General Chat

Hi All. Please add one CLASSIC suggestion for June reading. vote to be 28/29th may, result after 5pm on 29th Book to be read by and reviewed on 10th July 07 (i.e. 6 weeks as agreed). Ann Glos

Hi Ann I will be back later with a classic (hope you had a good break, will be in touch soon) Dee xx

My classic suggestion is The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall A powerful novel of love between women; it brought about the most famous legal trial for obscenity in the history of British law. Banned on publication it then went on to become a classic bestseller. Stephen Gordon (named by a father desperate for a son) is not like other girls; she hunts, she fences, she reads books, wears trousers and longs to cut her hair. As she grows up amidst the stifling grandeur of Morton Hall, the locals begin to draw away from her; aware of some indefinable thing that sets her apart. And when Stephen Gordon reaches maturity, she falls passionately in love – with another woman

Hadn't heard of that one dee, sounds a good one. Ann Glos

I am going to pass on the Classic for now as I am intent on finishing Wuthering Heights - Michelle

Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot. When 'Scenes of Clerical Life', George Eliot's first work of fiction, was published anonymously in 'Blackwood's Edinborough Magazine' in 1857, it was immediately recognised, in the words of the critic for the 'Saturday Review' as the production of 'a peculiar and very remarkable writer'. The first readers, including Dickens and Thackeray, were struck by its humorous irony, the truthfulness of its presentation of the lives of ordinary men and women, and its compassionate acceptance of human weakness. The 3 stories that make up the 'Scenes' 'The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton'. Mr Gilfil's Love Story' and 'Janet's Repentance' foreshadow George Eliot's major work, and their success gave her the confidence to become one of the greatest English novelists. From the book jacket. Alfie

Have you all ever read War and Peace?? I know it's usually a joke as it's so long.....

I remember starting it once Helen, but don't think I finished it - I was too young for it I think :-) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins This is the first and greatest 'Sensation Novel'. Walter Hartright's mysterious midnight encounter with the woman in white draws him into a vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue. The novel is dominated by two of the finest creations in all Victorian fiction - Marion Halcombe, dark, mannish, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Count Fosco, the sinister and flamboyant 'Napoleon of Crime'. A masterwork of intricate construction, The Woman in White sets new standards of suspense and excitement, and achieved sales which topped even those of Dickens, Collins's friend and mentor. Using a series of accounts by different characters written in the style of legal affidavits, witness statements, and diaries the reader becomes both the judge and the jury to the proceedings as they unfold. Maz. XX

sending it up

I will just add to the other thread this month thanks. Dawn

Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre Orphaned into cold charity at the hands of her rich cousins and later at Lowood school, jane escapeds to take up a position as governess to the young ward of Mr Rochester. Their love affair, Jame's discovery of Rochester's secret - hideously concealed in the attic of thornfield hall - and her desperate flight are told in a drama of passionate intensity whose pace never slackens. A love story with a happy ending, rare in its time for its sympathetic portrayal of the love of a married man for another woman. Ann Glos

I had better retrieve this one from page 8!

Not many classics are there?? Dee ;-))

Not sure if four will be enough to vote on. I wonder where Maisie, kaz and Daisie are? Maybe they will return by tuesday. I will be out from about 11am to 4pm tomorrow so can somebody make sure this doesn't sink too low please? Ann Glos

Hi girls :-) I seem to remember that lots of people said that they weren't really up for classics. To be honest, I'd rather read a classic than 'normal' books - I have enough 'normals' on my 'list' as it is, so I need this little push to make me read the classic stuff that I do love. In the 'old days' lol we got down to about 4 or 5 of us didn't we? Let's just go ahead with it and see how it goes ... although if we all vote for different books it might be a problem !! Maz. XX

Hi Maz, I think classics are a bit like poetry, people are less likely to read them Most of us will read a new modern author. Not sure why that is, perhaps classics and poetry remind us too much of school Dee xx

that could be it Dee! remember when poetry was first suggested??!! Maz. XX

Has Pride and Prejudice been done ? as do want to re-read it. xx Jill

Oh yes, remember it well Maz, poor Mike, he had a fit !! ;-)) Not sure Jill, I think Ann keeps a note though of what has been done Dee x

I don't think we have read P & P, not on the list, but I do know that I missed some of the early ones. I think with classics they take a lot longer to read because of the language, and, yes, they remind us of school (at least those like Dickens etc). I have enjoyed the more modern classics like Daphne Du Maurier's books and Cider with Rosie, to Kill a Mocking bird etc. that is why I don't always read the chosen classic (or re-read in some cases). I still have Emma to read. Also some of the classics are in very small print which makes it hard going. In the end though, we don't want to get pedantic over what we should and shouldn't read as it is all about enjoying reading. Dee had an idea about us each choosing our own classic to read and then writing a critique on it to encourage people to ead the classics. Next month I might try that and see what happens. But we will have to specify what is a classic. is it the likes of Dickens or what are the modern classics considered to be? is there any guidance on this? Ann Glos