General Chat

I thought I had put the vote up for classics but as I haven't I am wondering if Animal Lover who reviewed Jane eyre with us would want to add a suggestion for July/August. If there are no further suggestions I will put the vote thread up at 4pm Ann Glos

I guess we are not going to get any more classic suggestions this time then? Ann Glos

How did I know you were going to suggest that Maz!! Ann Glos

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Late one night, a drawing teacher meets a mysterious woman dressed in white. Who is she, and what is her connection to the teacher's new pupil, a beautiful heiress? The narrative, related in succession by Walter Hartright and other characters in the story, starts with his midnight encounter on a lonely road with a mysterious and agitated woman dressed entirely in white, whom he helps to escape from pursuers. The first 'sensation' novel - dealing with hidden real-life issues in Victorian England. Full of melodrama! Maz. XX

Dee, yes it is. Ann Glos

Hi Ann I realised after I had posted that the date is in your title, sorry ;-((

Hi Ann Is it tomorrow we review and vote??

Haven't seen Maz on the board the last couple of days, maybe she is busy on the allotment! Ann Glos

We don't seem to have heard from Maz yet Dee xx

Any more??

It is going to be a difficult choice this month Dee xx

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson The strange tale of the mysterious doctor and his double life. Kate

Not sure if I will have time for the classic, so will not vote but if able to, will read whatever gets the vote. xx Jill

nudg up

Hi all,my choice this month is: Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Jude Fawley the stonemason, whose academic ambitions are thwarted by poverty and the indifference of the authorities at Christminster, appears to find fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both of them have have fled from previous marriages. Ironically when tragedy strikes it is Sue, the modern, emancipated thinker - the last and greatest of Hardy's heroines, ranking with Emma Bovary and Anna Karenin - who is unequal to the challenge. Its literary qualities apart, 'Jude The Obscure' is also a rich source of social history, accurately reflecting within its pages the encroachment of the modrn developing world on the rural traditions of England. (From the book jacket) Alfie.

Hi Ann and everyone my choice this month is Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain Tom is a shrewd and adventurous boy, as much as home in the respectable world of his Aunt Polly as in the self reliant and parentless world of his friend Huckleberry Finn. The two enjoy a series of adventures, accidentally witnessing a murder, establishing the innocence of the man wrongly accused, as well as being hunted by Injun Joe, the true murderer, eventually escaping and finding the treasure Joe buried Dee x

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery MATTHEW AND MARILLA CUTHBERT are unmarried siblings who live on their ancestral farm, Green Gables, in the quiet town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Matthew is sixty, and since he is getting too old to handle the farm work on his own, the Cuthberts decide to adopt an orphan boy to help him. This decision shocks the town gossip, Mrs. Rachel Lynde, who does not think Matthew and Marilla fit to raise a child. Matthew, who is terrified of women, arrives at the train station and finds a girl orphan instead of a boy; the orphanage sent the eleven-year-old Anne Shirley by mistake. Anne’s talkativeness and spirit charm Matthew, who shyly tells Marilla that he wants to keep her. Marilla hesitates at first, but after a trial period, she agrees to let Anne stay on. Anne is a talkative and happy girl despite living an impoverished life as an orphan. Though she lacks social graces and education, she has a rich and sophisticated fantasy life and an optimistic and generous spirit. Because Anne acts according to her instincts and not according to a code of manners, she unintentionally defies expectations of proper ladylike behavior. She attends church for the first time wearing a wreath of wildflowers, for example, and screams at Mrs. Rachel for making fun of her red hair. Anne tries hard to oblige Marilla and follow her rules of social conduct, but she makes many mistakes, using liniment instead of vanilla in a cake, letting a mouse drown in the plum-pudding sauce, and delivering a heartfelt but ridiculous prayer on her first attempt to pray before bed. Anne never had real friends before living at Green Gables, so she was forced to invent imaginary playmates. In Avonlea, she meets Diana Barry, a neighbor who quickly becomes her bosom friend. One afternoon Anne invites Diana to tea and accidentally gives her red currant wine instead of nonalcoholic raspberry cordial. Diana returns home drunk, and Diana’s mother, thinking Anne has intoxicated Diana on purpose, forbids the girls to speak. The agonizing period of estrangement lasts until Anne saves Diana’s sister, who is sick with the croup, which causes Mrs. Barry to forgive her. At school, Anne feuds with a handsome, smart boy named Gilbert Blythe. When they first meet, Gilbert taunts Anne by calling her Carrots and pulling her red braid. Anne is extremely sensitive about her red hair, and Gilbert’s teasing infuriates her. She screams at him and smashes a slate over his head. This incident marks the beginning of a rivalry between Anne and Gilbert, the two smartest pupils, which lasts until the end of the novel. Ann Glos

Greaders, please add your suggestions for 1 classic book to be read by 22 August 07..............................Vote date 10th July 07............which is also the review date for the June/ July book. Ann Glos