Oliver Twist Readalong October to December. Everyone Welcome

Thanks @DesdamonasHandkerchief ! I haven’t started yet as I’m trying to get through an interminable biography of Mary Queen of Scots first, it’s been weeks and I’m still only halfway through! Might have to give up and get on with OT…

I'm listening to an audiobook found on youtube as the print in the edition I have is far too small for my eyes.

I'm about 6 chapters in and am really enjoying it. I agree that there is s lot of humour, but I hadn't realised how sad it was.

It really was a wretched life for the poor.

My edition doesn't have the volume numbers. Please could someone share the name of the last chapter in this volume when they get a chance. Thx

Volume 1 ends at the end of Chapter 22

41 - The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett

I know many of you have already read this.
It's the story of twin sisters Desiree and Stella, who grow up in a small Black community in 1950s America. They run away together, but their lives take very different paths when Stella decides to disappear completely from her past and pass as a white woman.
I really enjoyed this one. It’s a great exploration of identity, family, race and belonging, but also of the choices we make and the consequences they can have, not just for ourselves but for the people around us — and even for the next generation.

Thank you! My version also lacks a chapter 23 so I was a bit confused :)

Just goes to show how shattered I am this week - posted on wrong thread. No idea how to delete. Sorry :(
In more promising news, I have finished my chapters of Oliver Twist for the month!!

😄 easily done @nowanearlyNicemum ! I think there’s enough overlap between the two threads that we’re all interested in your post anyway! Well done on finishing your chapters…I’m going to start on the 10th whether or not I’ve managed to finish off Mary Queen of Scots…

I'm away at the moment and had to choose between bringing Les Mis or OT due to luggage limits and opted for Les Mis as I was already two weeks behind. Looking forward to starting OT when I am back next week and am cheered by all the positive reviews so far.

Which Mary Queen of Scots biography is it, @DuPainDuVinDuFromage? (Just wondering if it’s one that I’ve read).

@Benvenuto it’s Alison Weir - Mary Q of S and the murder of Lord Darnley. Extremely thorough and I’ve learned a lot (strange how we only did Henry VIII and Elizabeth I at school, never anything to do with Scotland) but my god what a slog - it’s like doing History A level instead of reading for fun! I’ve made it to about 77% and still toiling away at it 😂

In better news, I’m a few chapters into OT and enjoying it - very readable and witty (though absolutely horrifying if you look past the flippancy)

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage- I think I’ve read the Alison Weir years ago. Such a shame that you are finding it a slog as Mary’s youth is highly eventful. (If you haven’t listened to the The Rest is History series on her I can recommend it as they definitely capture the drama).

I agree about the lack of Scottish history - both in its own right (as it’s important and interesting) & also because I don’t think you can fully understand the Tudor era without considering England’s relations with Scotland especially Flodden & the Border Reivers.

You are ahead of me with OT (which I need to read very quickly).

I think I’ll be pleased I read it, once I get through it! Good to know about the Rest is History series about her, I started listening to that from the very beginning a few months ago and have made it to summer 2022 so far 😄 so I’ll get to those episodes eventually!

Apologies to everyone else for the derail 😂 I promise I’ll talk about OT from now on!

I am surprised both that I have started and how readsble OT is.

I’ve just read & very much enjoyed the first chapter. The language is brilliant - Dickens is such a showman with his use of language.

However, I can really see why I struggled with it aged 13 - it’s compelling but not an easy read given the difference between the dialect in the speech and Dickens’ wide-ranging vocabulary in the narration.

I'm really enjoying it!

I would love to read about how it was received at the time though. The descriptions of workhouses etc are so powerful and angry.

@Moominhug- I’ve just finished the chapters and have really enjoyed them too. I would also like to read more about Dickens & the inspiration for his work including places (I was following on the map the journey towards the end of the chapters - I hadn’t noticed that the route was so precise on previous readings).

Coincidentally, I’ve just read Anthony Trollope’s The Warden (written nearly 20 years later) which caricatures Dickens as the author Mr Popular Sentiment - I didn’t feel that this portrayal reflected terribly well on Trollope when reading it.

@Benvenuto my route to work used to take me past the workhouse Dickens is believed to have had in mind for the one in the book. I’ve got a good blog-post about it to share, but maybe I'd better wait until we’re all ready to start discussing!

Thackeray made a remark Dickens didn’t like about Ellen Ternan, the young woman he upended his whole life over (actually Thackeray just blurted out her name because someone else claimed Dickens was having an affair with his sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth). That started things off - it got worse, and there was a feud. They made it up eventually, apparently.