The TBR thread

[Katie]

What are you all planning to read this Victober?

[Alwynne]

Hi I'm Alwynne, and this is my second year doing Victober. I haven't finalized my list yet but am thinking about these ones:

Armadale because I love sensation novels.

Avenging Angels: Ghost Stories by Victorian Women Writers for the season

East of Suez another seasonal pick

The Odd Women because I've been meaning to read it for so long

The Romance of a Shop I read another Amy Levy for last Victober and found it fascinating.

I also have a stash of vintage Viragos that include some Victorian novels so may dip into those or possibly some collections of fairy tales.

[Maria Cristina]

Bleak House
Lorna Doone
Wuthering Heights

[Maria Cristina]

And the Last Chronicle of Barset.

[Lana]

I'm really loving this year's challenges because I can fit all the books I wanted to read this Victober. Here's my TBR:

1. Kate's challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

2. Katie's challenge: Read a Victorian book set in the countryside and/ or the city: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

3. Lucy's challenge: Read a Victorian book with a female main character - The Half-sisters by Geraldine Jewsbury

4. Group challenge: Read a popular Victorian book you haven't read yet: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

I might also join in with the group readalong of Gothic Tales.

[Alwynne]

Lana wrote: "I'm really loving this year's challenges because I can fit all the books I wanted to read this Victober. Here's my TBR:

1. Kate's challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - The Woman in White b..."

Yes I was pleased that mine fitted so easily too.

[November]

I separate books over 500p into halves when it comes to TBRs, so I definitely won't finish all of these but I'll probably try for

• the second half of Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens
• Gothic Tales by Gaskell
• the first half of Wives and Daughters by Gaskell
• the first half of The Woman in White by Collins
• Middlemarch by Eliot, my mom and I started reading this out loud to each other over the summer, so we're slowly making out way through it chapter by chapter. It's much better read aloud with someone else IMO, things that wouldn't have struck me on my own made me laugh when my mom was the one reading them.

The Woman in White and Wives and Daughters we're both on my 2021 TBR and I still haven't gotten more then 20% into either of them so this will be a good reason to start hacking away at them!

[Anki]

I know I will be starting The Last Chronicle of Barset, but beyond that I haven't made any firm plans yet. As I said in the introduction thread, I somehow managed to miss pretty much all Victorian literature in the course of obtaining my English lit degree, so I'm only really coming to it in the last few years. That means lots of options, but also makes narrowing things down difficult. XD

[Anna]

1. Kate’s challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - North and South by Elisabeth Gaskell

2. Katie’s challenge: Read a Victorian book set in the countryside AND/OR the city - Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

3. Lucy’s challenge: Read a Victorian book with a female main character - Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

4. Group challenge: Read a popular Victorian book you haven’t yet read - The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

[Alwynne]

Anna wrote: "1. Kate’s challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - North and South by Elisabeth Gaskell

2. Katie’s challenge: Read a Victorian book set in the countryside AND/OR the city - Return of the Nati..."

Interesting selection, although 'North and South' is pretty much a straightforward, realist story with a dollop of romance, if you're looking for a satisfying sensation novel then something by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mrs Henry Wood or Wilkie Collins might be worth exploring.

[Anna]

Alwynne, then I'll start with the popular ones that I found in our stores: East Lynn by Mrs Henry Wood and Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Btw, this will be my first acquaintance with these authors, and I am curious. I'll add them to my list, thanks for your recommendations!

[Kristie]

Hi, I'm Kristie and this is my first Victober.

My TBR:

1. Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elisabeth Braddon

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

4. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

And the group read, of course, Gothic Tales by Elisabeth Gaskell

[Big Hard Books & Classics]

So far I've got Gothic Tales for the Group Read as well as her _North and South,_ text & audio, both. I've still much Dickens to read! And, this season I'll try some Trollope, to boot . . .

[[deleted user]]

YAY! Can't believe it's that time again.. I sooo love Victober! :) A big thanks to Kate, Katie and Lucy for doing a superb job in running this.. thanks heaps - it's sooo much fun! :)
So my Victober TBR currently looks like this:

1. Victorian novel with female main character:
Villette by Charlotte Bronte.

2. Victorian novel set in the city:
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens.

3. Victorian novel set in the countryside:
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

4. Victorian sensation novel:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

5. Popular Victorian novel:
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

And... the group read... Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Can't wait for this.. shall be super fun!
Wishing everybody happy Victorian reading adventures! :)

[Lauras Books (and Bakes)]

Lana wrote: "I'm really loving this year's challenges because I can fit all the books I wanted to read this Victober. Here's my TBR:

1. Kate's challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - The Woman in White b..."

My books fitted pretty well too!

[Lauras Books (and Bakes)]

So far I've got:

1. Book set in a city: Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.
2. Book with female main character: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.
3. Sensation novel: No Name by Wilkie Collins.
4. Popular novel: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.
5. Gothic tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, for which I hope my library has an audiobook. That way I will also have covered the 'read aloud' prompt =)

[Zoë]

This is my second Victober and I'm thinking of reading:

Set in Countryside and/or city: Mary Barton

Sensation Novel: East Lynn? (I'm not sure about this one)

Female Protagonist: Mary Barton (I'm combining the challenges because I want to get to all of them so I don't know if that counts!)

Popular Victorian Book: Far From The Maddening Crowd (my first Hardy, I'm really nervous, is it a good place to start?)

And of course the group read: Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

if anyone has any recommendations or ideas then let me know :)

[Marta]

I watched the videos and read some recommendations here on Goodreads, so now I've come up with this list (there might be some changes, but this is what I think I'll be reading):

1. Kate's challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel – Lady Audley’s Secret

2. Katie’s challenge: Read a Victorian book set in the countryside and/ or the city: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

3. Lucy's challenge: Read a Victorian book with a female main character – Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

4. Group challenge: Read a popular Victorian book you haven't read yet: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

If I am able to I’ll join in with the group readalong of Gothic Tales as well!

[Zoë]

also I've realised I made mistakes in the spellings of some of the books, it was stupid autocorrect trying to be clever... i know it's East Lynne and Far from the Madding crowd ;)

[Maddy]

I am planning to read the following books :
1) the Neither World
2) East Lynne
3) The return of the Native
4) Great Expectation
5) The Old Nurse's story ( penguin little black Classic)
6) The Law and the Lady

This is the list so far there maybe some changes along the way.

[Whitney]

I'm a mood reader, so my list might change. So far, I have:
1. East Lynne
2. Villette
3. Jane Eyre
4. Hester

[Whitney]

ps quite a few of us are reading East Lynne this year!

[Donna]

Hello, everyone. Here are the books I will attempt to read for Victober 2021.

GROUP READ: Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
(Note: I started these last year and did not finish, so happy to see I have a renewed commitment this year).

I am reading solely from my shelf for prompts 1-4: books I own but have not read.

1 - 3. Sensational book/woman as main character/multiple settings:
East Lynne by Ellen Wood
Serialized in New Monthly Magazine from Jan 1860-Sep 1861
Published as three-volume book in Sept 1861

4. Popular in its time:
The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Charles Kinsley
Serialized in Macmillan's Magazine 1862-1863
Published as book in 1963
Part satire in support of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species
Protagonist is a chimney sweep
Fell out of popularity because of noted prejudice

AUDIO: Three favorite Victorian novels, will listen to excerpts:
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens
The Return of the Native (1878) by Thomas Hardy
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[Janelle]

Donna wrote: "Hello, everyone. Here are the books I will attempt to read for Victober 2021.

GROUP READ: Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
(Note: I started these last year and did not finish, so happy to see I h..."

I read East Lynne for Victober 2020 and really enjoyed it!

[Alejandra]

Gothic Tales of course! Middlemarch and Lady Audley's Secret are in as well. Then some more Gaskell and maybe Dickens?

[Melissa]

I'm going to read Mary Barton and, if I have time, Gothic Tales. I love Gaskell!

[Gillian]

Also going with books I have on my shelves, with the exception of the Gaskells

Female Main Character: Wives & Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
Popular Book: The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
City or Country: Garthowen - Allen Raine
Sensation Novel: The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Group Read: Gothic Tales - Elizabeth Gaskell

If I have time I'd love to get to The Last Chronicle of Barset by Trollope, it's a pretty long one to fit in with everything else so I'll see how things go.

[Electra]

I will try to read these books :

Female Main Character: Wives & Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell or/ and Villette by Charlotte Brontë
City or Country: Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
Sensation Novel: The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

Little Dorritt is a big book so I don't know if I will be able to fit another one !

[Tiffany]

This is my official TBR for this coming Victober:

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
2. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy OR North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. Villette by Charlotte Brontë
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker

And then there is Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell which is our group read for this year.

[Kathy]

My TBR is a moving target, but here are my plans as of today:
1. Sensation novel: Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy
2. City/country: Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy (London) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens (country/small town)
3. Female main character: The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot (a re-read)
4. Popular in its time, but not today The Claverings, Trollope
Audiobook: Currently listening to Barnaby Rudge by Dickens, although I may finish before Victober.
Group Read: plan to read Gothic Tales with the group.
Finally, a few other possibilities if I finish all of the above:
--Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
--An Unsocial Socialist, G. Bernard Shaw
and two nonfiction books:
--Woman in the Nineteenth Century, Margaret Fuller
--Benjamin Disraeli, Adam Kirsch (biography)
Inspired by Lucy's video, I might read one or two books from the era but outside of Great Britain. My choices would be Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables or Three Tales by Flaubert.

[Lorri]

Zoë wrote: "This is my second Victober and I'm thinking of reading:

Set in Countryside and/or city: Mary Barton

Sensation Novel: East Lynn? (I'm not sure about this one)

Female Protagonist: Mary Barton (I'm..."

Far From the Madding Crowd was my first Hardy and it was a good place to start. However, I read it in college where I had support and several weeks to read. I will be reading Hardy's Tess of the d’Urbervilles for the first time now, for Victober.

[Lorri]

My Victorian TBR:

1. The Woman in White Wilkie Collins sensation, countryside, popular, gothic, epistolary

2. Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy countryside, heroine with male author, popular, audio

3. Sylvia’s Lovers Elizabeth Gaskell sensation, heroine with female author, gothic

4. The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain Charles Dickens popular Christmas ghost story

Group Read - Gothic Tales Mrs. Gaskell

Audio - Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Nonfiction:
- My Reminiscences vol. 2 (1872-1880) Lord Ronald Sutherland-Leveson-Gower’s journal

- Intentions: four essays by Oscar Wilde

- Adam Bede George Eliot probably in November with The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne

[MegHan]

Love seeing everyone's TBRs and enthusiasm for Victober! I'm planning on reading a few books I own and haven't read yet that seem pretty popular on people's lists:

- Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
- East Lynn by Ellen Wood
- The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
- Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

[Sasha]

So exciting! I love looking at other people's lists. I'm also glad I'm finally able to read books that have been in my TBR for a while now. Love when books fit in the prompts perfectly!

1. Read a Victorian sensation novel - Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
2. Read a Victorian book set in the countryside and/or the city - Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
3. Read a Victorian book with a female main character - Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
4. Read a popular Victorian book you haven't yet read - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
5. Read aloud a section of a Victorian work, or have it read aloud to you - The Children of the Forest and/or The Yellow Drawing Room (Scribd audiobooks)

Also planning to read:
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Grey Woman by Elizabeth Gaskell

[Breezy Ann]

I have so many books on my TBR that fit the prompts, so I'm very happy about that!

1. Kate's challenge: Read a Victorian sensation novel - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

2. Katie's challenge: Read a Victorian book set in the countryside and/ or the city: Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

3. Lucy's challenge: Read a Victorian book with a female main character - Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

4. Group challenge: Read a popular Victorian book you haven't read yet: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I can't wait to get started!

[Janelle]

I just finalized my tbr for Victober! I'm so excited!

1. Lucy's Challenge: Female Main Character
- The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins
2. Katie's Challenge: Set in Countryside &/or City
- Old St. Paul's by William Harrison Ainsworth
3. Kate's Challenge: Sensation Novel
- The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins
4. Group Challenge: Popular Victorian Novel
- Old St. Paul's by William Harrison Ainsworth
6. Group Read: Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

Readalong - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

[Lisa Marie]

I am currently planning my readings and I am still debating...here is what I have for now.

Lucy's Challenge: Female Main Character
- Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
2. Katie's Challenge: Set in Countryside &/or City
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
3. Kate's Challenge: Sensation Novel
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (though this is a heavy one and I am unsure if I will make it in one month besides the other readings)
4. Group Challenge: Popular Victorian Novel
- The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
6. Group Read:
Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell


Readalong - The Illustrated Letters of the Brontes by Juliet Gardiner (Let me know if anyone is interested)

[Donna]

Janelle wrote: "Donna wrote: "Hello, everyone. Here are the books I will attempt to read for Victober 2021.

GROUP READ: Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
(Note: I started these last year and did not finish, so ha..."

Good to hear, Janelle. Thanks for letting me know. D

[Donna]

Janelle wrote: "I just finalized my tbr for Victober! I'm so excited!

1. Lucy's Challenge: Female Main Character
- The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins
2. Katie's Challenge: Set in Countryside &/or City
- Old S..."

Nice, Janelle!

[Becky]

Hi, I'm Becky. While I wish I had time for a lengthy TBR, I'm in a busy season of life, so my TBR is pretty minimal this year. The only challenge I am intentionally doing is the group read, though some of my selections will end up fulfilling other challenges:

-- Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
-- Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson (my current favorite Victorian author; ever since reading Kidnapped in 2018 I've tried to read one Stevenson book every Victober)
-- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
-- if time permits, perhaps one more novel TBD

[Theresa]

Becky wrote: "Hi, I'm Becky. While I wish I had time for a lengthy TBR, I'm in a busy season of life, so my TBR is pretty minimal this year. The only challenge I am intentionally doing is the group read, though ..."

I am glad to hear you liked Kidnapped so much because I was thinking of reading it this year if time allows.

[Hannah]

I’m stuck! I can’t decide if I should read Ruth or Slyvias Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell.


I know both can be pretty emotional, so I don’t want to be a wreck after Victober 😂

Which one would be lighter - as I’m reading other classics as well.

[Sheila]

I really enjoyed Kidnapped when I read it last yr. Hard to put it down!

[Meriyou]

After much thinking, I'm back to my original plan of reading Lady Audley's Secret. It could be argued to match several of the challenges, and anyway I've being reserving it for months.
In case I finish it before the month ends, I have The Woman in White, and also Selected Journalism by Oscar Wilde and The Visionary and Other Poems by Emily Brontë in case I feel like reading something different.

[Sheila]

Theresa wrote: "Becky wrote: "Hi, I'm Becky. While I wish I had time for a lengthy TBR, I'm in a busy season of life, so my TBR is pretty minimal this year. The only challenge I am intentionally doing is the group..."

I hope you have time, good luck & have fun! Sheila

[Jennie]

My success rate hasn't been great the last few years, but is that going to stop me from putting together a TBR to meet all the prompts? Of course not. I've been accumulating a lot of Victorian Classics and saving them for Victober, but now I've got a huge number to choose from.

Group Read - picked up a copy of Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell and I'm very excited to read it.

Kate's Challenge - read a sensation novel - Gotta choose Lady Audley's Secret for this one.

Lucy's Challenge - a female main character - Clara Vaughn by R. D. Blackmore caught my interest last year but I didn't get around to it...it still sounds like a great plot to me now

Katie's Challenge - a book set in the city and/or country - I'm picking North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and I'm hoping to find the mini-series to watch afterwards. Is there an adaption that anyone recommends over others or is there only one?

Group Challenge - A Popular victorian classic you haven't read yet - I've wanted to read The Beetle by Richard Marsh since I first read about it. It came out at the same time as Dracula, and initially outsold it, so I think it counts.

I've put a few on hold on audiobook to fulfill the bonus prompt - a couple of short ones

A Laodicean - Thomas Hardy (14 hours)
Mad Monkton - Wilkie Collins (2 hours 40 minutes)
Malachi's Cove - Anthony Trollope (46 minutes)

I'm also hoping to join in on Kate's read along of Wuthering Heights

[Lorri]

Jennie wrote: "My success rate hasn't been great the last few years, but is that going to stop me from putting together a TBR to meet all the prompts? Of course not. I've been accumulating a lot of Victorian Clas..."

Nice TBR. I love the 2004 miniseries starring Richard Armitage. I have not seen the 1975 miniseries starring Patrick Stewart.

[Gia]

I probably won't have time to read all of these in one month, but I'm sure going to give it a try!

1: Sensation novel - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
2: Countryside setting - The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
3: Female Main - Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
4: Popular - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
5: Group - Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

[Janice]

I have chosen: For prompt #1 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
For prompts, #2 and #3 Elizabeth and Her German Garden, and the Enchanted April and I will be reading Elizabeth and Her German Garden
For prompt #4 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
And unfortunately, my library doesn't have the group read.

I am changing my prompt #1 to The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne

[Kathy]

Janice wrote: " and I will be reading Elizabeth and Her German Garden..."
I love von Arnim...that was a lovely book. I have yet to read one that I don't like.