Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It lay down in a hollow, rich with fine old timber and luxuriant pastures; and you came upon it through an avenue of limes, bordered on either side by meadows, over the high hedges of which the cattle looked inquisitively at you as you passed, wondering, perhaps, what you wanted; for there was no thorough-fare, and unless you were going to the Court you had no business there at all.

-- from Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I

I like that opening sentence because you know there is going to be some kind of English country house involved in the story. Just my cup of tea!

Lady Audley's Secret was published in 1862 and became a Victorian best seller. It is a scandal-filled thriller with plenty of action, featuring a scheming heroine, a murder mystery, and plenty of twists. I understand why it was so popular!

This was the second book I read for Victober, a celebration of Victorian literature that takes place every October on Instagram. 

See the Publisher's Description below for more details.  

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Lady Audley's Secret:

Seated in the embrasure of this window, my lady was separated from Robert Audley by the whole length of the room, and the young man could only catch an occasional glimpse of her fair face, surrounded by its bright aureole of hazy, golden hair. 

Robert Audley had been a week at the Court, but as yet neither he nor my lady had mentioned the name of George Talboys.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Lady Audley's Secret was one of the first and most successful sensation novels of the late 19th century. A young gentleman of leisure, Robert Audley, is spurred into action when his friend George Talboys goes missing from Audley Court. As an amateur detective, Robert travels the length and breadth of the country, only to discover that the answer to the mystery lies in the true identity of his uncle's wife, Lady Audley. True to its genre, the novel brings danger home to the private sphere of the country house and questions the unassailable boundaries of class..

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Where is my head? I sat in front of my computer yesterday afternoon with a To Do list in front of me that included, "Post Book Beginnings." But I walked away and forgot to come back. Too much on my mind, apparently! Some weeks are like that. 

Thank you for joining me for this late edition of Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence or so from the book you are reading this week, or from a book that caught your fancy. 

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

You must go back with me to the autumn of 1827.

My father, as you know, was a sort of gentleman farmer in ——shire; and I, by his express desire, succeeded him in the same quiet occupation, not very willingly, for ambition urged me to higher aims, and self-conceit assured me that, in disregarding its voice, I was burying my talent in the earth, and hiding my light under a bushel.

-- from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. 

I went with two sentences to give the flavor of this Victorian classic. The narrator at the beginning of the book is the male protagonist, Gilbert Markham. The middle part of the book is narrated -- through diaries and letters -- by the heroine, Helen Graham. 

I am reading Tenant for Victober, the bookish tradition of reading Victorian books in October. This one is very good, with all then melodrama I love in a Victorian novel. It is considered one of the first feminist novels because Helen flees her bad husband and sets up house for herself as a single mother and artist, making a living by selling her paintings. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. And please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you share on social media. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice is taking a break from her weekly blog event, The Friday 56, a natural tie in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your book, or 56% of the way through an e-book or audiobook. Many people are still posting Friday 56 teasers, even while Freda takes a break, and I will do the same. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if there currently is no place to link your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Tenant of Wildfell Hall:

“I should be proud to do it, Helen!—most happy—delighted beyond expression!—and if that be all the obstacle to our union, it is demolished, and you must—you shall be mine!”

And starting from my seat in a frenzy of ardour, I seized her hand and would have pressed it to my lips, but she as suddenly caught it away, exclaiming in the bitterness of intense affliction,—“No, no, it is not all!”

See what I mean about melodrama!

Victober is here!

 

VICTOBER IS HERE!

One of my favorite things about the bookstagram corner if Instagram is that it introduced me to the idea of reading Victorian literature in October. What a cozy delight! Now I look forward to this tradition all year. It is a fun way to remember to read more classic books and it kicks off the holiday season for me. 

The picture above is a messy pile of Victorian-era books, mostly novels and one small book of nonfiction – Thomas Carlyle’s Essay on Burns. That one is also the only one of this bunch I haven’t read yet. Can you spot the anomaly in the picture? Leave a comment with your answer.

Do you participate in Victober? You can join in whether you are on Instagram or not. (If you are, please find me @gilioncdumas so we can connect.) If you are a fellow bookstagrammer, there are official Victober hosts and prompts for book ideas. But you can take part on any platform, simply by reading a Victorian-era book in October. Even better if you use the #victober hashtag. 

NOTE: The "Victorian era" is the span of years that Queen Victoria ruled England. She came to the throne in 1837 and died in 1901. Victorian literature is considered to be books by British authors published during her reign. Arguably, authors from other countries wrote in what could be thought of as a "Victorian style" during those years. For example, American authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne published his first collection of short stories in 1937 and died in 1864. French author Alexandre Dumas published most of his books, including The Three Musketeers, during Victoria's reign. Both these authors wrote books similar in style to Charles Dickens or Robert Louis Stevenson, luminaries of the Victorian era. But officially, Victorian literature is limited to authors under Victoria's reign. 

MY VICTOBER BOOKS

This year will be the fifth year I've participated in Victober. My main book will be The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte. I already finished a short novella to kick off the Victober season. Here's my Victober list:

2023

Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Maugham (1897)

2022

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)


2021

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (1860)

2020

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1853)
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (1841)

2019

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (1878)

October Wrap Up -- My October Books

OCTOBER WRAP UP

Better late than never! Here’s my October wrap up. October is a particularly fun reading month ever since I discovered Victober on Instagram a few years back. Victober is when people read Victorian literature in October. Victorian novels seem well-suited to chilly, blustery October days.

I read a couple of other chunksters in addition to the two Victorian doorstops I read for Victober, so only got through eight books last month. They are listed below in the order I read them, not as they are stacked up in the picture.

MY OCTOBER BOOKS

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins was one of my Victober reads. I loved this Victorian adventure story! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates has been on my TBR shelf for a long time. I loved it all the more for reading while in upstate New York last month. Those granite hills and small towns with their mix of rural Yankee charm and diminished rust belt prosperity could be right from the pages of Oates’s 1996 novel. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

May We be Forgiven by A. M. Holmes knocked it out of the park for me. This was definitely my October standout. I read it because it won the Women's Prize and had no idea what to expect – certainly not the wild, hilarious, audacious gallop it took me on. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Theban Mysteries is a “Silver Age” (1960-1989) vintage mystery featuring English literature professor Kate Fansler. I’m a fan of the series. 🌹🌹🌹1/2

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle was excellent. I highly recommend it. It will make you put down your phone and start talking to everyone, including yourself, especially the children in your life, and even the grocery clerk.  🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot was my other Victober read. I loved it when I wasn’t rolling my eyes. The main plot of Maggie and her love triangle (quadrangle?) was tedious, but the "filler" was thoroughly entertaining. Then the ending all but ruined it for me. It's like Eliot got as got tired as the rest of us with all the hand wringing but had no idea what to do with Maggie so took the Victorian way out. Good grief!  🌹🌹🌹🌹

BUtterfield 8 by John O’Hara, which I read with my ears so isn't in the picture. The U is capitalized because it is an old phone number. BUtterfield 8 was a bestseller when first published in 1935. I can see why! It's all sex, scandal, and day drinking. Again with the melodramatic ending!  🌹🌹🌹🌹

Building Beauty: The Alchemy of Design by Michael S. Smith is a gorgeous coffee table book from Rizzoli Books. I got when I heard Smith talk a couple of years back.  🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Now it’s on to Nonfiction November! Do you plan to read nonfiction books this month? I made it a goal to clear some space on my nonfiction TBR shelves this year, so have been reading more nonfiction than I usually do in 2021. I'll continue to read nonfiction in November, but no more than I have been.

MY FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH

 

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

I'm continuing my celebration of Victober with another Victorian novel, The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. 

What are you reading this week? Please share the first sentence (or so) here on Book Beginnings on Fridays. Add the link to your post in the linky box below. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide, rushing to meet it, checks its passage with an impetuous embrace.

-- The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. This one has been on my TBR shelf for a long time. Published in 1860, it is the story of Maggie Tulliver, her family struggles, romantic loves, and adoration of her brother. It is Eliot's most autobiographical novel. 

I finished The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins last week and loved it. The Moonstone was on my Classics Club list, so I'm making progress. The Mill on the Floss is definitely a classic, but not onw on my personal list of 50 classics to read in five years, which is what the Classics Club is all about. Are you a Classics Club participant? Join in if it sounds like fun!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your post below and use the #bookbeginnings hashtag if you share on social media!

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Mill on the Floss:

Tom was to arrive early in the afternoon, and there was another fluttering heart besides Maggie’s when it was late enough for the sound of the gig-wheels to be expected; for if Mrs. Tulliver had a strong feeling, it was fondness for her boy. At last the sound came—that quick light bowling of the gig-wheels—and in spite of the wind, which was blowing the clouds about, and was not likely to respect Mrs. Tulliver’s curls and cap-strings, she came outside the door, and even held her hand on Maggie’s offending head, forgetting all the griefs of the morning.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Happy Victober! 

One of my favorite things about Instagram is Victober, the annual bookstagrammer tradition of reading Victorian literature in the month of October. I look forward to it all year. There is something so cozy about reading Victorian novels in the fall.

Do you participate in Victober? What books are you reading this year? I'm reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and maybe one other one if I get the time. 

I plan to share some of the opening sentences here on Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading (or just want to highlight). Add the link to your Book Beginning post in the linky box below.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

I address these lines—written in India—to my relatives in England.

My object is to explain the motive which has induced me to refuse the right hand of friendship to my cousin, John Herncastle.

-- The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

The Moonstone was published in 1868 and is considered the first (probably) detective story. It is the mystery of the theft of a yellow diamond the size of a plover egg. How big is a plover egg? I don't know. I don't even know how big a full grown plover is. But it's fun to say plover a lot.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add your link below. Please use the #booksbeginnigns hashtag if you post on social media.

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Moonstone:

The Diamond takes us back to Mr. Franklin, who was the innocent means of bringing that unlucky jewel into the house.

Our nice boy didn’t forget us after he went abroad.

The Moonstone is an excellent book. It's a rollicking adventure with lots of funny bits and a pretty good mystery. I'm close to the end and still don't know who took the diamond. 

The Moonstone is one of the 50 books on my Classics Club list. 

The Old Curiosity Shop on BOOK BEGINNINGS for Victober

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Time to get cozy with a Victorian novel! I’ve been looking forward to Victober since last October! Who else? 

Until I got into bookstagram more, I didn't know Victober was a thing, but it makes so much sense. The idea is to read books in October written during the Victorian Period (Queen Victoria reigned from June 1837 to January 1901). Chilly, windy, rainy, spooky October is the perfect time to switch from summery beach reads to hefty, moody melodramas. And nobody did hefty, moody melodramas better than the Victorians! 

If you need inspiration, the Daily Telegraph's 1899 List of “100 Best Novels in the World” (that’s right, from 1899) has plenty. The list is not limited to the Victorian era, or even to the 19th Century. But you will find lots of Victorian books on it. 

Are you participating in Victober this year? What are you reading? I’m reading The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. If I finish, I hope also to read Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Please share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading or featuring this week. Add a link to your post below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnigns hashtag so we can find each other. 

If you don't have a blog, feel free to play along by leaving a comment with the opening sentence from you book, along with the title and author. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Night is generally my time for walking.

That's a pretty short opening sentence for a book that's over 600 pages long! 

The Old Curiosity Shop is one of the 50 classic books I picked for my Classic Club list. Anyone can join the Classics Club and pick 50 classic books to read over the next five years.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

Near the door sat Miss Sophy, still fluttered and confused by the attentions of Mr. Cheggs, and by her side Richard Swiveller lingered for a moment to exchange a few parting words.

"My boat is on the shore and my bark is on the sea, but before I pass this door I will say farewell to thee," murmured Dick, looking gloomily up on her.

That's more Dickensonian! I'm halfway through and find the main story of Little Nell and her grandfather tedious. But the side characters like Dick Swiveller, whether villains or angels, make it worthwhile.