August Reading Thread

[hitmouse]

Finished The Florentines by Paul Strathern, now starting:
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The only SF novel I know that (iirc) has a Welsh opera singer as a principal character. I have this in an Ace Double, paired with another obscure Vance, Monsters in Space.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Incidentally, I meant to ask about something that piqued my interest towards the end of Wuthering Heights. Nelly Dean refers to “ a ghoul, or a vampire” - noting that she had read about such “incarnate demons”. This part of the narration was set in 1802. I wondered what book(s) she was perhaps referring to. I suspect she was referencing the same sort of ‘horrid’ gothic novels as those Austen refers to in Northanger Abbey, but I was slightly surprised to see reference to vampires, as I did not know the term was used back then. What work do you think Nelly was referring to? I would probably want to read it.

Folkloric vampires being mostly associated with Middle Europe, it's hard to imagine where or how Nelly Dean, a rural English servant in 1802, might have become familiar with the term. (There were fairies and such with vampire-like characteristics closer to home, but not under that name.).

But Emily Brontë, as an educated woman writing her novel in the 1840s, might conceivably be familiar with "The Vampyre" by John Polidori (published 1819), or perhaps, since she read German and French, and spent some time teaching at a school in Brussels, it's possible she could have been exposed to continental influences and stories—though I don't know specifically what any of those might have been.

The only thing that comes to mind, and it's a wild guess—the sort of guess one makes just to be saying something when one has no answers at hand, and only the vaguest ideas to draw on ... thus, just to be saying something I offer it for what little it is worth—is that it could maybe, possibly, perhaps have been the same book of German ghost stories read by Byron, the Shelleys, and Polidori during the year without a summer, which provided the inspiration for their famous (or infamous) contest, and eventually led to Polidori's short story, "The Vampyre", and Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.

That's all I've got. If we are lucky, someone will come along with a better informed answer.

 

[Elentarri]

The Penguin Book of Dragons edited by Scott G. Bruce.
So-so.

 

[Bick]

Folkloric vampires being mostly associated with Middle Europe, it's hard to imagine where or how Nelly Dean, a rural English servant in 1802, might have become familiar with the term. (There were fairies and such with vampire-like characteristics closer to home, but not under that name.).

But Emily Brontë, as an educated woman writing her novel in the 1840s, might conceivably be familiar with "The Vampyre" by John Polidori (published 1819), or perhaps, since she read German and French, and spent some time teaching at a school in Brussels, it's possible she could have been exposed to continental influences and stories—though I don't know specifically what any of those might have been.

The only thing that comes to mind, and it's a wild guess—the sort of guess one makes just to be saying something when one has no answers at hand, and only the vaguest ideas to draw on ... thus, just to be saying something I offer it for what little it is worth—is that it could maybe, possibly, perhaps have been the same book of German ghost stories read by Byron, the Shelleys, and Polidori during the year without a summer, which provided the inspiration for their famous (or infamous) contest, and eventually led to Polidori's short story, "The Vampyre", and Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.

That's all I've got. If we are lucky, someone will come along with a better informed answer.

That’s very interesting speculation thank you. Brontë used an “i” in her spelling of vampire - I don’t know if that is suggestive? Presumably Austin’s horrid novels didn’t actually feature vampires at all? I may have to research this more. The suggestion of Polidori may be spot on, though given its spelling and publication after Nelly’s narration, I do wonder. If I turn up anything else I’ll be sure to post it!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Brontë used an “i” in her spelling of vampire - I don’t know if that is suggestive?

Well, depending on the edition you are reading, when it comes to how things are spelled it may say more about the choices that editors of Brontë's writing might have made over the years. Some editions of the works of 19th century authors may replicate the author's own spellings, whereas others may bow to their own house style. Speaking of Austen, I have seen examples of both practices in the various editions of her novels. (And that's not counting her juvenile works.)

Presumably Austin’s horrid novels didn’t actually feature vampires at all?

I'm not sure, but I don't think that vampires became fashionable with English authors until Polidori's story was published.

Putting aside the fact that Nelly sounds a lot more educated and sophisticated than a woman in her position actually would (artistic license on the author's part), let us remember that Emily Brontë herself was born considerably later than 1802 and probably didn't have the resources necessary to tell her whether any word that she wanted to use was being used in England at that particular time—supposing, that is, she even cared to find out.

 

[Bick]

Well, depending on the edition you are reading, when it comes to how things are spelled it may say more about the choices that editors of Brontë's writing might have made over the years. Some editions of the works of 19th century authors may replicate the author's own spellings, whereas others may bow to their own house style. Speaking of Austen, I have seen examples of both practices in the various editions of her novels. (And that's not counting her juvenile works.)
I'm not sure, but I don't think that vampires became fashionable with English authors until Polidori's story was published.
Putting aside the fact that Nelly sounds a lot more educated and sophisticated than a woman in her position actually would (artistic license on the author's part), let us remember that Emily Brontë herself was born considerably later than 1802 and probably didn't have the resources necessary to tell her whether any word that she wanted to use was being used in England at that particular time—supposing, that is, she even cared to find out.

All good points. Probably based either on Polidori or a mixture of that and earlier German poems then, and excusably anachronistic for Nelly.

 

[williamjm]

Folkloric vampires being mostly associated with Middle Europe, it's hard to imagine where or how Nelly Dean, a rural English servant in 1802, might have become familiar with the term. (There were fairies and such with vampire-like characteristics closer to home, but not under that name.).

Wikipedia's article on vampire literature mentions this:

The first mention of vampires in English literature appears in Robert Southey's monumental oriental epic poem Thalaba the Destroyer (1801), where the main character Thalaba's deceased beloved Oneiza turns into a vampire, although that occurrence is actually marginal to the story.

It's probably unlikely that a servant in 1802 would be familiar with an epic poem published the previous year that apparently didn't sell well on release but not entirely impossible.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

We seem to be derailing this thread with a lengthy discussion of this obscure point—and I apologize for my own part in doing so— so I won't derail it further by arguing over the degree of probability that Nelly would have familiarity with such a book. (Though privately I would be interested to know if the word "vampire" appears in the poem, as that would be good information to have.) I could shift these posts over to a new thread if people are really keen on continuing to discuss the matter.

But as for this thread, let's get back to what we are all reading this month.

 

[HareBrain]

Persian Fire by Tom Holland, a history of the Persian Empire. It's interesting and well-written (I like Holland's style very much) but I'm probably not going to be motivated to read more than a few pages a night.

 

[Foxbat]

Currently reading Surviving To Drive, an account of the 2022 F1 season from Guenther Steiner's point of view. It's quite a fascinating read.

 

[Elentarri]

Persian Fire by Tom Holland, a history of the Persian Empire. It's interesting and well-written (I like Holland's style very much) but I'm probably not going to be motivated to read more than a few pages a night.

Persian Fire is the best of the Tom Holland I've read.

 

[Danny McG]

Minds of Sand and Light by Kylie Chan

A dystopian tale of an AI cold war between East and West

This was a lot better than I initially expected.

There's 7 (or 8 because of a bit of ambiguity) AIs that are secretly running society, some very hostile to each other.
The majority want to go all Skynet and wipe out humanity, the rest want to super control us to preserve the environment.
A lot of bickering and attacking each others schemes with androids and human catspaws, however there is a slow reassessment of what it means to be human and a slightly disappointing conclusion.
I think a sequel is planned so things may pan out then.

 

[Bick]

I’ve started a leisurely read of Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

 

[Elentarri]

Fortune and Glory: Tales of History's Greatest Archaeological Adventures by Douglas Palmer, Nicholas James and Giles Sparrow (history/biography)
Interesting subject, but stodgy, uninspiring writing. Some of the chapters are more in the style of biographies than tales of adventures, or the significance of the archaeological findings.

 

[Toby Frost]

I'm starting Robert Harris' An Officer And A Spy, a thriller based around the Dreyfus Affair in 19th century France. I've liked some of Harris' other books, but this one is much longer than the others, which may or may not be a good thing.

[Incidentally, I recently wrote a fantasy novel, Legion of Bones, with a Renaissance-type setting. It's full of undead but I quickly realised that "vampire" and "zombie" felt out of place. "Revenant" worked pretty well instead.]

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I’ve started a leisurely read of Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

It would be difficult to imagine a speedy read of that tome. (I struggled with it. Not so with the novellas "The Turn of the Screw" and "Daisy Miller," which were downright laconic for James.) As I once heard a professor of English remark about The Portrait of a Lady, "Do get on with it Mister James."

 

[Elentarri]

To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda

Biologist Julie E. Czerneda's new standalone science fiction novel, To Each This World follows a desperate mission to reconnect with long lost sleeper ships, sent centuries earlier from Earth to settle distant worlds.

A trio of Humans must work with their mysterious alien allies to rescue any descendants they can find on those worlds. Something is out there, determined to claim the cosmos for itself, and only on Earth will Humans be safe.

Or will they?

The challenge isn’t just to communicate with your own kind after generations have passed. It’s to understand what isn’t your kind at all.

And how far will trust take you, when the truth depends on what you are?

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half of the novel was a slog. This might have been due to the peculiar writing style, the glacial pacing, and being dumped head first into alien worlds/ships/portals (???) with too much technobabble. Most of the exciting and really interesting stuff only happens around half-way, and since it's a very fat book, half-way is a long wait. The last half was really good. The world building and technology involved in the story were fairly novel. I loved the characters, especially Flip and Pilot Killian. The aliens and their portals were delightfully alien. Human and alien interactions were intriguing and also a bit amusing. The challenges were solved or dealt with in creative and interesting ways. I nice, solid science fiction novel, if you don't mind a slow start.​

 

[Dave Vicks]

THE SANE SOCIETY,1955 Erich Fromm.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've just finished reading Thornhedge, by T. Kingfisher

This short novel is an original take on “Sleeping Beauty,” turning the story upside-down and inside-out.

It is not what one would call a thrilling book, nor one that is fast-paced. What it is is gentle and whimsical (in spite of the child-eating monsters and a few other details), so for those who find either of those qualities anathema in a book, be warned. But with lines like, “Toads are capable of sarcasm, but their blood runs too cold for hysteria,” I found it much to my taste.

The main characters, Toadling (a human child stolen and raised by fairies, who has become something somewhere in-between as a result), and the Muslim knight, Halim, are neither brave, nor beautiful, decisive, nor clever, but I found them refreshingly earnest and kind. The story leaves off after the resolution and just short of a definitive end, leaving the reader free to imagine whatever ending pleases them best. (A shared life of humble contentment seems most likely, but other options remain available.)

For me, it was a welcome respite after the many far more intense stories I’ve been reading lately.

 

[Bick]

It would be difficult to imagine a speedy read of that tome. (I struggled with it. Not so with the novellas "The Turn of the Screw" and "Daisy Miller," which were downright laconic for James.) As I once heard a professor of English remark about The Portrait of a Lady, "Do get on with it Mister James."

Yes, it is quite wordy. I'm enjoying it thus far, however.