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Victober


KEV67

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22 hours ago, Hayley said:

Okay, as it has been a week now, I'd like to make a second suggestion! 

 

Challenge Suggestion 5: Read something from a Victorian periodical (non-fiction, short fiction, serialised novels and poems all count). Here's a link to all the periodicals edited by Dickens, in case anybody wants to have a browse before deciding: Welcome to DJO .

 

That website seems a great resource, and it would be easy to dip in and read a bit from any of those. I would certainly take up that challenge as well as a bigger one or two 

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On 18/09/2021 at 4:43 PM, vodkafan said:

That website seems a great resource

I think so too!

 

39 minutes ago, KEV67 said:

BTW, when are we going to stop taking suggestions and hold the poll? When do we intend Victober to start? It doesn't have to be October.

 

25 minutes ago, lunababymoonchild said:

I was thinking this myself.  I think 7 suggestions is enough.

 

I was just assuming we would start on the first day of October, but shall we go ahead and start the poll now then?

 

 

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Yes, the top 3 as itt currently stands would be good for me. I would have to get a Gothic book, which would probably be Dracula. I tried reading it once before and did not like it, but I'd push through this time. I have read Frankenstein, which is the other great C19th monster novel. TBH I did not like Frankenstein that much neither. It is odd to think Frankenstein was written the other end of the C19th to Dracula, and is not strictly a Victorian book.

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The top three suit me too. I'd choose The Dance of the Serpents, Oscar de Muriel for my Gothic, Lady Audley's Secret for the Sensation and I'll use the website quoted elsewhere for the Penny Dreadful. Ready to go.

 

ETA I found my own website and downloaded Varney the Vampire as my Penny Dreadful.

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On 26/09/2021 at 9:45 AM, lunababymoonchild said:

I'd choose The Dance of the Serpents, Oscar de Muriel for my Gothic

Ooooh I hadn’t even thought about modern books with Victorian settings - I might have to join you with Dance of the Serpents!

 

I will also start reading Lady Audley’s Secret and I think I’ll see if I can get The Black Band by Mary Elizabeth Brandon on kindle (although I’m happy that the rule for the Penny Dreadful category was to read several chapters, rather than the whole thing, because I don’t think I’d want to read the whole thing!).

 

On 26/09/2021 at 5:00 PM, KEV67 said:

I am going to read East Lynne

That should make an interesting comparison to Lady Audley’s Secret!
 

On 26/09/2021 at 5:00 PM, KEV67 said:

Spring Heeled Jack

I think that would be a good one too! 

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7 minutes ago, Hayley said:

Ooooh I hadn’t even thought about modern books with Victorian settings - I might have to join you with Dance of the Serpents!

 

My mistake, it didn't occur to me that it would be only material written in the Victorian era. That's my choice anyway

 

8 minutes ago, Hayley said:

I will also start reading Lady Audley’s Secret and I think I’ll see if I can get The Black Band by Mary Elizabeth Brandon on kindle (although I’m happy that the rule for the Penny Dreadful category was to read several chapters, rather than the whole thing, because I don’t think I’d want to read the whole thing!).

 

I don't plan to read all 237 chapters of Varney the Vampire one after the other, it's going to take some time!

 

I take it we'll be ready for the October start?

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1 hour ago, lunababymoonchild said:

My mistake, it didn't occur to me that it would be only material written in the Victorian era

I have no idea if it is meant to be, originally, but as we're making our own rules for this first BCF Victober, I think it should include both :lol:

 

1 hour ago, lunababymoonchild said:

I take it we'll be ready for the October start?

Yes, I will start on the 1st :)

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I read the introduction of Dracula today. Apparently, all that sucking of blood is a metaphor for sex. The book symbolises a late Victorian fear that our good old Anglo Saxon blood was getting tainted by our women having sex with immigrants. But then it says Count Dracula was, in a subconscious way of speaking, Oscar Wilde. Lord Ruthven, from The Vampyre by Dr Polidari, was Lord Byron, which makes more sense. Oscar Wilde was Irish, not all that foreign. Strangely, Bram Stoker married a woman who turned down Oscar Wilde. I know Oscar Wilde was married, but I thought he was mostly into young men. Bram Stoker's folks knew Oscar Wilde's folks, and I think Bram Stoker also worked for Sheridan Le Fanu on one of his publications. The Anglo-Irish Gothic fiction writing community was obviously a close-knit one.

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13 hours ago, KEV67 said:

I read the introduction of Dracula today. Apparently, all that sucking of blood is a metaphor for sex. The book symbolises a late Victorian fear that our good old Anglo Saxon blood was getting tainted by our women having sex with immigrants.

Which edition do you have? I think, from what I've read anyway, that the point on immigration is more of a theory than a proven intention? I have definitely seen it presented before as part of the Gothic motif of 'the other', playing more on a general fear of the foreign than a specific sexual fear (although, agree that makes sense in the same context). It was also necessary for Dracula to be from a different country to have that contrast of a place that is "less developed", where there's no industrial revolution, travel is slow and the locals are all very superstitious. I have never heard the theory that Dracula is subconsciously Oscar Wilde though!

 

I  ordered a really cheap copy of Lady Audley's Secret and it came today (I feel a bit bad saying this, because I know somebody had to design it, but the cover is hilariously bad). I think I'm going to start with Dance of the Serpents anyway though, because I'm very excited to read that and I think it will probably be a quicker read! 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Hayley said:

Which edition do you have? I think, from what I've read anyway, that the point on immigration is more of a theory than a proven intention? I have definitely seen it presented before as part of the Gothic motif of 'the other', playing more on a general fear of the foreign than a specific sexual fear (although, agree that makes sense in the same context). It was also necessary for Dracula to be from a different country to have that contrast of a place that is "less developed", where there's no industrial revolution, travel is slow and the locals are all very superstitious. I have never heard the theory that Dracula is subconsciously Oscar Wilde though!

 

I  ordered a really cheap copy of Lady Audley's Secret and it came today (I feel a bit bad saying this, because I know somebody had to design it, but the cover is hilariously bad). I think I'm going to start with Dance of the Serpents anyway though, because I'm very excited to read that and I think it will probably be a quicker read! 

 

 

I have the Oxford World Classics edition.

I am trying to think what resemblance Oscar Wilde has to Count Dracula

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Started East Lynne by Ellen Wood. It has 62 chapters, so that is two chapters a day. Dracula has 27 chapters, so that is almost a chapter a day. That is quite a lot of reading, since I've several other things I'm reading too.

 

Don't know about East Lynne yet. It forms the third part of the great 1860/61/62 sensation novel trilogy with Woman in White and Lady Audley's Secret. So far in the first two chapters we have been presented with an aristocrat with a massive estate (check), a beautiful and motherless daughter (check), a fine young man and probable hero (check). Ellen Wood has introduced the cad rather early in this one.

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I have started Dance of the Serpents by Oscar de Muriel. It's good so far. I was planning on reading Lady Audley's secret next (I do like a bit of scandal from time to time) but did not know it was part of a trilogy. I take it you can read these novels as stand-alones and in any order? I do have The Woman in White if I need to start there.

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2 hours ago, KEV67 said:

I am trying to think what resemblance Oscar Wilde has to Count Dracula

Well I did a bit of quick googling (because I really wanted to know what the connection was!) and I think it probably stems from a research paper that was published in the early 90's, where it's argued that Dracula was inspired by Oscar Wilde's trial (where he was charged with sodomy) and portrays Stoker's repressed homosexuality. It's not a very convincing argument, I have to say. There's a lot of big assumptions going on. 

 

15 minutes ago, lunababymoonchild said:

I have started Dance of the Serpents by Oscar de Muriel. It's good so far.

Me too, and I agree! Already hooked. 

 

17 minutes ago, lunababymoonchild said:

but did not know it was part of a trilogy. I take it you can read these novels as stand-alones and in any order? I do have The Woman in White if I need to start there.

It's not part of a trilogy, those three books are just considered to have started the 'sensation novel' trend. I highly recommend The Woman in White anyway though, it's very good. Actually, I've really loved everything I've read by Willkie Collins!

 

55 minutes ago, KEV67 said:

So far in the first two chapters we have been presented with an aristocrat with a massive estate (check), a beautiful and motherless daughter (check), a fine young man and probable hero (check).

Someone should make Sensation Novel Bingo :lol:

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36 minutes ago, Hayley said:

Me too, and I agree! Already hooked. 

 

Good

 

37 minutes ago, Hayley said:

It's not part of a trilogy, those three books are just considered to have started the 'sensation novel' trend. I highly recommend The Woman in White anyway though, it's very good. Actually, I've really loved everything I've read by Willkie Collins!

 

Excellent, thank you for the information.  I was going to 'get around to' The Woman in White at some point and I have read Wilkie Collins before so am looking forward to it.

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