Just finished the book today so could finally watch this!!! Got the book because of one of your videos where you recommended this book. What an amazing analysis and book, thank you so much!
I just finished the book and came here to watch this! Let's just say, the last 100 pages was a big surprise having been reading a lot of Trollope lately. Imagine giving the unfinished book to him and having him finish it! Hahaha. But, I liked Gissing's ending and thought it was appropriate. This was my first book by him and I really enjoyed it. I read the Wikipedia entry about his life and was surprised at what it said about his relationships. In some ways he sounded a bit like Widdowson! Of course that's just a wikipedia article and I don't know if it's accurate. In any event I hope to read more by him and I think it's a shame he's not very popular today. I'm glad I got introduced to him from your channel!
It's clear I had never thought of typewriters this way and will never look at them the same again ! I do agree with you on the comments by Mrs Small and the limitations. Many, many thanks for that readalong that introduced me to George Gissing ! This book made me think and ponder so much, long after I finished the novel. A part of me wants to read Ruskin to educate myself, but another part thinks I would just hate him so much, lol ! Those last words from Rhoda were... ghastly ! (fragmented comment, sorry, commenting along + children arond)
It’s interesting, as a secretary myself, I actually feel like I am “caring” for my coworkers by editing and making their lives slightly easier by making their reports sound more professional. I loved this book! So sad and so empowering at the same time.
Do you think you'd ever be up for making a really long video showcasing the entirety of your book collection? Maybe in multiple parts if that would be too long? I know you've already shown us snippets of it with vids about your antiquarian and classic editions, but I'd personally love to see everything you have. Especially as I hope to get back into collecting properly next year after I graduate as 90 percent of the books I've read for the last two years have been stuff I've borrowed from the uni library as a way of saving money (gotta stick to a budget at uni unfortunately).
So, I sort of would like to do a proper bookshelf tour one day when I have more bookshelves and a bit more space, but my books are so shoved together it would be a mammoth task!
Thanks for introducing me to Gissing. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book and want to read more by him. He had great insight into womens’ minds. In some cases even now we treat the poor as the Victorians did. Instead of asking what can we do to help you, it becomes look what we’ve done for you.
i'd be interested to hear your definition of the term feminist, bc i feel like i find it hard to accept that this novel or any victorians except from maybe people like eleanor marx were feminists. i feel like the type of 'feminism' [if it is that] that rhoda and mary are engaged in [and to some degree i would presume gissing too] is one that individualises power structures into personal choices, and so become really patronising/uncaring of working class people, especially women and fail to actually go to the root of the issue ... not sure if this makes sense, but was an interesting video/discussion! :)
So, basically when I use the term feminist in these videos I usually mean in the very broad sense of championing the rights of women. Really broad, I know, but that's why I've talked about the limitations, etc, and I guess when these novels are from a different context where gender roles are so less equal and so problematic, anything ahead of their time can feel 'feminist' for the Victorians, even if it might be behind the terms today. Basically I should just say proto-feminism not feminism but it's a mouthful and I forget!
The book dragged in places, but it had some great scenes and characters. Personally I would have preferred a bit more of the older Madden sisters and a bit less of Everard Barfoot. My favourite character was Mary Barfoot.
How would you describe the middle class? In today's world the middle class is also apart of the working class. Is the working class you discuss those living in poverty?
I'm talking about it here all in a Victorian context, where classes were a bit more clearly divided; in the Victorian period, class was more divided on education and whether you worked with your hands or with writing/something more intellectual, etc, effectively; it's not just to do with money. I think class is very different in the modern day, and wouldn't feel very confident talking about it!
Just finished the book today so could finally watch this!!! Got the book because of one of your videos where you recommended this book. What an amazing analysis and book, thank you so much!
Thanks, and so glad you enjoyed it!
I loved this book! And this was a great review of it. Thanks for introducing me to Gissing!
Thanks! Gissing is amazing.
finally able to watch the second half of this video after finishing the book. hadn't heard of gissing before this so thank you!
I loved The Odd Women! I discovered quite a bit about myself while reading it. Great video; thanks for posting this, Katie.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I found The Last September through your vlog and love it. Enjoy your videos so much!
Thanks!
I just finished the book and came here to watch this! Let's just say, the last 100 pages was a big surprise having been reading a lot of Trollope lately. Imagine giving the unfinished book to him and having him finish it! Hahaha. But, I liked Gissing's ending and thought it was appropriate. This was my first book by him and I really enjoyed it. I read the Wikipedia entry about his life and was surprised at what it said about his relationships. In some ways he sounded a bit like Widdowson! Of course that's just a wikipedia article and I don't know if it's accurate. In any event I hope to read more by him and I think it's a shame he's not very popular today. I'm glad I got introduced to him from your channel!
Glad you enjoyed it - it's such a fascinating novel!
It's clear I had never thought of typewriters this way and will never look at them the same again ! I do agree with you on the comments by Mrs Small and the limitations. Many, many thanks for that readalong that introduced me to George Gissing ! This book made me think and ponder so much, long after I finished the novel. A part of me wants to read Ruskin to educate myself, but another part thinks I would just hate him so much, lol ! Those last words from Rhoda were... ghastly ! (fragmented comment, sorry, commenting along + children arond)
Thanks! Gissing is so interesting.
I am so glad you recommended this book. I enjoyed it so much, and have moved on to Grub Street now.
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it!
It’s interesting, as a secretary myself, I actually feel like I am “caring” for my coworkers by editing and making their lives slightly easier by making their reports sound more professional. I loved this book! So sad and so empowering at the same time.
Ooo interesting. So glad you loved this book!
Do you think you'd ever be up for making a really long video showcasing the entirety of your book collection? Maybe in multiple parts if that would be too long? I know you've already shown us snippets of it with vids about your antiquarian and classic editions, but I'd personally love to see everything you have. Especially as I hope to get back into collecting properly next year after I graduate as 90 percent of the books I've read for the last two years have been stuff I've borrowed from the uni library as a way of saving money (gotta stick to a budget at uni unfortunately).
So, I sort of would like to do a proper bookshelf tour one day when I have more bookshelves and a bit more space, but my books are so shoved together it would be a mammoth task!
I can't wait for the post 20th of June Lol Good Luck 👍
Thanks for introducing me to Gissing. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book and want to read more by him. He had great insight into womens’ minds. In some cases even now we treat the poor as the Victorians did. Instead of asking what can we do to help you, it becomes look what we’ve done for you.
It's certainly very interesting; I do love Gissing's work a lot, and his insight is incredible.
That quote “Is not a woman a woman” reminds me of the “Ain’t I a Woman” speech made by Sojourner Truth.
It's such an interesting bit of the book!
I’m not a huge re-reader but this is definitely one in going to be returning to- I think there’s so much to digest in just one reading xx
It's such an interesting book.
I'm reading the Odd Women now. So far so good.
i'd be interested to hear your definition of the term feminist, bc i feel like i find it hard to accept that this novel or any victorians except from maybe people like eleanor marx were feminists. i feel like the type of 'feminism' [if it is that] that rhoda and mary are engaged in [and to some degree i would presume gissing too] is one that individualises power structures into personal choices, and so become really patronising/uncaring of working class people, especially women and fail to actually go to the root of the issue ... not sure if this makes sense, but was an interesting video/discussion! :)
So, basically when I use the term feminist in these videos I usually mean in the very broad sense of championing the rights of women. Really broad, I know, but that's why I've talked about the limitations, etc, and I guess when these novels are from a different context where gender roles are so less equal and so problematic, anything ahead of their time can feel 'feminist' for the Victorians, even if it might be behind the terms today. Basically I should just say proto-feminism not feminism but it's a mouthful and I forget!
@@katiejlumsden that makes sense!! proto feminism is definitely a mouthful!!
The book dragged in places, but it had some great scenes and characters. Personally I would have preferred a bit more of the older Madden sisters and a bit less of Everard Barfoot. My favourite character was Mary Barfoot.
Mary is probably my favourite too!
How would you describe the middle class? In today's world the middle class is also apart of the working class. Is the working class you discuss those living in poverty?
I'm talking about it here all in a Victorian context, where classes were a bit more clearly divided; in the Victorian period, class was more divided on education and whether you worked with your hands or with writing/something more intellectual, etc, effectively; it's not just to do with money. I think class is very different in the modern day, and wouldn't feel very confident talking about it!
@@katiejlumsden I think the terms are used differently in America. Middle class in America is more working class than it's usage in the UK.
As a transfemale I identify with female characters so this should be a good read, just picked it up from Philly library system.
Hope you enjoy it! It's a wonderful and underrated read.
👏👏👏