For contemporary novels written about Victorians . . . just in case you can't get enough Victoriana by reading real Victorian novels.

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis
This is a time travel story, so if you don't like those than skip this one. That said, it is hilarious, riffs on Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, and is really well written. I also really liked Connie Willis's other time travel novel, The Doomsday Book.

The Amelia Peabody Mysteries, by Elizabeth Peters
Also very entertaining--Amelia is a great character. The series starts to drag a bit in the middle, but is still very worth reading. Good summer fun, especially if you like Egyptology books.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore
Minna Harker (from Dracula runs a crime-fighting league that includes Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, and The Invisible Man. I think the concept is cooler than the actual story--Moore's other graphic novels are better--but still a fun read.

On my to-read list:

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
Well, it's about a Victorian prostitute, so my guess is it includes all the details you aren't going to find in Thackeray, Eliot, Hardy, or Dickens. Especially Dickens. ;)

Drood by Dan Simmons
I read Edwin Drood a few years ago without realizing it was unfinished. I was so surprised when the book just ended--I thought maybe it was a publishing error. Perhaps Drood will provide some closure . . . plus, Wilkie Collins is the narrator!

The Dante Club A Novel, by Michael Pearl
The leading literary lights of Boston at the mid-century investigate a series of crimes inspired by Dante's Inferno.

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
A psychiatrist, or "alienist," joins Theodore Roosevelt on the track of a serial killer in 1896 New York.

And seconding the Amelia Peabody mysteries, they are excellent.

Fingersmith
Tipping the Velvet
Affinity

can go here too

ETA - the YA Sally Lockhart trilogy by Philip Pullman are set in the Victorian era:
The Ruby in the Smoke
The Shadow in the North
The Tiger in the Well

There's a book coming out in July called Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold that is supposed to be a novel about Charles Dickens' marriage with his wife as narrator. If it's good, it should also include some things one doesn't find in Dickens.

Great idea. I will have to have a look at these and see if I can think of any.

Whoa, I'd love to see even a fictional take on Dickens' marriage. I love him as an author, and some aspects of his personal life are truly endearing and/or praiseworthy. The little affair with the actress while his probably-exhausted-by-childbirth-and-her-husband's-fame wife slowly but surely slipped into the nether reaches of depression and emotional misery? not so much. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

The mysteries by Anne Perry offer an excellent picture of Victorian life, I think. And Amelia Peabody is a delight to anyone with a sense of humor and an interest in things Victorian. The whole era is fascinating in all its contradictory, moralistic with an undertone of pure sexuality, conservative and yet striving for new knowledge, ambience.

I've just ordered this book as part of the Amazon Vine thing called McNaughton: A Novel and it sounds good:

The winter of 1843 is one of bitter strife for England. The nation is on the brink of ruin and revolution, the government struggling to stand firm against the rising chaos.
Out of this apocalyptic landscape emerges a young Scotsman, Daniel McNaughten. He has been on a journey, a descent into his own despair, mirroring the tribulations of society at large. His journey will end in London, with the death of an apparently innocent man. One freezing day in January, he takes a shot at the Prime Minister's Private Secretary, Edward Drummond, as he makes his way to Downing Street. The incident rocks the nation.
Has the assassin perhaps mistaken Mr. Drummond for the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel? And who is this McNaughten? A dangerous political radical - possibly the agent of an entire network of revolutionaries - or a religious fanatic? Is he a lunatic, or merely a victim of the collective madness that surrounds him?

Mesmerising, richly textured, McNaughten takes you to the heart of the Victorian soul. As Daniel McNaughten goes on trial, the dark forces lying beneath the surface of society threaten to break loose and overturn the very order of things. Suddenly, the nation's sanity seems to be hanging on the destiny of one hapless individual. The verdict against him will change English law forever.

There is only one review already on there about it and it gives it 5 stars and says it reads like an authentic victorian novel. I will have to review it so I'll let you know what I think.

Boof wrote: "I've just ordered this book as part of the Amazon Vine thing called McNaughton: A Novel and it sounds good:

The winter of 1843 is one of bitter strife for England. The nation is on the brink ..."

Boof, McNaughton did take a pop at Drummond, the bullet eventually killed him 5 days later:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Drum...

I know what you mean, Gail. A novel about Dickens from the perspective of Catherine would be really, really interesting. Even better might be one from the perspective of Georgina. ;)

I just remembered another (almost) neo-Victorian novel that some people might enjoy: The Dress Lodger, by Sherri Holman. Pretty good, with some great details about poverty in pre-industrial England (1831). This one might have been mentioned on another thread for the Victorians group? I can't remember.

The insanity defense in the US (taken from English common law) is generally based on something called the M'Naughten Rule, which comes from the opinion in the trial of that Daniel M(c)Naughten. Random trivia. Depending on what people who read it report, that book sounds potentially quite interesting.

AS Byatt's Possession is another good one that fits this category.

There are a ton of Dickens-related books out right now. In addition to Drood (which I thought was disappointing) and the one about Catherine Dickens, there's at least Richard Flanagan's Wanting, Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens, and Jeff Rackham's The Rag and Bone Shop, and possibly some others I'm forgetting or haven't heard of yet. (I haven't read any of these others yet.)

I'd rather like a novel about Dickens' daughter Katie.

A couple of others of possible interest are Julian Barnes' Arthur & George (Arthur is Arthur Conan Doyle) and Geraldine Brooks' March (about the father in Little Women, kind of a revisionist take, so I've heard mixed reports from fans of the Alcott).

I know there are more I've actually read, so I'll have to scan my shelves.

Stephanie wrote: "The insanity defense in the US (taken from English common law) is generally based on something called the M'Naughten Rule, which comes from the opinion in the trial of that Daniel M(c)Naughten. Ra..."

Yes - wasn't this outlined in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher?

ETA - and in The Alienist

Darcy: Would The Meaning of Night and The Glass of Time both by Michael Cox be included in the neo-victorian? I have both and as yet have not read them (so many books, so little time). I do not believe there will be any more by this author as it is my understanding he has passed away. I was sorry to hear of his passing as from the sneaks and peeks I took of these two books, they seemed to be really good.

Wanda, these both look really good! There's something about the Victorian period that makes for good mysteries, isn't there? Must be the lack of telephones and the constant fog.

Maybe one of these months we could do a double-read: A victorian novel paired with a neo-victorian novel. Might be fun to see the differences. Of course, they'd both have to be pretty short novels or we'd never make it ;)

"The Dracula Dossier" by James Reese .(have it at home but not read yet)
The Deanna Raybourn series featuring Lady Julia Gray "Silent in the Grave", "Silent in the Sanctuary", "Silent on the Moor".(read the 1st one, liked it a lot)
"Falling Angels" by Tracy Chevalier (though this one actually starts on the day when Queen Victoria dies, but it is a great read about the period and a nice insight into the mourning traditions at the time).

"The Alienist" real was good, I remember enjoying it so much.I have several of the books mentioned above and cannot wait to read them !!!!

Two other titles come to my mind :
"Kept"by DJ Taylor

and "the Sealed Letter" by Emma Donoghue......

One question : I have been wondering for quite a time what the Amazon Vine is !! And how do people (on lit blogs) manage to get ARCs.
Can somebody tell me more about these ?
Thanks !!!

I ordered Drood a few weeks ago on Amazon and guess what ?I made a mistake (probably too excited about ordering, as usual and so getting frenzied( is that term correct ? )....) and ordered the large print stuff.....lol.....
The book is big, heavy and sooooo thick !!! Not the one you can easily carry in your hand bag.
Stupid me !!!!

"The Seance" by John Harwood
"Angelica" by Arthur Phillips , I have both on my beloved TBR shelf.

Caro Peacock "A Foreign Affair" and "A Dangerous Affair".

wasn't this outlined in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher?

Hi all - I was really excited to go to a session of the Sydney Writers festival which was a conversation with Kate Summerscale about The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I was so impressed with her meticulous research of the Victorian gothic setting for a horrible child murder. What was amazing was that Mr Whicher was the model for Wilkie Collins' detective in the Moonstone and the women in the household where the murder took place had characteristics which show up in the females in Lady Audleys Secret. The case was a sensation at the time and very influential on crime writers. My sister has just read the book and I am eager to get my hands on it. It is so funny how things you are reading can seem to create a thread that takes on a life of its own and suddenly you keep running into related themes!

Virginie wrote: "One question : I have been wondering for quite a time what the Amazon Vine is !! And how do people (on lit blogs) manage to get ARCs.
Can somebody tell me more about these ?
Thanks !!!
Virginie, you should ask to Misfit, she is the best person to clarify on Amazon Vine...



"

Thanks very much Laura ! Have a great day !


Could "A Dangerous Fortune" by K. Follett qualify for the Neo- Victorian category?I just got it from the mail, I want to re-read it, I remember loving it the first time I read it.

Re: "wasn't this outlined in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher?"

I don't know, as I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list.

Has anyone read any of Anne Perry's Victorian detective novels?

I read many years ago The Face of a Stranger

Thank you Laura - it seems you liked it and so did everyone else by the looks of it. Seeing as I mostly live my life from the back of the sock drawer, I seem to have missed this author. I have just read her biog and I am slightly scared about reading a murder story written by a convicted murderess - just secured Execution Dock A Novel

Bettie (Goodreads Reader!) wrote: "Has anyone read any of Anne Perry's Victorian detective novels?"

I've read a couple of them (the Inspector and Charlotte Pitt ones, not the Monk ones) and liked them. I think the first one is The Cater Street Hangman.

Thanks Susanna - Are The Pitts (gotta chuckle with that) set in Victorian times too?

Bettie (Goodreads Reader!) wrote: "Thanks Susanna - Are The Pitts (gotta chuckle with that) set in Victorian times too?"

Yes, they are. Charlotte Pitt is from a better class than her husband, one of the early inspectors at Scotland Yard - they meet on a case.

Bettie (Goodreads Reader!) wrote: "Has anyone read any of Anne Perry's Victorian detective novels?"

Bettie I think I've read if not all, almost all of them. I like the Monk books better than the Pitts but still read all of them.

Have you seen 'Heavenly Creatures' which is supposedly based on the crime she and her friend committed as children?

c

Someone already mentioned Possession A Romance, by A.S. Byatt (which is one of my favorite books) but she also wrote two others: Angels & Insects Two Novellas and The Biographer's Tale A Novel. Both of these really get into the Victorian interest in science, especially science of the natural world, particularly etymology.

All are excellent, but Possession is the most approachable, especially if you like Victorian poetry.

Elizabeth, I also loved Possession as well as The Virgin in the Garden: A Novel

Darcy wrote: "To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis
This is a time travel story, so if you don't like those than skip this one. That said, it is hilarious, riffs on Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome,..."

I read The Crimson Petal and the White a couple of years ago and thought it brilliant. I hope you enjoy it too!

I'd like to recommend The Journal of Dora Damage by Belinda Starling - I pass on alot of my books to my sister who passes them on and I don't usually get them back but I asked for this one back as I enjoyed it so much I want to read it again. This was the authors only book she died shortly after writing it.

sounds to be a great book Maggie, I just added to my TBR, thanks!!

Maggie wrote:I read The Crimson Petal and the White a couple of years ago and thought it brilliant. I hope you enjoy it too!

Thanks for the recommendation, Maggie! I've just started it and it is great so far.

It has been probably ten years since I first read Charles Palliser's The Quincunx, but as I recall it was a fabulous neo-Victorian read. I've put it back on my shelf to read; now all I have to do is go find another copy of it, for Lord knows what I did with my original edition... Cheers! Chris

Hi Chris. You made me think about my own copy of The Quincunx and where it might be. I have just spent some time searching through some unpacked boxes (not too many left) and I found it. Thanks for the reminder.

I was half way through a really long post on all my favorite neo-victorian books, and somehow lost it -- grrrr! So I'll start again, but in more abbreviated form:

English neo-vic:

The crimson petal and the white by Michel Faber
the french lieutenant's woman by John Fowles
the meaning of night by Michael Cox
the ruby and the smoke by Philip Pullman
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser


american:

Gone with the wind
The age of innocence by Edith Wharton
the pale blue eye by Louis Bayard
the Dante Club by Matthew Pearl

Haven't read but sound promising:

the Circle of Time by Michael Cox
The seance by John Harwood
The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard
And only to deceive by Tasha Alexander
Silent to the grave by Deanna Raybourn

I have a few more but will post this so I don't lose it, then go consult by list for more.

More:
English:

My cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
The master by Colm Toibin

Potentially interesting:
Sorry,in the last post it should have been "The glass of time" not "The circle of Time"
Kept: a victorian mystery by D. J. Taylor
Drood by Dan Simmons
The spiritualist by Megan Chance
The somnanbulist by Julian Barnes

a take on the victorian gothic:
The Thirteenth Taleby Diane Setterfield

Heidi wrote: "More:
English:

My cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
The master by Colm Toibin

Potentially interesting:
Sorry,in the last post it should have been "The glass of time" not "The circle of Time"
K..."

Good catch, Heidi, on listing Drood! I had completely forgotten about that book (and I read it in January or February of this year...sheesh, my memory is terrible). If you've read some of Dickens later works, and some of Wilkie Collins's novels, then Drood really becomes even more rich and meaningful. Some think Drood is maybe too long; I don't know, I thought it was just right (kind of like suggesting that Mozart has too many notes in one of his symphonies). Cheers! Chris

Another really fascinating neo-Victorian novel is one jointly written by Emma Bull and Steven Brust entitled, Freedom & Necessity. It is an epistolary novel that is set in 1849 London and surroundings. It grabs you from the get-go! Cheers! Chris

I just remembered this Sherlock Holmes story. It is a "solve-it-yourself" mystery, complete with actual clues. Pretty fun.

Darcy wrote: "I just remembered this Sherlock Holmes story. It is a "solve-it-yourself" mystery, complete with actual clues. Pretty fun."

There is a similar book about Nancy Drew, though I forget the title. It has a series of exhibits, letters, maybe a lock of hair, I forget since I just skimmed it when my wife was reading it. It's several years older than this Holmes book, I think, so this may have been inspired by it.

I didn't see that anyone mentioned Watson's Apology by Beryl Bainbridge which is partially based on a true story. I checked it out from the library a couple months back. It had a rough start, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I was pretty suprised by the prose and overall writing. If I didn't know better I would have thought it were a true victorian novel.

From Amazon:
After nearly thirty years of marriage, a Victorian clergyman, John Selby Watson, bludgeons his wife to death one Sunday afternoon after church. In this compelling tale by award-winning novelist Beryl Bainbridge, the seemingly ordinary history of their marriage unfolds until it climaxes in a sudden brutal act and a headline-grabbing trial. As true to the documented facts of this actual case as to the workings of her singular imagination, Bainbridge artfully reveals what history withholds: the motives, feelings, and insanity that drive the Watsons to their domestic tragedy

Kendra wrote: "

I didn't see that anyone mentioned Watson's Apology by Beryl Bainbridge which is partially based on a true story. I checked it out from the library a couple m..."

Hi, Kendra: I do actually have that book on my to-read book, but interestingly I picked it out because of the title -- I had some notion that it was Sherlock Holmes' Dr. Watson! Didn't know what he'd have to appologize for, but it sounded intriguing. Now I realize that it is something completely different. I will definitely check it out.

Has anyone read "Strapless" (about Madame X) or "The 19th wife"? Also, I would like to recommend an old book called "China Court" by Rumer Godden. It jumps around in time because it is about several generations of a family inhabiting the same house, and their stories are all intercut with one another's. But I loved loved loved this book as a teenager, and quite a bit of it takes place in the Victorian era. This is a book whose popularity I would love to see revived.

Susanna wrote:
The Alienist"

I just finshed The Angel of Darkness, another Caleb Carr and I really enjoyed it. I don't usually like new fiction, or American fiction for that matter, but Carr creates such a vivid world that you really get sucked into and caught up in the story. I was late to work one day this week because I couldn't stop reading

Anyone interested in mystery stories might want to take a look at Anne Perry. She has two series that take place in the 19th century: William Monk, a private detective; and Thomas Pitt, a police inspector. Both series are rich in Victorian social and cultural background.