Recent reading, &c.
Nov. 4th, 2023 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeI have had a bit of a week of it. RL has gone from mildly busy to extremely stressful (it should be in a good way! just lots of difficult details to work out first), and that makes everything else worse: I can't sleep properly, I get more upset about trivial fandom stuff, my sensory issues get worse... when all I want to do is read fic, watch NTS Kidnapped again and work on my Yuletide assignment. :(
However, I'm feeling a bit better today, so I will attempt a not-too-ambitious reading post. And firstly, another fic rec for this adorable Alan/Davie Halloween story, which I love and will manage to comment on soon. There's also another Ewen/Keith fic in Trick or Treat which I have not read yet but which looks excellent.
The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent (2023). Aww, I think this is my favourite Trent yet! It's another queer historical romance set in 1790s England among the lower strata of society and dealing with issues of radical politics, class issues and questions of reading, learning and education. George Evans is a rather outspoken and—politically and emotionally—forthright surgeon-apothecary who's called to treat two gentlemen for the results of a duel; here he meets Noah Moorecott, valet to one of the combatants and amateur meteorologist. (Noah is an ex-sailor—he met his master in the Navy—who is missing some of the fingers on one hand after a battle at sea, but fortunately this is the only respect in which he resembles Ralph Lanyon.) George is getting over a broken heart and trying to decide whether to take over running a radical newspaper; Noah is pessimistic about his chances of getting his (and his colleague Verity's, a housemaid) scientific work published in a learned journal. I loved their relationship—George in particular is an utter sweetheart, things develop fairly slowly and steadily between them, and they go together really well; I especially liked how they, with their different outlooks, challenge, argue and also support each other in the vexed questions that Politics raises in both their lives. Trent is always good at filling in the lives and relationships of characters beyond the main romance, and I really liked Noah's scientific colleagueship with Verity and George's relationship with the friends, a fellow surgeon-apothecary and his wife, with whom he lives and works. At one point George, writing a forlorn love letter to Noah, quotes adorably from 'Westron Wynde', but fortunately this is the only respect in which he resembles Julian Fleming. I also enjoyed the premise—it was fun to see the issue of Honourable Duelling treated perhaps more as it deserves than it generally is by my more gentlemanly eighteenth-century faves. The only things I didn't like were the treatment of George's past (non-)relationship and a bit of romance-novelish 'well, of course he can't REALLY love me seriously like that' after he and Noah first sleep together, but those were minor issues. Highly recommended!
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett (1751). This is where 'Pickle' Glengarry apparently got his nickname, so of course I had to read it. It is an extremely eighteenth-century book: very long, plotless, meandering, full of colour and character and highly questionable in its moral outlook and judgements. In the early part of the book especially there is a lot of OTT violence treated very casually, which put me off for a bit, and I also cannot condone the (evidently quite typical for the period) strongly humiliation-based humour of much of it; but there's also a lot of interesting historical detail (if you want to know all about the course and mishandling of gentlemen's money affairs in the eighteenth century, read this book!), politics (there are quite a few, usually very oblique and careful, references to the Jacobites—understandable given the date) and the occasional actually funny bit. Also there are some characters who read rather as if Hornblower, Bush and Brown had been reimagined as comic eighteenth-century novel denizens, which was kind of hilarious. And—in true period fashion—there are two points where the main action suddenly stops while we hear the life story of a random person Pickle meets, who barely turns up again afterwards. The first is a 'lady of quality', whose memoirs provide some slightly more interesting views on gender than Pickle (who does not treat women well) generally gives us; and the second is an unfortunate young gentleman whose life bears some remarkable similarities to the pre-Alan plot of Kidnapped.
The Love Child by Edith Olivier (1927). A strange little novel about a very lonely woman, Agatha Bodenham, who after the death of her mother returns to the solitary games she once played with her childhood imaginary friend, Clarissa... until Clarissa comes to life. I came across it via the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
yuletide fandom recs post, and I enjoyed it very much. It's been compared to Lolly Willowes, and I can see why: published the same year, with a similar premise of unexplained supernatural happenings intruding into a mundane setting, a similar free, fluent prose style, and a similar air of having its own perfectly self-justified internal logic and not especially caring what the reader's expectations might be. On the whole I thought the premise was better than the execution, and I wasn't really satisfied with how the story ended up working itself out, but the early part, in which Clarissa first appears and Agatha has to deal with her increasing reality and work out their relationship, is really good—and I especially liked the clash between the weird supernatural stuff and the down-to-earth practical details of mundane life. Also I highly approve of Agatha's thoughts on driving.
Effie Ogilvie by Margaret Oliphant (1886). I picked this for my next Oliphant because of this review, which compares it to Kidnapped (published the same year) in its insight into character and its beautiful and Scottish language. While that's not perhaps the first comparison I would have gone with, I can see the point! The subject matter is simpler and more conventional than the others of Oliphant's books I've read, but the style and sensibility are very much hers, and I like both very much. It's about, on the one hand, the experience of being a very young woman in the rural Scottish Borders of the late nineteenth century; and, on the other, the clash between the old rural gentry and the new rich commercial class, as represented by the ill-advised courtship of Fred Dirom, an English son of the latter class, with Effie Ogilvie, a Scottish daughter of the former. Throughout there's a keenness and specificity of emotional perception and description, and an honesty about heterosexuality and its conventions, which is proper Oliphant and very good.
Right, now I am going to rest and have my reward for this week, viz. watching Kidnapped again. :D
However, I'm feeling a bit better today, so I will attempt a not-too-ambitious reading post. And firstly, another fic rec for this adorable Alan/Davie Halloween story, which I love and will manage to comment on soon. There's also another Ewen/Keith fic in Trick or Treat which I have not read yet but which looks excellent.
The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent (2023). Aww, I think this is my favourite Trent yet! It's another queer historical romance set in 1790s England among the lower strata of society and dealing with issues of radical politics, class issues and questions of reading, learning and education. George Evans is a rather outspoken and—politically and emotionally—forthright surgeon-apothecary who's called to treat two gentlemen for the results of a duel; here he meets Noah Moorecott, valet to one of the combatants and amateur meteorologist. (Noah is an ex-sailor—he met his master in the Navy—who is missing some of the fingers on one hand after a battle at sea, but fortunately this is the only respect in which he resembles Ralph Lanyon.) George is getting over a broken heart and trying to decide whether to take over running a radical newspaper; Noah is pessimistic about his chances of getting his (and his colleague Verity's, a housemaid) scientific work published in a learned journal. I loved their relationship—George in particular is an utter sweetheart, things develop fairly slowly and steadily between them, and they go together really well; I especially liked how they, with their different outlooks, challenge, argue and also support each other in the vexed questions that Politics raises in both their lives. Trent is always good at filling in the lives and relationships of characters beyond the main romance, and I really liked Noah's scientific colleagueship with Verity and George's relationship with the friends, a fellow surgeon-apothecary and his wife, with whom he lives and works. At one point George, writing a forlorn love letter to Noah, quotes adorably from 'Westron Wynde', but fortunately this is the only respect in which he resembles Julian Fleming. I also enjoyed the premise—it was fun to see the issue of Honourable Duelling treated perhaps more as it deserves than it generally is by my more gentlemanly eighteenth-century faves. The only things I didn't like were the treatment of George's past (non-)relationship and a bit of romance-novelish 'well, of course he can't REALLY love me seriously like that' after he and Noah first sleep together, but those were minor issues. Highly recommended!
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett (1751). This is where 'Pickle' Glengarry apparently got his nickname, so of course I had to read it. It is an extremely eighteenth-century book: very long, plotless, meandering, full of colour and character and highly questionable in its moral outlook and judgements. In the early part of the book especially there is a lot of OTT violence treated very casually, which put me off for a bit, and I also cannot condone the (evidently quite typical for the period) strongly humiliation-based humour of much of it; but there's also a lot of interesting historical detail (if you want to know all about the course and mishandling of gentlemen's money affairs in the eighteenth century, read this book!), politics (there are quite a few, usually very oblique and careful, references to the Jacobites—understandable given the date) and the occasional actually funny bit. Also there are some characters who read rather as if Hornblower, Bush and Brown had been reimagined as comic eighteenth-century novel denizens, which was kind of hilarious. And—in true period fashion—there are two points where the main action suddenly stops while we hear the life story of a random person Pickle meets, who barely turns up again afterwards. The first is a 'lady of quality', whose memoirs provide some slightly more interesting views on gender than Pickle (who does not treat women well) generally gives us; and the second is an unfortunate young gentleman whose life bears some remarkable similarities to the pre-Alan plot of Kidnapped.
The Love Child by Edith Olivier (1927). A strange little novel about a very lonely woman, Agatha Bodenham, who after the death of her mother returns to the solitary games she once played with her childhood imaginary friend, Clarissa... until Clarissa comes to life. I came across it via the
yuletide fandom recs post, and I enjoyed it very much. It's been compared to Lolly Willowes, and I can see why: published the same year, with a similar premise of unexplained supernatural happenings intruding into a mundane setting, a similar free, fluent prose style, and a similar air of having its own perfectly self-justified internal logic and not especially caring what the reader's expectations might be. On the whole I thought the premise was better than the execution, and I wasn't really satisfied with how the story ended up working itself out, but the early part, in which Clarissa first appears and Agatha has to deal with her increasing reality and work out their relationship, is really good—and I especially liked the clash between the weird supernatural stuff and the down-to-earth practical details of mundane life. Also I highly approve of Agatha's thoughts on driving.Effie Ogilvie by Margaret Oliphant (1886). I picked this for my next Oliphant because of this review, which compares it to Kidnapped (published the same year) in its insight into character and its beautiful and Scottish language. While that's not perhaps the first comparison I would have gone with, I can see the point! The subject matter is simpler and more conventional than the others of Oliphant's books I've read, but the style and sensibility are very much hers, and I like both very much. It's about, on the one hand, the experience of being a very young woman in the rural Scottish Borders of the late nineteenth century; and, on the other, the clash between the old rural gentry and the new rich commercial class, as represented by the ill-advised courtship of Fred Dirom, an English son of the latter class, with Effie Ogilvie, a Scottish daughter of the former. Throughout there's a keenness and specificity of emotional perception and description, and an honesty about heterosexuality and its conventions, which is proper Oliphant and very good.
And, to spoil the ending...
she manages once again to end the book without the heroine getting married! Given the plot of this one I didn't think she'd pull it off, but I shouldn't have doubted her. True, she implies a probable future marriage, but it's only an implication and not made the Happy Ending, and I think that's important.Right, now I am going to rest and have my reward for this week, viz. watching Kidnapped again. :D
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Date: Nov. 4th, 2023 02:20 pm (UTC)*is vaguely tempted by the Pickle book, just for colour, but I think TOO LONG*
Oak and Ash sounds great, though!
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Date: Nov. 5th, 2023 01:50 pm (UTC)One thing Pickle was really good for was filling my head with eighteenth-century language just when I wanted it for editing the longfic. Definitely good for colour, but also definitely long! (I read it in bits in between other books.)
Oak and Ash sounds great, though!
I recommend it :D
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Date: Nov. 4th, 2023 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Nov. 5th, 2023 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Nov. 4th, 2023 08:50 pm (UTC)Also I highly approve of Agatha's thoughts on driving. Okay, well, now I'm curious how Agatha feels about driving ...
Sorry to hear RL is so stressful – that often happens to me this time of year, as well. *hugs*
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Date: Nov. 5th, 2023 01:57 pm (UTC)Thank you <3
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Date: Nov. 5th, 2023 09:34 am (UTC)Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed The Oak and the Ash! Yes, I do like George as well, he was my favorite character in the book. What was it about the treatment of George's past (non-)relationship that didn't work for you? *curious*
I read the spoiler for the Oliphant, and was impressed! What a track record.
no subject
Date: Nov. 5th, 2023 02:08 pm (UTC)What was it about the treatment of George's past (non-)relationship that didn't work for you? *curious*
I didn't like that he was in unrequited love with this woman for years and then gets over her so quickly after what happens! On the one hand it's het and I didn't have any particular reason to care about the relationship, but on the other hand I felt it was made too important for me not to care about it at all, and so the dismissal of it was unpleasant.
I read the spoiler for the Oliphant, and was impressed! What a track record.
I know, isn't she great :D
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Date: Nov. 9th, 2023 05:33 pm (UTC)I read "The Love Child" recently too! A strange -- and interesting -- novel.
no subject
Date: Nov. 9th, 2023 07:47 pm (UTC)