Janet

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë The ‘blurb’ Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of the disastrous marriage she has left behind emerge... Gilbert Markham is fascinated with the mysterious Helen Graham who moves into some rooms in a nearby run-down manor house, Wildfell Hall located on a bleak moor, with her young son and faithful servant. As Gilbert falls for Helen she becomes the subject of local gossip and Gilbert in turn becomes jealous of another man who he believes is also in love with Helen – so she asks him to read her diary… Told through letters from Gilbert Markham to his friend and brother-in-law, the reader learns the reason for Helen’s occupation of the Hall – she has fled her unhappy and abusive marriage. This novel is widely considered to be one of the first feminist novels and caused quite a stir on publication due to its portrayal or a woman who breaks with convention, leaving her alcoholic husband, taking their child with her. It took me a few weeks to read it, but that has nothing to do with the content – it was very enjoyable and easy to read and Brontë’s portrayal of the mental cruelty Helen receives at the hands of her husband must have been really shocking at the time. It’s no wonder that after Anne’s death, Charlotte prevented further publication of the novel! I’ve done one Anne Brontë book and one Charlotte Bronte book – now I need to do the Emily one! [Read on Kindle]

I downloaded this one ages ago (one of my first downloads after I got my Kindle at Christmas 2011, I think) but I think that in light of your review I might delete it. it's not like I'm short of other books! That said, it's a shame you didn't enjoy it.

Thanks for the feedback about the book. I still have a few days to make a decision!

I really enjoyed Cold Blood, Peahen (great user name, btw!) - I hope you enjoy it too.

With thanks to Claire (Chesil) for helping me out with this month's circle. In an article in the Guardian newspaper, Susan Hill says: 9. If you've read any 'classic' ghost stories, how do you think this compares to them? 10. How successfully do you think Hill has captured the feel of the 19th century? 11. Do you think the book works well as a full-length novel, or in your opinion would it have been better as a short story?

Me again! I think I've changed my mind about having The Hundred Year Old Man... for book club. I'm now wondering about Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I have heard good things about it, but I'm concerned about it being too... fluffy. It has a cover that screams 'chick-lit' (which is a genre I used to read all the time, but have gone off now!) or that it might not make for a good discussion. Hmmmm. I've never had this much bother choosing a Book Club read before!

I got 3 and 4. I would dispute #1 -

Thanks Claire. The only issue I've just thought of is that one member likes to get the books from the library - and they're all out with lots of reservations, but I'm sure she can buy it just this once! (It's never been a stipulation of our club that books have to be available from the library). I'd like to choose something from my 'to read' pile rather than buying a new book!

Can anyone who has read The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out out of a Window and Disappeared (phew!!) tell me if they think it would make a good Book Club read? It's my turn to choose next and I'm having a bit of bother deciding what to pick. Thanks.

Up until quite recently we had a thread promoting people's blogs, but it wasn't really widely used and was full of links from people who joined and posted their links and then disappeared from the forum. As you said, there is the section for personal book blogs here, and also the forum for members to have threads about whatever they like (a sub-forum of General chat and only 10 posts required for access ) so hopefully that's all the bases covered. I've never actually seen any YouTube videos about books - I will have to go and have a nosy there.

Awww, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Wow, awesome gift! Happy birthday.

Roses are red, Violets victorious Never sneak up on Oscar Pistorius! Seriously though, it's a shocking business. One never knows what goes on behind closed doors, but that's no excuse to kill someone - assuming he is guilty. Such a waste of a talent - and the chance to be a great ambassador for disabled sport if he did do it.

I read the first one a couple of years ago. It wasn't like I imagined (not being set in Walnut Grove) but I did enjoy it and I'd like to read some more in the future.

I reread them a few years ago too. Dated, but still enjoyable as a revisit.

Excellent review, Alex. I'm quite tempted to try it. Good luck if you do decide to give up book-buying for Lent.

That would be funny! (In a nice way!)

Apparently I've already downloaded both of them!

Thanks - I'll see if they're on Project Gutenberg

I have resisted reading your review of The First Men in the Moon, but as I scuttled past it I noticed the 5/10 marking. I was planning to read some more of Wells' works (at some stage!), but maybe I'll give this one a miss.

Having read the book, I'm not sure I think it is set in Victorian times. Aside the fairly wide use of cars and electricity through the book (which, whilst they existed would not have been as commonly used as in the book), Kipps also makes reference to Victorians... "The business was beginning to sound like an old Victorian novel..." and "Yet servants in Victorian England had, I knew, often been driven to murder..." He also refers to the train taking him North as being the 'Sir Bedivere'. Googling shows that this was built by the Southern Railway in April 1925. I had a feeling of the 1930s when reading it.

1. Did you like the book? What was it that you enjoyed? If you didn't like the book, what were your reasons for disliking it? I have read this before and I enjoyed it very much on both occasions. I think it’s a great story and the writing is so atmospheric and descriptive. 2. The narrative is quite sparse and the characters few, did you find it easy to engage in the story? Definitely. From the first page I was hooked. I liked the sparseness of the language which I felt added to the spooky feel of the book. 3. What were your expectations when you started this book and were you proved right or wrong? As I said, I’ve read it before so I wasn’t sure whether it would be as enjoyable the second time around, or whether some of the tension might be missing – but I needn’t have worried because it was just as good, if not better, on re-reading. 4. If you have seen the stage production, TV version or film of The Woman in Black, how did it compare to the book? I saw the stage version in Bath a couple of years ago. When I looked at the programme and saw there were only two cast members I thought they couldn’t possibly do it justice – but it was utterly brilliant and I would urge anyone who enjoyed the book – and who gets the chance to see it on stage – to go. There was a third person on stage, but I don’t think she existed… It’s the second longest running play in the West End after Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap – and with good reason! I haven’t seen the TV series – or the recent film with Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe. I’ve heard that the film version changes the ending quite significantly – why do they do that?! 5. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/ by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I think this is probably the first ‘ghost’ story I’d read – at least, the first one that was meant to be scary – I’ve read books with ghosts in before. Since reading it last time I read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which I enjoyed. I had read Susan Hill before – I read Strange Meeting for English A Level (as a mature student) which was good, but nothing like this – and I’ve also read her non-fiction Howard’s End is on the Landing which I also enjoyed. 6. One of the themes of the novel is fear. Did you find the novel creepy – were you scared? I wasn’t scared, although I did think the story was creepy – and the ending made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up… both times. 7. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? No! 8. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, definitely. I’d been putting off re-reading it as I was worried it wouldn’t be as good second time round – or that I’d find it boring – but I needn’t have worried on either score.

There are some pretty clever researchers on it (far better at it than me!) and you might find relatives - you never know. I'm Bagpuss_Janet on there! ETA: Sorry for the late reply

Hmm - I wasn't particularly scared (and I don't think I was the first time I read it either) but it's atmospheric... yes, I think the word atmospheric sums it up!

Yes - and I love it! A friend started it in 2006 - there were 9 of us originally - 7 now with 3 original members. We meet once every 4-6 weeks and take it in turn to host. After making the above post I gave myself a stern talking too, and being home alone with no chores to do I got on and started... and finished... my re-read of The Woman in Black! I still loved it! Will do the RC questions tomorrow though as I'm off to bed soon.