Barnaby Rudge - Chapters 1-5

[Hedi]

Lynnm, I am sorry in case I aimed too far with my guess about the stranger. I think I was coming a little from Valley of Fear, in which the actual dead finally was a different person than the assumed one. Furthermore, the stranger was asking about Ms. Haredale. So his interest automatically made me think of potential relationships to the family.
I am just a little excited about the new read - maybe too much? - as I have mentioned earlier.
So if you prefer not talking about future possible developments/ events, then let me know and I will not post my thoughts about that.

[Lynnm]

Hedi wrote: "Lynnm, I am sorry in case I aimed too far with my guess about the stranger. I think I was coming a little from Valley of Fear, in which the actual dead finally was a different person than the assum..."

Not at all. Somehow I forgot that part of your post, and I was going to say the same thing, but then worried that someone might think that I was giving spoilers. (Which is impossible because this is the first time I've read this particular Dickens novel.)

I'm with Zulfiya and you - speculation makes the discussion fun.

It does make me think that he was part of the murders - and is the missing man - and that Barnaby's mother recognized him.

But we could be wrong! Which is fine - all part of the speculation process. :-)

[Hedi]

Lynnm, I am glad to hear that. I do not know anything about the book either and did not read the introduction deliberately in order to be able to judge the novel from my personal point of view first.
The Haredale murder mystery reminded me of Sherlock Holmes.

[Hedi]

In my edition, I have one appendix that shows running titles from the Charles Dickens Edition of 1867-8.
I am posting them for the first 5 chapters here and continue doing that for the other weeks as well, as they might give us some insight about Dickens's thoughts.

Ch. 1: Maypole Company. Maypole Talk. On such a night as this.
Ch. 2: Rough Riding. Gabriel Varden.
Ch. 3: Joe Willet, the boy. A man lying on the road. Barnaby's foregone conclusion.
Ch. 4: The Locksmith's 'Prentice. About young Mr. Chester. The Green-eyed Monster.
Ch. 5: Who is it?

[Lynnm]

Hedi wrote: "The Haredale murder mystery reminded me of Sherlock Holmes."

It does! Of course, Dickens came before Doyle so we should probably say, Sherlock Holmes stories reminded me of the Haredale murder mystery. ;)

[Lynnm]

Hedi wrote: "In my edition, I have one appendix that shows running titles from the Charles Dickens Edition of 1867-8.
I am posting them for the first 5 chapters here and continue doing that for the other weeks ..."

Those are great! Thanks, Hedi!

I like the first one. "On such a night as this." Kind of like, "it was a dark and stormy night." Which it was in the book. :-)

I'm going to have to look again at Chapter 3. What was Barnaby's foregone conclusion?

[Hedi]

Lynnm wrote: "Hedi wrote: "The Haredale murder mystery reminded me of Sherlock Holmes."

It does! Of course, Dickens came before Doyle so we should probably say, Sherlock Holmes stories reminded me of the Hared..."

You are right, might Conan Doyle have had that in mind?! :-)

[Lynnm]

Doyle never mentions Dickens - he only mentions Poe. But, since I'm not a Doyle scholar, who knows? I'm sure that Doyle was very well read, and therefore, he would have read Dickens.

Once you read something, it becomes a part of you, whether you are aware of it or not. So Doyle definitely might have been influenced by Dickens.

I know Dickens influences my thoughts and my ideas. I love the social justice in his novels, and often times think of his books when I see current issues.

[Hedi]

You are right, consciously or subconsciously they become a part of you. I have that with a lot of books and movies, and even more since I started to participate in these group discussions, as they make you think a little more about the read and repeat certain topics and events, so they get memorized even more. :-)

[Amanda]

Lynnm wrote: "Doyle never mentions Dickens - he only mentions Poe. But, since I'm not a Doyle scholar, who knows? I'm sure that Doyle was very well read, and therefore, he would have read Dickens.

Once you rea..."

I always thought Doyle got his penchant for strange names from Dickens.

Sherlock and Mycroft are obvious examples, but the stories full of others like Jabez Wilson, Langdale Pike and Dr. Grimesby Roylott

[Lynnm]

Good point, Amanda.

Though no one does it quite like Mr. Dickens. He is the master of strange character names. :-)

[Zulfiya]

Lynnm wrote: "Good point, Amanda.

Though no one does it quite like Mr. Dickens. He is the master of strange character names. :-)"

But they usually fit the character, or, let's say, define the character

[Karen]

Hello all. I have read the discussion with interest and am delighted that I have finally caught up with you. I just finshed TOCS two weeks ago and was silently following your discussions, but at least a month behind.
This is definitly a different novel and I find it much more engaging than the previous ones. To be honest, I am not too fond of the goody goody characters who have no apparent flaw and therefore seem unrealistic.
The atmosphere in the opening chapters is indeed foreboding. Many tense and some menacing situations were depicted sofar - the story of the Haredale murders, the discussion in the Maypole, the meeting at the crossroads, the discovery of the injured person, the stranger calling to the house - and all this in five chapters.
I was surprised to see comments - elsewhere, under reviews of the book - that this is the least favorite of Dickens's novels- it is my favorite so far.
Now I had better catch up by the weekend.

[Zulfiya]

Welcome back, Granuaille.

The beginning is indeed very foreboding and definitely atmospheric. I don't think that there is anyone in the group who has read the novel, so it makes it even more interesting to read it together.

[Amanda]

This is definitly a different novel and I find it much more engaging than the previous ones. "

Granuaille, I was also surprised that Barnaby Rudge is Dickens least popular novel. It has only been adapted for TV once in 1960, according to what I could find on IMDB. Perhaps that is because of the religious element of the story.

So far, Barnaby seems much more tightly plotted than the earlier Dickens novels I have read, especially Pickwick and TOCS. Those novels, especially Pickwick, were like a loose collection of stories held together by the same characters.

The earlier novels are very entertaining because Dickens is a master of characterization, but the plots do meander along. Dickens is much more disciplined in Barnaby. Most of the action so far has been centered around the Maypole and the murder mystery.