Miss Marjoribanks: Reading Schedule and Background Information

[Frances, Moderator]

Welcome to our Moderator's Choice read, Miss Marjoribanks by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant. Our reading schedule is as follows:

Jan 31-Feb 6, 2020: Ch 1-10
Feb 7-13: Ch 11-19
Feb 14-20: Ch 20-28
Feb 21-27: Ch 29-36
Feb 28-Mar 6: Ch 37-44
Mar 7-15: Ch 45-end

Please feel free to post any background information, either about our author or the novel itself (without spoilers, of course!) in this section.

I look forward to discussing what I understand to be a lighthearted look at English country society in the mid-19th century, and hope you will join us.

[Charlotte]

Thank you for bringing us a lighthearted read, Frances. I feel refreshed with all the comedy, gaiety and sunshine. It is just what we need in times of wintry isolation.

[Charlotte]

Why does the author use Mrs. Oliphant as her name for publishing novels and why the title Mrs. and not her christian name? Could it be that this is a way to pay hommage to her husband. He died - and after exhausting her money, she was forced to write. So he kind of kick-started her career. (OK, is this all too far-fetched, now... :))

[Deborah, Moderator]

Charlotte wrote: "Why does the author use Mrs. Oliphant as her name for publishing novels and why the title Mrs. and not her christian name? Could it be that this is a way to pay hommage to her husband. He died - an..."

I believe it has to do with the time period. Only close friends would be granted the right of using a first name, not the public in general.

[Robin P, Moderator]

Elizabeth Gaskell published only as Mrs. Gaskell.

[Deborah, Moderator]

I’m planning on reading but will be late in discussion

[Linda2]

The American composer Amy Beach signed her works as "Mrs. H.H.A.Beach."

[Abigail]

Women in the nineteenth century were typically regarded as either the daughter of their father, if unmarried (regardless of age), or the wife of their husband, if married—not as autonomous individuals. (An exception would be unmarried female upper servants who were called “Mrs.” by their colleagues as a gesture of respect for their position.) Use of “Miss” or “Mrs.” by an author was therefore taken as a sign of conformity and therefore respectability. Using your own name, as for instance Harriet Beecher Stowe, signaled a kind of independence that could get you ostracized.