pick(1862) It's a Victorian sensation novel about a young gentleman who returns from the Australian gold fields having struck it rich, only to find on his return that his wife has died. Except the stories about her death don't add up, and there's something suspicious about his friend's new stepmother... There are several interesting things going on here but its heart is a sensation novel, and as such it delivers.
Old books at the Octagon House, Michigan.
pickThis was the Victober group read for this year, which I finished this week and really liked! I will definitely read more Oliphant, maybe even this month to fit some other prompts ...
so-soMy expression when the author describes her experiences in the introduction. Girl, what?
Interesting read because I love the period but blergh, she can be quite tone deaf about what constitutes actual harm and what‘s just uncomfortable. Get a grip, madame.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was exactly what I was looking for right now.
Full up of so much yearning & tension, most memorably as they were typesetting (not a euphemism), I was swooning at my desk.
Some spice, a supportive family, women pushing beyond their small boxes…what more could you need?
We just got home from a five-week road trip in our trailer—our first long trip! Of course, bookstores had to be visited along the way! This is my multi-state haul. It includes books from Vroman‘s in Pasadena, CA, The Last Bookstore in Burbank, CA, Powell‘s in Portland, OR (of course!!), the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene, OR, and one from Bend but I forgot the name of the store. 😬 I think I showed remarkable restraint for that many stores! 😂
pickDrop whatever Victorian novel you‘re reading & go get a copy of this one. I‘m one of the many boffins in love with Lydia Gwilt & I don‘t care who knows it. Also, I know which Allan Armadale I prefer— I‘d kill the other for whistling, other offenses aside.
It‘s also nice to see some representation in a nineteenth century novel— there are many more affluent people of color in the landscape of Europe than a whitewashed history would have us believe.
pickI‘m not embarrassed to say I‘m more enchanted with Lydia Gwilt than the dunderhead Miss Milroy. Give me Ozias Midwinter over every Allan Armadale, too.
Reading this in the park with the whole family was a perfect #hyggehour experience ❤️ I can‘t wait to go back & do it again next week!
Ruth Hilton is an orphaned young seamstress who catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham-captivated by her simplicity and beauty.
Ruth is about a fallen woman. Seduced and abandoned…
