it does have a few redeeming qualities - mainly that it gives a glimpse of how people thought and felt during a different time. Reading a book that was written in the Victorian age is not the same as reading a book that was written about living in the Victorian age... the first has all the morals and judgements inherent in that era, while the latter tells about that era from the view of our modern morals and judgements.

Finished Sharing Her Crime. I realize that languages evolve, but there was no mistaking Fleming's prose for that of a modern author. I'm not sure how much of the story was pure fiction and how much reflected the mores and attitudes of the times. Readers in 2265 may not know what to make of the fact that every twenty-something I know has a zombie apocalypse survival plan. It makes perfect sense to me and I can put it in perspective. So I'm not sure how to interpret what Fleming writes. Woman tells man to take an infant she finds objectionable to the ocean and throw her in. He does. On his way home he consults a fortune teller who predicts he'll hang for it. Was life really that inconsequential in 1862? Was infanticide considered logical or understandable? Is the reader meant to be disgusted or shocked? If you're going to consult a seer, shouldn't you do that before you dispose of the inconvenient child?
I was fascinated by the language at first, but about halfway through I lost interest. The book took decades-long leaps so perhaps I didn't know enough about the characters to care about them? I finished, but I was happy to be done with it.

I finished The Unseen Bridegroom or, Wedded For a Week and I agree with Kay, reading a book about Victorian age and reading a book written during the Victorian age are two completely different reading experiences.