VICTOBER - My 5 Favourite Victorian Authors

Let's talk Victober!

[bookishbianca]

this is the first of your videos ive ever seen! this was so fascinating to see which books stuck with you through different stages of life. I just finished Tess of the durbervilles a few hours ago and am so obsessed, so ive been searching for peoples favorite victorian novels online tonight. I wonder if Tess will hold up for me over the years or sort of fizzle out like it did for you. ive been intrigued by George Eliot for a couple years but got scared off when I tried to read middlemarch. it was so long and intimidating and I don't think I gave myself enough time to get used to the long sentence structure. now that ive a read a little more victorian lit I am excited to go back to her books. this has also inspired me to look into Gaskell. so excited!

[PoiemaLee]

Victorian authors on Twitter, what a hilarious thought!

[ClaireReadsBooks]

I’m in the middle of reading Middlemarch right now, and I’m loving it - you’re so right that immersing yourself in a long Victorian novel is a great test for the millennial attention span, but I’m also shocked at how relatable I’m finding this book (as a millennial!) - who knew it was all about confused twenty-somethings just trying to figure out wtf to do with their lives?! Great video 😄

[okayokayval]

Omg. You have a PEL edition of Return of the Native. Hold onto it, girl, that thing is worth at least $200 to some people!
Haha, the South Park parody episode of Great Expectations. I read GE in grade 12 and I found the story strangely familiar and it took me a while to figure it out. Surprisingly informative!

[tanyawillisanderson]

I want to read THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE - the story sounds really intriguing.

[andreeadraginov]

Great video :) Hardy is one of my favourites too. So far I've gravitated towards his darker novels (and really enjoyed them), but now that I've seen this I'm excited to read The Mayor of Casterbridge. The premise sounds really intriguing. Also, totally agree, Villette is amazing and Charlotte at her best in my opinion. Not just that the writing is fantastic but the way in which she's able to convey loneliness, unrequited feelings, loss, desperation, is unlike anything I've read.

[OldBluesChapterandVerse]

Have you seen Michael Winterbottom’s adaptations of Hardy novels? He’s done three. Jude is one of my favorite films ever. The Claim — based on The Mayor of Casterbridge — is fabulous, too.

[KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

Recluse for life!!! I need to read some Hardy, Jude the obscure sounds amazing. Wuthering Heights > Jane Eyre! Anne Bronte is seriously underrated. I adore Middlemarch, I need to reread it sometime.

[Robbieleecats]

I’ve only read Tess by Hardy, and I felt so bad for Tess and everything she went through. I’ve wanted to read more but have wondered if they are all quite so dark. I can handle dark, but I wasn’t prepared for it. The same thing happened to me with Adam Bede by Eliot. It’s good but dark. I did enjoy Middlemarch. When it comes to Dickens, I’ve only read A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. I really liked Joe too. Poor man always got beat down by those who were supposed to care for him.

[tortoisedreams]

This was awesome. Have read some of all except Eliot, but you've given me the energy to get back into Victoriana. Agnes Grey is my least favorite Bronte book, but I know some love it. I love your Frankenbook! Wut?! I've seen some odd publishing errors, but that is crazy!

[Memento]

Why do so many booktubers talk about victorian literature without even mentioning that the writing is fucking beautiful?! They discuss the plot, the themes, dude am I crazy here? Almost every page of almost all victorian literature is half poetry. Its miles from modern writing style, especially the Brontes imo. At least mention that as a plus to victorian literature ffs.

[crbranca]

Thomas Hardy is my favorite victorian writer too. I love gothic novels so i recommend you Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone and The Lady in White are both fantastic. Good video!

[goddessdster]

Elizabeth Gaskell! North and South, Wives and Daughters, Cranford! Go, go go!

[LauraFreyReadinginBed]

I reread The Mayor of Casterbridge for Victober! Read 15+ years ago, I forgot everything except the opening scene. I loved it!! Why is it your fav?

I'm Team Emily too, since 1997 lol. Omg I should do a re-read for the 20th anniversary of me reading WH ...

[Fortheloveofclassics]

I haven't read any later works of Thomas Hardy. I have read The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge and really enjoyed them both.

I love Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte and Middlemarch by George Eliot. They are both such amazing books.

[rachelport]

I think you'll like Shirley. It's hilarious that your copy of Middlemarch is a hybrid. I'm trying to picture Anna replacing Dorothea - hmm ... Middlemarch is one of my favorite books, and one I go back to regularly. I went through high school and college avoiding classes where I would have to read Silas Marner and Moby Dick, and they are two of the first books I read when I was out of school. Middlemarch was my second George Eliot. I like Daniel Deronda and Felix Holt, the Radical better than The Mill on the Floss. I just finished reading My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead, and all Middlemarch fans should read it. Have fun.

[jeffreykaufmann]

Great Expectations is one of my favorite Dickens novel.But you should read the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.Its plot structure was revolutionary in its time.A real page turner that will keep you up after midnight.

[Robert.Sheard]

Victorian literature — the anti-millennial experience ... ❤️ I’m reading Dracula now, but I’m all about some Hardy.

[readacorn]

I'd love to own your copy of Middlemarch :-) <3

[RachelMauro]

I read SHIRLEY earlier this year, and it's so very different than JANE EYRE and VILLETTE. It's much more realist in tackling tangible history and social and political issues. I was also fascinated to read, later, how it was influenced by Emily's death. I think I prefer Charlotte's gothic moodiness (I still love JANE EYRE, even though Rochester increasingly annoys me), but I'm impressed by how she tried something new.