tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post3181584338674417716..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: He had been brought thither to be scoffed at and scorned at, that he might be a laughing-stock to his enemies, and food for mirth to the vile-minded - cruel Trollope, cruel readerAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-6333549162638199112011-07-13T10:12:12.832-05:002011-07-13T10:12:12.832-05:00The content, well - it's just that since Wuthe...The content, well - it's just that since Wuthering Expectations is entirely about aesthetics, a little more attention to the visual side might not be out of place. A little infusion of William Morris or something.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-10557097118953845512011-07-13T06:16:46.099-05:002011-07-13T06:16:46.099-05:00thank you. how about some silvery sheep and moor l...thank you. how about some silvery sheep and moor landscape as background -- but what is the upkeep of appearances when it's the content that counts...maybe...*https://www.blogger.com/profile/05680450955867041830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-1985025064029211572011-07-12T16:03:15.198-05:002011-07-12T16:03:15.198-05:00Me too, asterisk, me too. You have, by the way, a...Me too, asterisk, me too. You have, by the way, a most elegant blog. I am surprised it is on blogspot. Perhaps I should give a little more thought to the appearance of Wuthering Expectations. Add some hideous Victorian wallpaper or something.<br /><br />Tony - I remember the last three novels, the long ones, too poorly to have an opinion, but <i>Doctor Thorne</i> seemed similar, as far as the quality of writing, invention of characters and so on, to the earlier two. I used your post as a spur for what I wrote today - many thanks.<br /><br />I do remember that the last three get awfully long, as Fred says. In fact, I somehow remember <i>The Small House at Allington</i> as being endless, but that cannot be right.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71181226263003008532011-07-12T14:43:26.543-05:002011-07-12T14:43:26.543-05:00i really enjoyed dr thorne.i really enjoyed dr thorne.*https://www.blogger.com/profile/05680450955867041830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-43717877802737046002011-07-11T23:25:09.782-05:002011-07-11T23:25:09.782-05:00It may be no coincidence that in my latest reread ...It may be no coincidence that in my latest reread of the series, I picked this one as the weakest of the six...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-59089578415387687772011-07-11T22:32:40.753-05:002011-07-11T22:32:40.753-05:00Interesting that you should bring up Trollope and ...Interesting that you should bring up Trollope and the Barchester series. A f-t-f discussion group that I belong to is finishing up that series this Wednesday when we take on _The Last Chronicle of Barset_. <br /><br />Trollope brings everybody back to wrap it up--Dr. Harding, Frank Gresham, Dr. Thorne, the Proudies, Lily Dale, Johnny Eames, the Crawleys, the Grantlys . . .<br /><br />As you may have guessed, it's also a bit over 700 pages long.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-89431784669908819302011-07-11T22:04:03.331-05:002011-07-11T22:04:03.331-05:00EL - the timeless joke is really the puncturing of...EL - the timeless joke is really the puncturing of over-inflated dignity. Wodehouse may be the wrong comparison. Trollope is a precursor of <i>Fawlty Towers</i> and <i>The Office</i>.<br /><br />I mean, this side of him. He has many modes, and this is far from the most important. It's just that I don't know if his canonical contemporaries, even Dickens, were writing this sort of scene.<br /><br />CB, the sameness is really in tone and voice, in style. If I were a person who wrote about plot - should Mary marry Frank, should Dr. Thorne resolve his ethical dilemma this way or that way, and so on - I would not have the same problem.<br /><br />Of course Mary should marry Frank. They're perfect for each other.<br /><br />nicole - 20% of <i>The Way We Live Now</i> is a healthy piece of Trollope. I always recommened <i>The Warden</i> as a starting point. It is a) early, b) maybe Trollope's first "important" book, c) it leads off the Barchester set, and d) it's really short. Oh, e), f), etc. - it's good. g) it openly mocks Dickens and Carlyle.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-16372253420191160652011-07-11T20:13:38.779-05:002011-07-11T20:13:38.779-05:00I keep putting it off myself, but someone has to f...I keep putting it off myself, but someone has to force me to read a real Victorian novel again someday. This stuff used to be my bread and butter, though I never did make it more than 20% through a Trollope novel (didn't help that I picked a big one to try, <em>The Way We Live Now</em>).<br /><br />Can I blame the internets for reducing my attention span? I can still manage 300- or 400-page books, but not these real hefty ones that used to be my staple comfort reads.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-26972436323699367662011-07-11T19:53:57.763-05:002011-07-11T19:53:57.763-05:00Oh well. Some jokes are timeless and universal. As...Oh well. Some jokes are timeless and universal. As a short person, perhaps it is a good thing that I am female, as short men seem to bear the brunt of the height-related mockery.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-40989056732659339312011-07-11T15:37:25.532-05:002011-07-11T15:37:25.532-05:00Ohhh, Doctor Thorne. I'm a sporadic reader of...Ohhh, Doctor Thorne. I'm a sporadic reader of Trollope. I've read three or four all the way to the end and the first half of two or three others. I've not read this one of the Barchester series.<br /><br />I think you're right about his novels having a certain sameness to them, much the way P.G. Wodehouse does. (Probably much the way all authors do, really.) I also think pairing him with Wodehouse is a good idea. They are like second cousins really. Like Wodehouse, the sameness, or formula, is part of the fun. There's a lot to be said for giving the reader what the reader expects and being able to do so again and again.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06906212382849291562noreply@blogger.com