Udolpho

[Jon_B]

Man I've had Mysteries of Udolpho sitting on my desk since I first heard this group was going to do it and I still haven't had time to even open it!  Luckily I actually have a bit of free time this weekend so I'm really looking forward to joining in next week.  This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time and just never got around to it

[Everyman]

It's one of those iconic books in English literature that we see referred to frequently but don't happen to get around to reading. So I, too, and really pleased that we have this impetus to actually get to it. 

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Jon_B wrote:
Man I've had Mysteries of Udolpho sitting on my desk since I first heard this group was going to do it and I still haven't had time to even open it!  Luckily I actually have a bit of free time this weekend so I'm really looking forward to joining in next week.  This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time and just never got around to it

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[Choisya]

Udolpho was mentioned several times when we were discussing other Gothic novels here Jon - Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey and Rebecca - so I decided to make it my nomination for this month.  It is worth reading just for the scenic descriptions - do they remind you of Gascony and did you do any climbing in the Pyrenees?   I have been through them by coach and train but alas! have not climbed them.      

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Jon_B wrote:
Man I've had Mysteries of Udolpho sitting on my desk since I first heard this group was going to do it and I still haven't had time to even open it!  Luckily I actually have a bit of free time this weekend so I'm really looking forward to joining in next week.  This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time and just never got around to it

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[Everyman]

Udolpho was mentioned several times when we were discussing other Gothic novels here Jon - Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey and Rebecca

Perhaps more accurate to say in some of those cases purportedly Gothic.   We've been over that enough times that we don't need to reopen the controversy, but it should be noted for the record that it is a controversy here and that baldly calling those novels all Gothic is not universally accepted on this board.  

However, I think there is and will be no controversy that Udolpho itself is truly a Gothic novel; perhaps, along with Otranto, one of the definitive Gothic novels.  

[dulcinea3]

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Everyman wrote:

However, I think there is and will be no controversy that Udolpho itself is truly a Gothic novel; perhaps, along with Otranto, one of the definitive Gothic novels.  

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Well....  I didn't read the entire introduction to my Oxford edition, because I wanted to get into the novel itself, but the intro's author seemed to have the theory that only parts of Udolpho are truly Gothic.  For example, the first part with the travels in the Pyrenees, and the period at Madame Cheron's do not have many Gothic elements.  Once Emily gets to Italy, that should be changing.

[Everyman]

Good point.  Our first week's reading isn't yet Gothic, though it does have a bit of foreshadowing. 

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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Everyman wrote:

However, I think there is and will be no controversy that Udolpho itself is truly a Gothic novel; perhaps, along with Otranto, one of the definitive Gothic novels.  

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Well....  I didn't read the entire introduction to my Oxford edition, because I wanted to get into the novel itself, but the intro's author seemed to have the theory that only parts of Udolpho are truly Gothic.  For example, the first part with the travels in the Pyrenees, and the period at Madame Cheron's do not have many Gothic elements.  Once Emily gets to Italy, that should be changing.

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[chadadanielleKR]

Hi,

I came across this article about book clubs. All things considered, I really like my B&N book club better!

Danielle

[Everyman]

At least nobody flings a glass of wine in your face here!

And really, this is about forty book clubs rolled into one site, so there's a place for almost everybody.  

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chadadanielleKR wrote:

Hi,

I came across this article about book clubs. All things considered, I really like my B&N book club better!

Danielle

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[Melissa_W Moderator]

I read that article this morning.  I agree, there are so many different groups here that there's something offered or you will be able to find other readers who share your interests.

I also participate in a little book group made up of booksellers/former booksellers at my store - we're all friends, anyways, so we've never had those types of conflicts given out in the article.  There's really no taboo subject when we get together (we usually devolve into complaining about fellow co-workers we don't like) and we always talk about the book.  At least a little bit.

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Everyman wrote:

At least nobody flings a glass of wine in your face here!

And really, this is about forty book clubs rolled into one site, so there's a place for almost everybody.  

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chadadanielleKR wrote:

Hi,

I came across this article about book clubs. All things considered, I really like my B&N book club better!

Danielle

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[Peppermill]

We laughed and congratulated ourselves that we have been in existence since 1991 -- without an expensive consultant!

Another book club in my community has apparently been in existence for over 30 years -- my understanding is that it started as an AAUW (American Association of University Women) group.

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pedsphleb wrote:

I read that article this morning.  I agree, there are so many different groups here that there's something offered or you will be able to find other readers who share your interests.

I also participate in a little book group made up of booksellers/former booksellers at my store - we're all friends, anyways, so we've never had those types of conflicts given out in the article.  There's really no taboo subject when we get together (we usually devolve into complaining about fellow co-workers we don't like) and we always talk about the book.  At least a little bit.

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Everyman wrote:

At least nobody flings a glass of wine in your face here!

And really, this is about forty book clubs rolled into one site, so there's a place for almost everybody.  

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chadadanielleKR wrote:

Hi,

I came across this article about book clubs. All things considered, I really like my B&N book club better!

Danielle

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[Choisya]

LOL Danielle, me too!  I have never belonged to a 'real' book club and didn't realise there were such power struggles!

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chadadanielleKR wrote:

Hi,

I came across this article about book clubs. All things considered, I really like my B&N book club better!

Danielle

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[Calencir2009]

First, let me say hello since this is my first post.  I have been wary of book clubs because I have always heard horror stories from my friends.  I have just discovered your group here and while I still need to read a few past posts to catch up with the discussion, you are reading a book that has been sitting on my shelf for a while begging to be read.  So here I am, looking forward to joining in but in the meantime to avoid repetition and the propensity to appear foolish (giggle) I will try to catch up with the rest of you.  Forgive me if I am pretty silent until then.

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Welcome!  Jump right in and you have plenty of time to catch up because we'll be working on Udolpho until the end of January.

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Calencir2009 wrote:
First, let me say hello since this is my first post.  I have been wary of book clubs because I have always heard horror stories from my friends.  I have just discovered your group here and while I still need to read a few past posts to catch up with the discussion, you are reading a book that has been sitting on my shelf for a while begging to be read.  So here I am, looking forward to joining in but in the meantime to avoid repetition and the propensity to appear foolish (giggle) I will try to catch up with the rest of you.  Forgive me if I am pretty silent until then.

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[Melissa_W Moderator]

Happy Holidays everyone!   If you're travelling please be careful and watch the weather.  I'll be on during the break so feel free to keep discussing the first half of Udolpho.  If you really can't wait until January to talk about the second half go ahead and use the "whole novel" thread until I open up the week 4 thread.

[Choisya]

I have been partying for the last 3 days as our family had its annual get-together over the weekend.  So my holidays finished yesterday and I have been in bed most of today, recovering.  So Happy Holidays everyone - have a wonderful time and as Melissa says, drive carefully especially if there is bad weather around (it is very mild over here).

[Everyman]

Choisya wrote:  it is very mild over here

Would you like some snow and cold?  We have plenty of both to share.  Near record snow and the longest spell of below-freezing temperatures (day and night) in decades.   And more snow coming tomorrow night, on top of what is up to 17 inches on the ground in some areas in the lowlands and more than four feet up in the mountains, and winter only started yesterday.  

Well over half the flights out of Seattle cancelled, and hundreds sleeping in the terminals. Almost all interstate bus services shut down.  Trains up and down the coast cancelled.  

So any frigid, pipe-freezing cold, or packed snow and icy hills streets you want to import, we would be glad to provide.  

[chadadanielleKR]

Mild in Paris as well, we hardly need a coat and the open air ice skating rinks are melting (there is a beautiful and free one in front the Paris townhouse for the holidays)

But it shouldn't last.  

Happy holidays everyone.

Danielle

[KathyS]

Loving wishes for my LbW friends!  Stay safe, warm, and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.  A lot of Eman's nasty state weather has affected even the people here in So. Ca., being stranded in LAX for days, so I wish all of these people a safe return to their homes.

We're expecting rain through Christmas day, here where I live, with snow in the mountains. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

Kathy S.

[book-nut]

The weather here in South Florida is lovely.  Temperatures are in the 70's.  Ok, I'll be quiet ~ but give me some leeway to crow a little, we've had 3 major hurricanes in the last 4 years, and I was here for ALL of them! (lol!!!)

~ book-nut

[KathyS]

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book-nut wrote:

The weather here in South Florida is lovely.  Temperatures are in the 70's.  Ok, I'll be quiet ~ but give me some leeway to crow a little, we've had 3 major hurricanes in the last 4 years, and I was here for ALL of them! (lol!!!)

~ book-nut

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Book-nut, you're allowed! 

It's 10:30 a.m., and 42 degrees and breezy....not a cloud in the sky, today! 

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood", Yea! 

This is winter, here where I live!

We've only had to deal with fires, floods, blizzards and winds this past year! 

I'm not complaining, today!

Happy New Year!

Kathy