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Agnes Grey was received as “more acceptable but less powerful” than her sisters‘ novels at the time of its release. I can certainly see how it was less explicitly offensive to the sensibilities of the middle class, but if you read between the lines, it‘s pretty scathing. The moral of the story is that the rich treat their hired help poorly at their own peril. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/agnes-grey-anne-bronte/

I loved this one the first time I read it, enough to buy a new edition because the one that I had was very ugly. First time I got really invested and it did take me into a rabbit hole of darkness.

Although I found interesting the reread now that I know it's largely based on Charlotte Brönte's experiences and it has beautifully written chapters,I did struggle a bit with all the comments and thoughts about Protestantism and the English chauvinism⬇️

4⭐️ In this book, Zola chose the themes of poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence. Zola being Zola, he didn‘t hold back 😭 My heart broke for Gervaise Macquart 💔 and she‘s been haunting me. I can‘t stop thinking about her.

I started this book last year but I stopped halfway. I picked it up again recently and I have about 80 pages left. It‘s sooooo sad 😭 I will forever remember Gervaise Macquart 😢

4⭐️ Yay, I finished the book! It took me slightly more than 2 weeks, eventhough the Librivox audio is just around 40 hours 🙊 I wouldn‘t survive this without the audio, really. Story-wise, I was more invested at the start than at the end. I don‘t know, I guess I was expecting more fireworks. I still prefer David Copperfield to this.

Highly-strung, very silly, very cringy. Possibly the first example of (non-explicit) slash “erotica“ written by a virgin young woman with access to a stash of “forbidden books“, but definitely not the last 😂
The politics are muddled but interesting. There is a lot of internalised classism and sexism, as should be expected in a 1884 book.

I'll read a more mature work from this author before passing judgment on her.

Yes, I'm reading random Georgian satirical pamphlets. I'm actually trying to trace a long chain of anonymous plagiarism, after a snide remark in Derenzy's Enchiridion about a cravat pamphlet. This one came much later, and is stolen from a French satirist. But that's okay, because I think he stole it from an Englishman before him. Anyway, it's all very silly and yet still has real and interesting insight into 1820s men's fashion.

Breakfast outside, enjoying the warmer weather. The book started almost Austen like but soon turned darker. 20 p left and I am not sure if it will ended up positively or not.

A young heiress plays gender-bending domination games in life and in bed with a young working-class man, who's trapped and unwilling. I can see how revolutionary and subversive this is for a 1884 novel written by a then 24-year old female writer, but it is a bit of a slog for me: decadent, fin-de-siècle works aren't my cup of tea. I can see that it would appeal to others, as it did to Oscar Wilde, who made a hidden reference to it in Dorian Gray.