Thomas Hardy is incredible. I have just started Far From the Madding Crowd for Victober and I have never felt this way about a book from the first sentence. Feeling very emotional already which I never do.
Ok, I've avoided Hardy since some painful required reading experiences in school, but I'm going to try _Far From The Madding Crowd_ . My reading of Victorian authors is so limited at this point that I have to go with Dickens because he is the author I've read the most.
I always enjoy listening to you talk about Victorian literature. I even got into reading Dickens because of your videos, so thank you for sharing your love for these books, the enthusiasm is contagious. :) I just finished "Our Mutual friend" and I really enjoyed it. I think Dickens is very entertaining and easy to read. Also, his language isn`t actually that difficult, once you get used to it (even though English is not my native language). The fact that his books are so plot driven and characters so colorful really makes reading very exciting. I find Hardy`s language much more difficult to understand. I have just started "Tess of the D´Urberville`s" and while I appreciate Hardy`s poetic language, some nature descriptions are still quite difficult to understand. But when it comes to my favorite Victorian authors, I have to say I really love the Bronte sisters. Especially Anne Bronte to who`s works I personally feel quite a deep connection to, but I think Charlotte was a really great writer too. Emily not so much, even though I do like her poems.
I'm glad to hear that you liked Our Mutual Friend! I agree that Dickens is not too tricky once you get used to his work. I hope you like Tess of the D'Ubervilles as you continue :)
I have read two of his books, Vanity Fair and Barry Lyndon, and I don't really like his work all that much. I think I enjoyed Vanity Fair but it was about 14 years ago that I read it and my memory is a little hazy. Barry Lyndon I didn't get on with.
The Odd Women and Far from the Maddening Crowd are on my Victober TBR. I’m excited to try them. I definitely need to read more Charlotte Bronte. I’m hoping to continue onto Barchester Towers too. I might get to Mary Barton or Cranford. Maybe. I loved North and South. And I need to read more Dickens. I’m not sure who my favorite is. I might say Wilkie Collins but I need to read more of his books. Great video! And I like the recommendations. -Amy
Your enthusiasm is inspiring Katie! Having only read a few novels from all but Dickens, I'm going to have to go with him although I discovered Trollope and Gaskell this year and love what I read of then so far, then of course there is Eliot who would be high up for some of her books and not others, but again, I need to read a lot more of everybody to have a conclusive opinion!
Really wonderful video and I'm amazed by the sheer volume of Victorian literature you have read! there's still so much I have yet to discover - I definitely need to explore Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens. I've got Oliver Twist on my TBR for this October - the other two might have to wait until next year :) There's only one Victorian author whose complete works I've read, and that's Oscar Wilde. Definitely got more to discover!
Thanks Claudia :) There is always so much Victorian literature to discover. Anthony Trollope and Thomas Hardy are so amazing - I think you'll really like Hardy.
Completely agree about Hardy, I think his characters and themes are fascinating, especially for a writer from the Victorian period. Would you recommend reading The Professor or Villette first? I have both but I've heard the stories are really similar. I'm so excited to pick up some Gaskell this Victober! This was such a fun video :)
In my copy of The Professor there’s a preface with a piece from Charlotte’s husband saying ‘... the authoress made some use of the materials in a subsequent work - Villette ... however, these two stories are in most respects unlike...’ As I haven’t read any Charlotte Brontë (The Professor being my first, currently), I can’t personally make a recommendation, but I thought I’d share the quote as I found it interesting. From what Katie said in the video, and what I’ve read so far, the familiarity comes from a person moving to Belgium and becoming a teacher.
I'd recommend reading The Professor first. Villette is the more developed and (in my opinion and I think most people's) the better novel. However, as Chloe notes above with the quote from Charlotte's husband, the basic premise of The Professor were used again in Villette - both are about English people moving to Belgium to become teachers, and there are some similarities between some of the characters and themes. I enjoyed The Professor, but if you read it after Villette as I did, you just find of end up thinking, well, everything she's doing in The Professor, she did better in Villette! I think if you read The Professor first you might enjoy it more :)
You probably already know this from our chats but Gaskell is my favorite female Victorian writer, Trollope is my favorite male Victorian writer but Hardy is such a close second and for Dickens I honestly cannot decide right now if he is tied with Hardy or third favorite male writer. I want to say Wilde is my favorite Victorian playwright but that would be cheating because he is the only one I've read lol. I loved your reasons why you love each writer individually and the recommendations 😄.
Congratulations. Your review is so lively. If I may however, I felt surprised by your discarding Emily Brontë so easily. Wuthering heights is such a gemstone!
Great summary of all of these books, Katie, especially Jude, and The Odd Women. I credit you with sparking my interest books written during the Victorian and Regency eras. The only authors I would add are Emile Zola, and of course, Mary Ann Evans. This was another exceptional video, Katie!
I think the issue of "if you write one book can you be a favourite author?" is an interesting one - generally I lean towards your view that seems to say that an author is in a sense someone who establishes a literary voice through their works. As always food for thought and George Gissing is now on my radar.
It is an interesting question - I do consider Diane Setterfield one of my favourite modern authors, and she only has two novels, but maybe that's because she's still living and writing and will have more out (there's a new one coming out next year and I'm very excited!). I just tend to only consider an author a real favourite if I've read several books by them.
I haven’t really read enough variety of books to have a fave Victorian author, but you made me giggle when you spoke about Dickens!! Having previously only read A Christmas Carol, I have started Victober with The Old Curiosity Shop and some passages are as clear as mud. I reread them multiple times and still can’t grasp the meaning and just move on. I hope this gets easier with more exposure to his style 🤓I also targeted myself with 100 pages per day, but my edition has a really small font and sadly, I can’t manage it. Thanks for another fab video!
Dickens is the best! The Old Curiosity Shop isn't the best one to start with after A Christmas Carol - I'd recommend Great Expectations or David Copperfield :)
Difficult to say. Charles Dickens wrote my favourite Victorian book, Great Expectations. George Gissing lived the most interesting life.Oscar Wilde was the wittiest. Elizabeth Gaskell has the factory novel subgenre sewn up.
Great video! My favorite authors are Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope, & Charles Dickens. I've never read any Gaskell yet but I'm planning on reading North and South soon!
Ooh, The Odd Women sounds awesome! I'll add that to my TBR list. I'm so excited to get to Villette for Victober this year. Your energy for Victorian books is contagious. :-)
Who are no.7-10? How low is George Eliot? Is Eliot below the 'silly women novelists' who she disparages in her essay? (If so O the irony.) Who's the top non-fic author? How many Vic authors have you read? Will you compile a list of fav post-Vic 20thC-21stC authors?
I don't have a 7-10 - the reason why I chose 6 was because those are the only authors I feel like I've read enough from or considered enough to judge. No idea where George Eliot falls - she might be my least favourite, but possibly only because I've read several by her and don't love her works - although I do like Daniel Deronda and quite like / sometimes like Middlemarch - it's only The Mill on the Floss that I really, really hated. Maybe I like Bram Stoker less than her - but as I've only read one novel, how to tell? Overall I think I've read 30-40 Victorian authors, but that number might be out of date. Top non-fic author, I'm not sure, probably haven't read enough. I find Carlyle quite interesting, but I've only read one book in full and a handle of essays so I don't really know if I can consider him a favourite.
Maybe Oscar Wilde (who's Irish)? If you mean 19th century authors in general (when I say Victorian authors I mean British and Irish writers from the period, as that's where Queen Victoria was ruling), then I really enjoyed Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, though I need to read more by him to judge him overall as an author.
Thank you for making these videos, they always make me want to read more! I cannot say who my favourite Victorian author is because I haven't read enough Victorian literature, but Bronte sisters and Oscar Wilde hold very special places in my heart. The sisters because I first discovered Victorian literature through them. Jane Eyre was my first Victorian novel as well, but this year I read Villette and now I think I like it even more then Jane Eyre which I thought could never happen! And Oscar Wilde because I read almost everything he wrote and it left me amazed at how beautiful english language was. And because he is overall brilliant of course!
I'm so excited to read Elizabeth Gaskell! I'm starting with Mary Barton. I also love Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey, but that's the only one if hers I've read so far. ^_^
I love your gushing enthusiasm and the way you give an overview of the authors you talk about. Your insight is invaluable to someone like myself who is just getting back into reading. Thankyou for sharing.
I tried reading Charlotte Bronte’s Villette but finally had to put it down because it was so dishonest. In this book, Bronte reframed her sordid affair with a married man who led her on and then abandoned her into a high minded romance and turned her exploiter into a saint. It was sickening. I much prefer Anne Bronte who might not be as good a writer but was at least honest.
