Hard Times readalong 2022

[Piggywaspushed]

Hello and welcome to the selected Dickensalong of 2022 : Hard Times.

This is Dickens' shortest novel (yay!) but was still serialised in instalments running from April to August 1854.

I propose shortening this slightly:

January BOOK ONE Chapters 1- 6
February Chapters 7–12
March Chapters 13 -16
April BOOK TWO Chapter 1- 5
May Chapters 6-12
June BOOK THREE Chapters 1 - 5
July Chapters 6 to end.

Some version number chapters consecutively but I have gone for the Wordsworth edition numbering. Hope that is OK.

So this is kind of a pint sized readalong! Might be more manageable for some of those who fall by the wayside normally (naming no names...)

I enjoy Dickens when he does social commentary so am looking forward to this one and to eventually meet Gradgrind.

I've never read Trollope so that would be fine with me.

Not sure I've got too much to add about Hard Times - 'not Dickens' personal best' pretty much sums it up for me. Enjoyed Bounderby and Mrs Sparsit, got annoyed by Dickens' anti-union stance. He didn't seem to be offering any other solutions for improving the position of the working class.

Felt very sorry for Louisa and am daydreaming about a follow-on where she doesn't get married and have children because the love of her life turns out to be woman who is her intellectual equal. Have been watching/reading too many Sarah Waters-esque Victorian dramas I think. (It's your fault Ammonite!)

Happy to read Wilkie Collins or Trollope because I've never tackled either before.

I’m happy with another Dickens (I have the complete works to get through!) but also happy with Collins or Trollope as I haven’t read either. Another suggestion is Vanity Fair by Thackeray.

I don't as a general rule re read books and have read Vanity Fair quite recently. How long is The Woman In White?

A quick Google says about 700 pages, Piggy, but it’s very gripping, in my experience - when I first read it, I took it to read on holiday, thought I’d just make a start, and finished it in the car before we’d even got to the holiday cottage (er, I wasn’t doing the driving, obviously!).

I tried reading it years ago but failed. I was checking more if it was long enough for a readalong. Dickens worked well because he wrote in instalments so there were natural cliffhangers.

Are others up for WIW? Anyone else want to host, or are people going to shuffle around not making eye contact until I relent? 😉

Katie on Hard Times.

Thanks Piggy. That was interesting as Katie said many times over :)

It would be quite some drinking game if you downed a shot every time she said interesting!

I found it interesting that she is a Louisa fan and thinks she is an interesting female character, a viewpoint not shared by most of us it seems.

I’m happy with WIW. I also don’t mind hosting but if someone else is keen to host that’s fine too! I can’t guarantee I’ll come up with any intelligent thoughts though!

Never stopped me!

But you do come up with intelligent things to say Piggy! You’re good at analysing what’s really going on under the surface of the book whereas I just know whether I like it or not!!

Bit surprised there is no Wordsworth edition , Penguin out of print and no Oxford either!

I think that Sissy and Rachael had a quiet strength about them. Louisa started out quite feisty, but seemed to fade away after her marriage.

Yes! I agree with Chessie. I also like reading your analyses, Piggy.

Awww, shucks.

TWIW was serialised as well (in Dickens's journal 'All The Year Round' - they were big buddies), so we could probably divide it up OK into decent chunks?

Another vote here for your excellent stewardship, Piggy, but I appreciate you have plenty of other claims on your time!

Not really...

I read WIW a few years ago but am more than happy to go with this, it's definitely worth a reread IMO.

Yes, I really like it too.

My Collins copy has arrived. Tiny print and very rigid spined. Might need to fork out on the Penguin from Waterstones....

I downloaded a copy on Kindle, but I think I'll get a paperback too as I know I like it.
I like being able to flick back on what I've read.

I've ordered a copy from a library in the next council area along from me. The libraries in my own council area have multiple copies of WIW but they only seem to be available in the High schools (along with the vast majority of their other classic novels, which is a pain).

When are we thinking of starting - 1st July?

I’ve failed miserably at the 2 read alongs I’ve tried so far in 2022. I hid the War & Peace thread by mistake and haven’t seen another yet to jump back in.

I’m a glutton for punishment though so I’ll order the woman in white 😎

I read TWIW not that long ago so I'll pass on this one and maybe see you on the next read along. Have fun.