☯Emily ’s Comments (group member since Jul 27, 2011)

☯Emily ’s comments from the Classics for Beginners group.

This is a fascinating article about why Anne is not as popular as her sisters. It might contain spoilers, so read when appropriate for you: http://www.theguardian.com/books/book...

This is a brief, readable biography of Anne Bronte: http://www.biography.com/people/anne-...

I read Agnes Grey a few years ago and thought it a wonderful description of the horrors of being a governess. Anne based this novel on her personal experiences as a governess. I have been eager to read this book since then.

Incidentally, I think Anne is a much better writer than Emily. Does anyone else agree with me?

For many years, Anne Bronte has been the forgotten Bronte author: I found this quote in Wikipedia:

"A year after Anne's death, further editions of her novels were reprinted but Charlotte prevented re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. In 1850, Charlotte wrote "Wildfell Hall it hardly appears to me desirable to preserve. The choice of subject in that work is a mistake, it was too little consonant with the character, tastes and ideas of the gentle, retiring inexperienced writer." Subsequent critics paid less attention to Anne's work, and those such as Lane dismissed her as a "a Brontë without genius" and gave her output little consideration. However, in recent years, with increasing critical interest in female authors, her life has been re-examined and her work re-evaluated. Biographies by Winifred Gérin (1959), Elizabeth Langland (1989) and Edward Chitham (1991) as well as Juliet Barker's group biography, The Brontës (1994; revised edition 2000) and work by critics such as Inga-Stina Ewbank, Marianne Thormählen, Laura C Berry, Jan B Gordon and Juliet McMaster, has led to her acceptance, not as a minor Brontë, but as a major literary figure in her own right."

What do you think about Charlotte's quote? What was her motivation in demeaning Anne's work? Is Anne a Bronte without genius or is she a major literary figure?

There are three sessions about Jane Austen and her world taking place this summer in Wisconsin, USA. Road Scholar is geared for the "older" student who is 55 or older, although they no longer have age restrictions. The information about the program is here: https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-a...

We have three months to read this book, so everyone can take their time. I haven't started yet, because I have four other books to read.

Evelina by Fanny Burney I can lead.

We are reading Treasure Island in March. Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "buccaneers and buried gold". It was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882 under the title Treasure Island, or the mutiny of the Hispaniola. It was first published as a book on 14 November 1883 by Cassell & Co.

Treasure Island is traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, and is noted for its atmosphere, characters, and action. It is also noted as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature. It is one of the most frequently dramatized of all novels. Its influence is enormous on popular perceptions of pirates, including such elements as treasure maps marked with an "X", schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen bearing parrots on their shoulders. (This information was provided by Wikipedia.)

I hope everyone enjoys reading this book.

Welcome, Giselle. We will begin reading Treasure Island next week. It is a relatively short book and hopefully easy to read.

One of my favorite authors since high school has passed away: http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016...

Thanks, Kirsten!

I just finished the book. Nurse Ratched is a villain and her name represents what she is - a combination of rat and hatchet. Thanks, Courtney, for your analysis. I would have preferred a "savior" who had more savory extracurricular activities!

Laurie, glad you decided to join us.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë Can lead.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Can lead.

RitaSkeeter wrote: "Quick question; how many pages is everyone's copy? I dug out a paperback I had with The Metamorphosis and other stories. I can't see anywhere in the edition that it has been abridged, but the story..."

I'm pretty sure the 200 pages includes Kakfa's short stories, of which Metamorphosis is one.

It sounds like the translation might also be important when reading this book.

“Not just wicked, no, I never even managed to become anything: neither wicked nor good, neither a scoundrel nor an honest man, neither a hero nor an insect. And now I am living out my life in my corner, taunting myself with the spiteful and utterly futile consolation that it is even impossible for an intelligent man seriously to become anything, and only fools become something. Yes, sir, an intelligent man of the nineteenth century must be and is morally obliged to be primarily a characterless being; and a man of character, an active figure–primarily a limited being.”

“I swear to you, gentlemen, that to be overly conscious is a sickness, a real, thorough sickness. For man’s everyday use, ordinary human consciousness would be more than enough”

–Notes From the Underground

I got it from the library, but want to finish two other books first.

Hilarious reading of this book in two parts. http://www.reviewfromsaturday.com/jan... and http://www.reviewfromsaturday.com/271...

This is an interesting article about life during the Georgian period. http://www.reviewfromsaturday.com/no-...