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Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot book questions


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I don't think I want to have my boys read Middlemarch, what do you think of Daniel Deronda? Should we just move on to a different author? Is Eliot important or just particular works of hers (and if so which ones)

 

Also, is Gaskell (North and South, Wives and Daughters, etc) considered a classic author with Eliot, Austen, Brontes, Dumas, etc?

 

Thanks,

Kendall

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I haven't read Daniel Deronda. I have read Middlemarch, Adam Bede and Silas Marner. I actually read Silas Marner aloud to my teens. We did a heavy duty year of British Lit but when it came to Victorian lit. we read Mary Barton by Gaskell. I love Mary Barton because of the way it dovetails with learning about the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society. The little group of teens I taught (2 of my own and then 3 other teens who joined) got a lot out of Mary Barton.

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I like Silas Marner. It's short and quite intense, as well as lyrical. The central character is interesting and unusual, and the story is set at a time of societal change. There's lots to discuss: loyalty, justice, compassion, attitudes to people who are different, effects of industrialisation, as well as straightforward literary techniques such as imagery.

 

Laura

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I don't think I want to have my boys read Middlemarch, what do you think of Daniel Deronda? Should we just move on to a different author? Is Eliot important or just particular works of hers (and if so which ones)

 

Also, is Gaskell (North and South, Wives and Daughters, etc) considered a classic author with Eliot, Austen, Brontes, Dumas, etc?

 

Thanks,

Kendall

 

Kendall, I have a Master's in Victorian Literature and wrote my thesis on George Eliot. Your question really caught my eye.

 

I think that Middlemarch is Eliot's best work, but it is very long. Silas Marner tends to be the one taught in high school--for its length I think.

 

The Gaskell question is particularly interesting to me. The answer is both yes and no. Her work is certainly as good as Eliot and the Brontes, but in terms of high school reading, she's not likely to appear on a high school reading list.

 

When I took my Master's oral exam, I referenced Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth when answering one question. My committe was very impressed and quite surprised that a Master's student knew Gaskell's work. (Because she is a lesser figure) I always remember that story and chuckle when I hear the ladies on this board talking about Gaskell. Got to love all these self-educated homeschoolers. ;)

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So why is she considered a lesser figure? Do you think that it is just because she is a lesser figure that her books aren't on high school reading lists?

 

I'm definitely better read since becoming a homeschool mom:). By far!

 

Kendall

 

When I said "lesser," I really meant lesser known. Her work was certainly highly respected during her lifetime. Charles Dickens was a huge fan and even wrote Hard Times after, and inspired by, her Cranford. That's pretty high praise.

 

I think what it probably boils down to, is that the Victorian Age, like the Elizabethan Age, was a time of tremendous creative/artistic output. Really, we have nothing like it in our time. There are so many good books and so many good authors, a survey course just can't cover them all. And so, you end up with authors like Gaskell and Trollope and others not making it onto reading lists. The emphasis tends to be on Eliot, Dickens, and 2 of the 3 Brontes, and maybe Hardy, but probably not in high school.

 

The truth is, my MA degree is in Victorian Literature and I only read Gaskell at the very end of my graduate career and I NEVER read Trollope. I've only just started reading him and enjoy him tremendously. It's the nature of the beast. I remember one Renaissance professor saying what a shame it is that Shakespeare is the primary focus of the Elizabethan period, because so many really good playwrights get overlooked (Marlow, Ben Johnson, etc.).

 

This is why there is so much healthy disagreement as to what books are "Must Reads." If you want to give your student a sampling of Victorian writers, you can keep in mind that Dickens and Gaskell and Eliot as well are all social critics--Dickens especially is very political and interested in government/social reform; Eliot is interested in political reform too, but her works are more rural and Dickens' is urban. The Brontes are doing something completely different, much more internal and with Gothic elements. Hardy is largely concerned with the effect of industry on life. I'm speaking very generally here, of course.

 

Interesting discussion.

Edited by cajun.classical
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Angelina,

 

Thank you so much. This has been so interesting. I saw one movie of a book by Trollope and liked it, but didn't know that the book was written by a good author. I haven't read any of Gaskell's (just was introduced to her through a movie recommendation-North and South). Now I have too many books on my read during Christmas break list!

 

Kendall

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by gaskell. i loved it. it's one of those stories you think of often in reflection. although i love austen, she doesn't make me think/reflect like gaskell. of course, ymmv since i highly recommended it to my book club and they thought it was too "hard". hmph.

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I haven't read Ruth yet. I've read Mary Barton twice. Mary Barton was Gaskell's first novel, I believe and it is actually very political, about the labor problems in Manchester. It also has wonderful character development, really lets you see the lives of the poor (not in the caricature like way of Dickens but much more realistic), has a lovely love story in it and is kind of a murder-mystery too! I find Gaskell's novels very spiritual as well. North and South was written in reaction to Mary Barton which was so solidly on the side of the poor laborer. In N&S she tried to provide a balanced look at both the workers and the owners of the mills/factories. The N&S mini-series done by the BBC was excellent but the novel has much better characterizations and there is a real spiritual level in the novel that is absent from the BBC production.

 

I know I"m not the one with the masters in Victorian Lit, but I also enjoy Trollope. You might try his Barchester series, the first is The Warden the second I believe is Barchester Towers and now my brain is foggy on the rest. I read them at least 20 years ago! I've also read He Knew He Was Right more recently (last ten years???) which I thought was just wonderful! They just don't do character develop like they used to anymore. I mean these people walk right off the page they seem so real and so well nuanced. PBS (I guess it was BBC as well) did a great adaption of He Knew He Was Right. Really, one of the best adapations I have ever seen.

 

Sigh, I just love talking about literature, especially British Victorian Lit! Now I've got to go read Ruth! But I'm trying to finish up Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street first!

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Thanks Faithr!

 

Would any of these books (from Trollope and Gaskell) be appropriate for a high school student?

 

Also, is this the same Elizabeth Goudge that wrote The Little White Horse? My dd loved that book. They are making a movie about it but as far as I can tell it won't be coming to the U.S. and it is very different from the book (and my dd really doesn't like when they drift too much from the book). She loved it so much we also read Linnets and Valerians. Is Green Dolphin Street for children or better for adults? Please share if you like it and if dd could read it!

 

Thanks!

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Which book would you recommend reading from Gaskell and then from Trollope? I looked up Ruth and Mary Barton and both looked very interesting. Also, what age would be best for these books?

 

Thanks!

 

I haven't read Mary Barton, but I know that it is highly thought of. I've read Ruth, North and South, and Wives and Daughters. Of these 3, Wives and Daughters is probably considered her best work--sadly she died before she finished it, but it is a good read nonetheless. Ruth is really good, but it is about an unwed mother and how she is treated in society--you would have to consider the maturity of your student for this book.

 

For Trollope, Faithr seems to know more about him than I do ;). I've only read The Eustace Diamonds and am thinking about Can you forgive her? (which I hear really good things about). These are both part of the Palliser Series of novels. Trollope was very prolific and popular. He's got tons of books and they are all really long.

 

I was particularly interested in, what was called, the Woman Question. So books like Ruth and Wives and Daughters and The Eustace Diamonds are interesting to me because they are all very sympathetic to the plight of women--particularly Fallen Women.

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Thanks Angelina!

 

I think I may pick out a couple and read them myself. I'll probably know better then which ones dd would be able to read for herself.

 

Thanks Kendall for an interesting thread...I'd forgotten how much I would like to read something different and for myself too.:001_smile:

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Yes, it is the same Elizabeth Goudge. I'm about halfway through. I've been reading it at a very leisurely rate because I'm also doing so much reading with my teens. It is a lovely book but so far it is rather sad. I almost can't read it for all the heartache it is causing me! It is for adults, though any of the sins of the characters are told quite delicately. But children wouldn't understand it. I am reading a new edition of Green Dolphin St but it has been terribly edited! There are random punctuation errors all over the place. And some of the mispellings make me think that someone who forgot to put their glasses on when proofreading. For ex. the word not is often spelled riot. As someone with aging eyes I can tell you that I misread stuff like that when I don't have my glasses. I really was so irritated by all the errors that I almost decided to try to locate an old out of print edition, however, about 1/3 of the way in I stopped noticing the errors (they are still there but apparently I've acclimated!)

 

I heard about the movie inspired by The Little White and at first was hopeful but then despaired of the movie doing the book justice.

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