Oliphant to Stevenson | A Guide to Victorian Authors

In which I tell you about some wonderful Victorian authors . . .

*Authors Mentioned*

Recommended by @katehowereads

Recommended by @elizabethaliteraryprincess



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[HaphazardHomestead]

Your discussion of Ruskin was something else! Some past writing is sure infuriating, but worth reading or knowing about. I have only heard of 2 of the authors in this video: GB Shaw and RL Stevenson. And I've heard of Black Beauty. I have a copy of that, so I'll be reading it for sure. So many authors! This is a great video series! and I have a long way to go in reading!

[susprime]

I enjoyed the short story/novella The Rector by Margaret Oliphant. Sounds like the Joyce Carol Oates of her day, with cranking them out. I enjoyed The Railway Children too.😊

[GenWivern]

For anyone interested in social history, disability and gender (Katie), with a damning sidelight on George du Maurier and the odious Ruskin, I heartily recommend a four-minute video by the excellent Chris Pig entitled "Victorian Misogyny". Easy to find and well worth your time. Also, The Black Arrow is an absolute hoot. And finally, an adaptation of Our Mutual Friend begins tomorrow (3rd November) on BBC Radio 4 at 3pm.

[PatJohnson-jw]

Another wonderful video. I have read some Oliphant and want to read more. I really liked her novel Kirsteen which is about a Scottish woman who leaves home when her father wants her to marry someone she despises. She goes tio London and becomes a dressmaker.

[tommytraddles]

Another great video thanks Katie. Sounds like tomorrow’s will be fantastic, no problem if it’s lengthy!

[sdgqjrm]

Thank you again! I shouldn't watch because my TBR grows each time😮 I totally agree with you about Ruskin. A friend once thought Sesame and Lilies was satirical! 😂 Yet regrettably, some would applaud this essay today.

[kathleencraine]

I enjoyed Kidnapped much more than Treasure Island, both of which I read as an adult. Kidnapped is full of Scottish history and lore which are weaved into an adventure story. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes is a funny travel memoir that I read this Victober. And A Child's Garden of Verses always reminds me of being read to as a child.

[Lokster]

Another excellent video with lots of interesting recommendations. I've enjoyed you reaching beyond the usual suspects in your lists.

[novellenovels]

I loved black beauty sooo much. Just read mrs warrens profession and enjoyed it

[elizabethaliteraryprincess]

Thank you so much for the shoutout! ❤❤

[BooksandRadioPlays]

I have read George Bernard Shaw, ( I acted in Pygmalion, ) I do like his work, I have read about him. There is an interesting story about Vivien Leigh playing Cleopatra in both Shaw's and Shakespeare's plays, she went to meet him and it all went well but when he found out during the conversation who was playing opposite her, he wanted to change the speech describing him, Vivien told him; don't worry she can make it work. HIs answer was; "My dear, if I change my play it is only for the better." I don't know why, because it sounds snobby but I had to laugh at it for some reason, I think because Vivien found it so amusing and acted it out when she told the story to her husband. I have read Robert Louis Stevenson, I did like Treasure Island very much but I was 13 when I read it so I am not sure how I would feel about it now. I also read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I was surprised by how different it was from the movie I saw with Spencer Tracy. The reason I read it is because I produced an audio play of a re-work, (very respectfully, ) of the play. It was a very popular broadcast.

[amyschmelzer]

Thank you for these lists. I am gathering ideas for authors to look for over the next year to read next Victober. I hope to find some of them used.

[theresas]

I am the opposite of you with R. L. Stevenson. 😄Thank you for all the work you did on these video's.

[kevinrussell-jpom]

I've seen or read about Shaw and Ruskin (although I've never read them), and I know the works of RLS well, but it's learning about all the others (many I didn't even know existed) that amazes me. Thank you again for providing this dive into the most fascinating, energetic, and dynamic century of English literature (even more so than the age of Shakespeare). Makes me feel positively lazy and ineffective.

I've come to think that Stevenson is one of the least appreciated/most undervalued of UK writers. Treasure Island is not really a children's book, but a serious adventure story for (mostly male) grown up children. His sense of pace, economy of description, vocabulary, and story plotting are not for children at all. It is true (even in Kidnapped and Catriona) that his female characters are either weak or mysterious (or absent), but he was an odd man. His interests were wide. His poetry and travel writing (Travels with a Donkey, Silverado Squatters, Across the Plains) are also surprisingly mature and good. The Black Arrow is good. The SCODJAMH IS weird, and much of his later fiction is unsettling. He crammed a lot of living into 44 years, usually beset by illness.

[AbiofPellinor]

I really need to read Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde because I didn't have a great time with it on my first read through haha

[carolineharnish]

My daughters & I really enjoyed Rossetti's poem" No thank you John"; we read it together, & laughed

[clarepotter]

The BBC did a series of Shaw plays (the way they did Shakespeare's). "Androcles and the Lion' stars Billy Connelly. I rented the collection some time ago. I love Christina Rossetti.

[janetsmith]

Imagine thinking hard independent work leading to success is a bad idea, or that character, thrift and duty (as well as self-help) deserve only dismissive, sardonic smiles. Horrible views and horrible thoughts?? Very concerning.