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2022 Buddy Read: Scottish Authors
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Tr1sha
(last edited Feb 22, 2022 02:18PM)
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Feb 22, 2022 02:17PM
John, sadly I have to admit you are not the only one old enough to remember Dr Finlay’s Casebook on tv! I also remember reading Cronin’s books, many years ago.
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Yes saw some of the original series which certainly says something about my age. Just noticed when I looked it up that David Rintoul played Dr Finley in the remake in the 90s. Definitely my favourite audio book narrator, most recently for Waverley.
Rintoul is my favorite Darcy in the 1980 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. I have to find some audio books where he's the narrator.
Brian wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Two books I ordered from Amazon finally came today and one of them is Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant. I’ve started reading it, and the main character is a hoot!"That's a f..."
Brian, I'm still interested in reading Miss Buncle. I don't know how long it's going to take me to read Miss Marjoribanks since it's rather large, but I'll let you know.
I do remember Miss Marjoribanks being long but it didn't feel that long. I'll be available to talk about Miss Buncle when you're done. I'll take Prevagen so I can better remember the plot. I did start Miss Buncle and I am very much enjoying its set-up.
Sorry, Brian, I don’t read as fast as you all do. And besides the buddy reads we’re doing here, I really want to read the hefty classic Consuelo starting in April.
I'm thinking of reading The Happier Life by Douglas Dunn as my poetry book choice for March, if anybody is interested in reading along?Alternatively, if anyone has another Scottish poet they want to read in March, I'd be happy to look at that.
I had to look up Douglas Dunn and read the few poems available on internet sites. His books are not in my library and a bit expensive for me at the moment. Thank you John for alerting me to this poet and short story writer and I'm sure much else. I really loved a poem about dementia and memory and also a couple he wrote after his wife's death.
How many other authors. Scottish or otherwise, are there to get to know and read.
Penelope wrote: "I had to look up Douglas Dunn and read the few poems available on internet sites. His books are not in my library and a bit expensive for me at the moment. Thank you John for alerting me to this p..."
Thanks Penelope, I totally understand - only his first two books come within our date range, and neither are particularly cheap or readily available (I was incredibly lucky to get my copy of The Happier Life for 24p 10 years ago!
Its a great pity that his prize-winning book Elegies, written following the death of his wife, isn't in our date range - its excellent, and incredibly touching.
He is retired, but remains an Honorary Professor at St Andrews University - the town of St Andrews holds an annual poetry festival - with the wonderful name of StAnza.
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It's down to earth, set in Aberdeenshire, and so far an enjoyable and relaxing read.
For everyone who we hope will join us in Tracey and Penelope's buddy read of The Antiquary - "'It was early in a fine summer's day, near the end of the eighteenth century, when a young man, of genteel appearance, having occasion to go towards the north-east of Scotland, provided himself with a ticket in one of those public carriages which travel between Edinburgh and the Queensferry...'
So begins Scott's personal favourite among his novels, in characteristically wry and urbane style, as a mysterious young man calling himself 'Lovel' travels idly but fatefully toward the Scottish seaside town of Fairport. Here he is befriended by the antiquary Jonathan Oldbuck, who has taken refuge from his own personal disappointments in the obsessive study of miscellaneous history. Their slow unravelling of Lovel's true identity will unearth and redeem the secrets and lies which have devastated the guilt-haunted Earl of Glenallan, and will reinstate the tottering fortunes of Sir Arthur Wardour and his daughter Isabella.
First published in 1816 in the aftermath of Waterloo, The Antiquary is the third of the Waverley novels, and deals with the problem of how to understand the past so as to enable the future. Set in the tense times of the wars with revolutionary France, it displays Scott's matchless skill at painting the social panorama and in creating vivid characters, from the earthy beggar Edie Ochiltree to the loquacious and shrewdly humorous Antiquary himself, an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity.
The Antiquary is one of Scott’s most critically well-regarded works; H. J. C. Grierson, for example, wrote that "Not many, apart from Shakespeare, could write scenes in which truth and poetry, realism and romance, are more wonderfully presented."
Scott wrote in an advertisement to the novel that his purpose in writing it, similar to that of his novels Waverley and Guy Mannering, was to document Scottish life of a certain period, in this case the last decade of the 18th century. The action can be located in July and August 1794. It is, in short, a novel of manners, and its theme is the influence of the past on the present. In tone it is predominantly comic, though the humour is offset with episodes of melodrama and pathos."
Good intro, John. Looking forward to my first Scott novel.
Kathy wrote: "Good intro, John. Looking forward to my first Scott novel."Thanks Kathy, it was a combination of Goodreads, Amazon, and Wiki!
I'm looking forward to this one too, and looking forward to everyone's reaction. It seems that Scott has drifted out of fashion, which is a great shame.
This first sentence is the best. Thanks John. I am starting today as its the 1st March here and as we are surrounded by floodwaters, although not flooded, it will be a good distraction.
Penelope wrote: "This first sentence is the best. Thanks John. I am starting today as its the 1st March here and as we are surrounded by floodwaters, although not flooded, it will be a good distraction."I saw the Australian flooding on the news - I hope you remain safe Penelope, and don't get flooded.
I hope to start in the next day or two as soon as I finish The Sheep Look Up. I must admit, that first sentence appealed to me too.
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Penelope wrote: "This first sentence is the best. Thanks John. I am starting today as its the 1st March here and as we are surrounded by floodwaters, although not flooded, it will be a good distraction."Stay safe, Penelope.
I finished reading Ivanhoe today. It was the first book I’ve read by Scott. I wish I had waited to read The Antiquary instead, as John’s introduction makes it look much more interesting.
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Rosemarie wrote: "My favourite character in Ivanhoe wasn't Ivanhoe, who was a disappointment as a main character."Rosemarie, the whole book was a disappointment to me. I expected lots of action & found instead some wonderful descriptions but hardly anything happened except boring conversations. Ivanhoe was missing from most of the book - far from being the main character, I felt it would have made little difference if he hadn’t been in the book at all! It became an endurance test to get to the end of it.
The Antiquary looks much better, but after Ivanhoe I’m not sure I want to risk wasting time on anything else by the same author - perhaps I just don’t relate to his books.
I loved Ivanhoe so much when I was on a Walter Scott kick 20+ years ago. I found it hilarious with the presence of the jester. I’m looking forward to The Antiquary which is one I haven’t read.
I'm like Melanie - I loved Ivanhoe and have read it at least twice - but suspect I might have been in love with the two main female characters!Scott does seem to follow a pattern of his "name" character not featuring too heavily - I don't remember Rob Roy featuring that heavily in that book, and I suspect it might be the same with the Antiquary.
John wrote: "I'm like Melanie - I loved Ivanhoe and have read it at least twice - but suspect I might have been in love with the two main female characters!Scott does seem to follow a pattern of his "name" ch..."
I know this isn't exactly related by when I was reading Sybil, or the Two Nations, there is an Antiquary. He kinda determined who was going to have peerage and who would just be a commoner. He would look at your ancestors (or invent some if the price was right, or so it seemed to me). So this kinda was what made me interested in the book.
I have been listening to Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft just to put me to sleep...but surprisingly it has been rather interesting.
Melanie wrote: "I loved Ivanhoe so much when I was on a Walter Scott kick 20+ years ago. I found it hilarious with the presence of the jester. I’m looking forward to The Antiquary which is one I haven’t read."Melanie, the jester was my favourite character. Without him I’m sure I would have given up long before reaching the end of the book. You raised an interesting point about being “on a Walter Scott kick”. Perhaps reading more of the books close together helps to get into his style & appreciate it more.
John wrote: "I'm like Melanie - I loved Ivanhoe and have read it at least twice - but suspect I might have been in love with the two main female characters!Scott does seem to follow a pattern of his "name" ch..."
So that’s where I went wrong, John - I wasn’t in love with any of the characters! You made an interesting point about his name characters, as one of the things that I found frustrating about the book was the almost endless waiting to learn more about Ivanhoe. I wish I had known that before starting, though it seems strange. Imagine if the authors had omitted Jane Eyre, David Copperfield & many others from the books!
I must admit that after all this time the only character I remember is the jester. I think I need to reread Ivanhoe.
Brian, I decided to start reading Miss Buncle and will continue to dip into the Oliphant book. I have some vacation coming up and I plan to get a lot of reading done. Have you finished the book?
Melanie wrote: "Brian, I decided to start reading Miss Buncle and will continue to dip into the Oliphant book. I have some vacation coming up and I plan to get a lot of reading done. Have you finished the book?"Yes I did. I'll post my review later after you've had a chance to get into the story. I will say that it was a fairly easy and enjoyable read and provided a great alternative to the Eisenhower bio and 2 Victorian novels i was also reading during that time.
Finished re-reading The Happier Life, the second book of poetry from Douglas Dunn.Not as good as his debut, but good enough to prove that debut wasn't a fluke, and to help establish Dunn's distinctive style and voice.
Some group members were reading Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon - although I think there were mixed feelings about it.Would anyone be interested in a buddy read later in the year of the second and third parts of the trilogy - Cloud Howe and Grey Granite?
I’d be interested. I ended up loving Sunset Song.
John wrote: "For everyone who we hope will join us in Tracey and Penelope's buddy read of The Antiquary - "'It was early in a fine summer's day, near the end of the eighteenth century, when a youn..."
Have you created a group for this book yet?
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Does that make sense?
Rosemarie wrote: "My favourite character in Ivanhoe wasn't Ivanhoe, who was a disappointment as a main character."A number of the heroes in Scott's books are from the same mould - amiable and insipid.
I've made a start on The Antiquary, and I'm enjoying it so far, and it has more humour than I'd expected. However, it does take a wee while to get used to Scott's style and language.
I have just finished a short collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. I enjoyed it but preferred A Child's Garden of Verses
John wrote: "I've made a start on The Antiquary, and I'm enjoying it so far, and it has more humour than I'd expected. However, it does take a wee while to get used to Scott's style and language."I will start reading this today. Thanks for setting this up.
Tracey wrote: "I have just finished a short collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. I enjoyed it but preferred A Child's Garden of Verses"Tracey, I was thinking about reading A Child's Garden of Verses, so thanks for the recommendation!
I bought a book called Scottish Poems in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets edition, the same as my Burns collection. The cover is gorgeous. I thought it would give me a good taste of Scottish poets and the poems are grouped thematically. I didn't know James VI was a poet.
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Melanie wrote: "Tracey wrote: "I have just finished a short collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. I enjoyed it but preferred A Child's Garden of Verses"Tracey, I was thinking about reading ..."
I think you will enjoy it. The poems are very sweet.
Great to see so much "old" Scottish poetry being read. I must look at the Stevenson books - I tend to forget about his poetry, thinking of him as a novelist and an essayist.
These two weren't included in my Scottish Poems anthology, but I'm interested in reading the poetry of William Edmounstone Aytoun and George Gordon, Lord Byron.
I should have used his initials - it's Edmondstoune of course.
Rosemarie wrote: "We'll be discussing The Antiquary in this thread, Cosmic, since the topic deals with Scottish authors, but we'll discuss different books in different months.Does that make sense?"
Yes thank you!
Melanie wrote: "I should have used his initials - it's Edmondstoune of course."I didn't notice - as I'd never heard of him! But thanks to you Melanie I've now downloaded from Amazon a free copy of Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems.
Byron.....I'm not so sure of; he's another poet who was ruined for me by school. (But that was so long ago, I really need to stop using it as an excuse!)
Kathy wrote: "I’d be interested. I ended up loving Sunset Song."It looks like its just you and I, Kathy. I'm happy to fit in with any preference you have for when we read the next two volumes.
Kathy wrote: "John, how about April or June for Cloud Howe, The Second Book of A Scots Quair?"April would be good for me Kathy - it looks like there are some hefty reads in June!
Never too Late to Read Classics
Books mentioned in this topic
A Far Cry from Kensington (other topics)The Citadel (other topics)
Sunset Song (other topics)
A Far Cry from Kensington (other topics)
Miss Buncle Married (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Muriel Spark (other topics)A.J. Cronin (other topics)
Muriel Spark (other topics)
George MacDonald (other topics)
Margot Bennett (other topics)
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