My Classics Club Spin book for spring 2024 will be…

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Earlier in the week, I shared a post with my list of books for the newest Classics Club Spin challenge (see it here), and a few days ago, this spin’s number was announced. (For those keeping track, it’s CC Spin #37, and for me personally, #9!)

Hosted by The Classics Club blog, the Classics Club Spin is a reading adventure where participants come up with a list of classics they’d like to read, number them 1 to 20, and then read the book that corresponds to the “spin” number that comes up.

For CCSpin #37, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

Howards End by E. M. Forster (published 1910)

Synopsis:

‘Only connect…’

Considered by many to be E. M. Forster’s greatest novel, Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of “telegrams and anger.” When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home—Howards End—to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve. Written in 1910, Howards End is a symbolic exploration of the social, economic, and intellectual forces at work in England in the years preceding World War I, a time when vast social changes were occurring. In the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, Forster perfectly embodies the competing idealism and materialism of the upper classes, while the conflict over the ownership of Howards End represents the struggle for possession of the country’s future. As critic Lionel Trilling once noted, the novel asks, “Who shall inherit England?”

Forster refuses to take sides in this conflict. Instead he poses one of the book’s central questions: In a changing modern society, what should be the relation between the inner and outer life, between the world of the intellect and the world of business? Can they ever, as Forster urges, “only connect”?

I think I was hoping for one of the lighter books on my list, but I’m still pleased with this spin result. Howards End has been on my to-read list for a very long time — in fact, I have a paperback 2-in-1 edition bundled with A Room with a View (which I’ve read), and I think I must have picked it up over 20 years ago!

I also really enjoyed the TV mini-series (2017) with Hayley Atwell and Matthew Macfadyen, and that heightened my interest in eventually reading the book. Well, the time has come! I have a copy in my Kindle library (approx. 300 pages), and the book is also available via Serial Reader (40 issues), so either way, I shouldn’t have a problem finishing by the spin end date, June 2nd.

What do you think of my newest spin result?

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #37:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
White Fang by Jack London
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

My previous Classics Club Spin books:

Are you participating in this Classics Club Spin? If so, what book will you be reading?

17Apr2024

Getting ready for the Spring 2024 Classics Club Spin!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!

Here are the dates and guidelines from the host blog:

On Sunday 21st April 2024 we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 2nd June, 2024.

We’ll check in here on Sunday the 2nd June to see who made it the whole way and finished their spin book!

What’s Next?

Go to your blog.

Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.

Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before 21st April 2024.

We’ll announce a number from 1-20.

Read that book by 2nd June.

Even though my to-read pile for the next few months is on the overwhelming side, I do love these spins and don’t want to miss out. I took the two longest books off my spin list last time around (David Copperfield and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), and although I’m tempted to add them back, the timing just isn’t right quite yet. So, I’m sticking with the same list as from spin #36, just adding in one new book to replace the one I read.

Here we go!

Here’s my list of 20 classics for the next Classics Club Spin:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
White Fang by Jack London
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

Wish me luck! I’ll be back on April 21st to reveal my spin result!

My previous Classics Club spins:

Spring 2022 (CCSpin29): The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
Summer 2022 (CCSpin30): Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Fall 2022 (CCSpin31): A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Winter 2022/2023 (CCSpin32): O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Spring 2023 (CCSpin33): Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Summer 2023 (CCSpin34): Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Fall 2023 (CCSpin35): Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Winter 2024 (CCSpin36): A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

24Feb2024

Book Review: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Classics Club Spin #36)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Night to Remember
Author: Walter Lord
Publication date: 1955
Length: 182 pages
Rating:

Lord’s classic bestseller, and the definitive account of the unsinkable ship’s fateful last hours

At first, no one but the lookout recognized the sound. Passengers described it as the impact of a heavy wave, a scraping noise, or the tearing of a long calico strip. In fact, it was the sound of the world’s most famous ocean liner striking an iceberg, and it served as the death knell for 1,500 souls.

In the next two hours and forty minutes, the maiden voyage of the Titanic became one of history’s worst maritime accidents. As the ship’s deck slipped closer to the icy waterline, women pleaded with their husbands to join them on lifeboats. Men changed into their evening clothes to meet death with dignity. And in steerage, hundreds fought bitterly against certain death. At 2:15 a.m. the ship’s band played “Autumn.” Five minutes later, the Titanic was gone.

Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, Lord’s moment-by-moment account is among the finest books written about one of the twentieth century’s bleakest nights.

Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember was considered the “definitive” account of the Titanic tragedy at the time of the book’s publication in 1955. The author interviewed survivors and witnesses of the aftermath, and clearly pored painstakingly through the historical records at the time. The result is a narrative that takes readers moment by moment through the events of that “night to remember”, showing the scope of the tragedy from multiple points of view and experiences.

From our vantage point over one hundred years later, none of this is new information exactly. The sinking of the Titanic is one of the most well-known events of the 20th century, after all, and countless books have been written about it, both fiction and non-fiction. And there’s a certain movie too…

Still, reading A Night to Remember is a fascinating experience. The author meticulously follows the timeline, from hitting the iceberg to the moment the ship slid completely beneath the water, to the survivors in their lifeboats and the rescue hours later by the Carpathia. As the night’s events progress, we follow the experiences of the people who were there — the wealthy first class passengers whose names are most familiar, the passengers in steerage, and the crew — officers, bakers, even a masseuse. The author often shows different perceptions of the same event, depicting specific passengers’ descriptions of what they saw and felt.

It’s an engrossing read. At the time of impact, one crewmember was certain it was a propeller problem. A passenger noted that it felt like the ship rolled over “a thousand marbles”. Another reported that it seemed “as though somebody had drawn a giant finger along the side of the ship.” Repeatedly throughout the book, we hear the voices of the Titanic’s survivors describing what they felt in the moment and what they remember about it as they look back.

While I’ve read quite a bit about the Titanic over the years (and have more Titanic fiction yet to read on my shelves), I haven’t read such a straightforward account of aspects of the sinking. The details on who got into which lifeboats and how, and the experience of being in these boats between the sinking and the rescue are all very interesting and provide yet another view into the terrors of that night.

One of the book’s appendices is a list of the Titanic’s passengers and crew, identifying those lost and those who survived. It’s just a list… and yet, it’s one of the most powerful elements of this book. We know the numbers, but seeing the names, on page after page, makes it all so much more stark and tragic.

The storytelling approach in A Night to Remember is a no-nonsense narrative. The writing itself isn’t fancy — the author wisely keeps the focus on the people and events, and doesn’t embellish or speculate beyond what the witnesses themselves may have wondered or assumed. There are people highlighted in this book whom I hadn’t heard of before, and it was lovely to get to appreciate the small and large acts of kindness and heroism that were new to me.

I’m very glad to have finally read this book, which I’d had my eye on for quite a while. As I’ve said, there’s no lack of written material about the Titanic, but A Night to Remember really does feel like a classic, stand-out account. Highly recommended.

Walter Lord wrote a follow-up book decades later, after Robert Ballard’s discovery of the wreck of the Titanic. The Night Lives On was published in 1986.

In this New York Times bestseller, the author of A Night to Remember and The Miracle of Dunkirk revisits the Titanic disaster.

Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember was a landmark work that recounted the harrowing events of April 14, 1912, when the British ocean liner RMS Titanic went down in the North Atlantic Ocean, a book that inspired a classic movie of the same name. In The Night Lives On, Lord takes the exploration further, revealing information about the ship’s last hours that emerged in the decades that followed, and separating myths from facts.

Was the ship really christened before setting sail on its maiden voyage? What song did the band play as water spilled over the bow? How did the ship’s wireless operators fail so badly, and why did the nearby Californian, just ten miles away when the Titanic struck the iceberg, not come to the rescue? Lord answers these questions and more, in a gripping investigation of the night when approximately 1,500 victims were lost to the sea.

I do intend to read this book as well, and will likely go back to my Titanic fiction shelf in the near future.

21Jan2024

My Classics Club Spin book for winter 2024 will be…

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

For CCSpin #36, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (published 1955)

Synopsis:

Lord’s classic bestseller, and the definitive account of the unsinkable ship’s fateful last hours

At first, no one but the lookout recognized the sound. Passengers described it as the impact of a heavy wave, a scraping noise, or the tearing of a long calico strip. In fact, it was the sound of the world’s most famous ocean liner striking an iceberg, and it served as the death knell for 1,500 souls.

In the next two hours and forty minutes, the maiden voyage of the Titanic became one of history’s worst maritime accidents. As the ship’s deck slipped closer to the icy waterline, women pleaded with their husbands to join them on lifeboats. Men changed into their evening clothes to meet death with dignity. And in steerage, hundreds fought bitterly against certain death. At 2:15 a.m. the ship’s band played “Autumn.” Five minutes later, the Titanic was gone.

Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, Lord’s moment-by-moment account is among the finest books written about one of the twentieth century’s bleakest nights.

I am delighted with this spin result! I’ve read my share of Titanic-related fiction over the years, but somehow never got around to this non-fiction book, which is considered (as the synopsis says) the definitive account of the events of that fateful night. As a plus, A Night to Remember is one of my shorter picks this time around — 182 pages for the Kindle edition — so finishing by March 3rd should not be a problem.

What do you think of my newest spin result?

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #36:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
White Fang by Jack London
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

My previous Classics Club Spin books:

Are you participating in this Classics Club Spin? If so, what book will you be reading?

18Jan2024

Getting ready for the Winter 2024 Classics Club Spin!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!

Here are the dates and guidelines from the host blog:

On Sunday 21st January 2024 we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 3rd March, 2024..

We’ll check in here on Sunday the 3rd March to see who made it the whole way and finished their spin book!

What’s Next?

Go to your blog.

Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.

Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before 21st January 2024.

We’ll announce a number from 1-20.

Read that book by 3rd March.

I considered not participating this time around, because I already have a pretty stuffed calendar when it comes to reading commitments between now and March. In fact, I’m still a bit on the fence… but I always enjoy these spins, so I don’t really want to sit out.

To keep myself sane, I’m swapping out the two longest books remaining (David Copperfield and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). Yes, I do still want to read them, but I’ll add them back to my spin list later in the year when the possibility of landing on them won’t stress me out as much! For now, I’m limiting my list to books under 400 pages (and actually loading it up with even shorter books) — I just can’t see being happy with the results otherwise.

Okay, that’s it for preamble! Now for the good stuff…

Here’s my list of 20 classics for the next Classics Club Spin:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
White Fang by Jack London
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

Wish me luck! I’ll be back on January 21st to reveal my spin result!

My previous Classics Club spins:

25Nov2023

Book Review: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (Classics Club Spin #35)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Cranford
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Publication date: 1853
Length: 145 pages
Rating:

A sampling of synopses:

Elizabeth Gaskell’s portrait of kindness, compassion, and hope

Cranford depicts the lives and preoccupations of the inhabitants of a small village – their petty snobberies, appetite for gossip, and loyal support for each other in times of need This is a community that runs on cooperation and gossip, at the very heart of which are the daughters of the former rector: Miss Deborah Jenkyns and her sister Miss Matty, But domestic peace is constantly threatened in the form of financial disaster, imagined burglaries, tragic accidents, and the reapparance of long-lost relatives.

The women of an English country village star in this Victorian classic that inspired a BBC series, from the author of North and South. Welcome to Cranford, where everyone knows one another and a cow wears pajamas. It’s a community built on friendship and kindness, where women hold court and most of the houses—and men—are rarely seen. Two colorful spinster sisters at the heart of Cranford, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah Jenkyns, are daughters of the former rector, and when they’re not playing cards or drinking tea, they’re feeding an endless appetite for scandal and weathering commotions to their peaceful lives, from financial troubles to thieves to an unexpected face from the past. First published in installments in Household Words, a magazine edited by Charles Dickens, Cranford was a hit of its time and today offers modern readers a glimpse into a small English town during the mid-nineteenth century.

Cranford is a lovely snapshot of a time and place. The gentle storytelling paints a portrait of a small village dominated by the various women who rule local society. Men are largely absent or unimportant; it’s the women’s gatherings, chats, rules, and visits that create the atmosphere of this sweet read.

In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women. If a married couple come to settle in the town, somehow the gentleman disappears; he is either fairly frightened to death by being the only man in the Cranford parties, or he is accounted for by being with his regiment, his hip, or closely engaged in business all the week in the great neighbouring commercial town of Drumble, distant only twenty miles on a railroad. In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford.

Narrated by Mary Smith, whose name we don’t actually learn until late in the book, Cranford depicts a series of events in the lives of the community. We quickly discover who sets the tone and who follows along; who is considered respectable and who is most decidedly not. Whether it’s the matter of clothing or when to burn candles, there are rules for everything, and woe to those who don’t follow the rules!

There isn’t much of a plot; rather, Cranford is a series of vignettes of the characters’ lives, covering silly events (such as a visiting magician) as well as deaths, marriages, births, and the loss of fortunes. While some characters appear to be ridiculously rule-bound, there are moments of loveliness when the various residents of Cranford come together to offer help and support, often without the recipient having any idea of how much is being done for them (so as not to damage their pride).

The writing is often quite funny:

“Mrs Forrester … sat in state, pretending not to know what cakes were sent up, though she knew, and we knew, and she knew that we knew, and we knew that she knew that we knew, she had been busy all the morning making tea-bread and sponge-cakes.”

And yet, the story includes sad moments as well — stories of lost love, estranged family members, and sudden accidents.

Overall, Cranford is a gentle read, full of humor and sharp descriptions, but it is also kind and generous, even with the more ridiculous of the characters.

I’m glad to have read this little gem. Once again, another terrific read thanks to a Classics Club Spin!

19Oct2023

My Classics Club Spin book for fall 2023 will be…

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Last week, I shared a post with my list of books for the newest Classics Club Spin challenge (see it here), and a few days ago, this spin’s number was announced. (For those keeping track, it’s CC Spin #35, and for me personally, #7!)

For CCSpin #35, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (published 1853)

Synopsis:

The women of an English country village star in this Victorian classic that inspired a BBC series, from the author of North and South.

Welcome to Cranford, where everyone knows one another and a cow wears pajamas. It’s a community built on friendship and kindness, where women hold court and most of the houses—and men—are rarely seen. Two colorful spinster sisters at the heart of Cranford, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah Jenkyns, are daughters of the former rector, and when they’re not playing cards or drinking tea, they’re feeding an endless appetite for scandal and weathering commotions to their peaceful lives, from financial troubles to thieves to an unexpected face from the past.

First published in installments in Household Words, a magazine edited by Charles Dickens, Cranford was a hit of its time and today offers modern readers a glimpse into a small English town during the mid-nineteenth century.

In case you’re wondering — yes, I’m happy with this spin! I’d been holding my breath thinking that I’d end up with a really long book this time around, and I’m perfectly content not to feel that kind of pressure. At 145 pages, Cranford should be very doable… and we have until December 3rd to finish our spin books this time around.

What do you think of my newest spin result?

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #35:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

My previous Classics Club Spin books:

Are you participating in this Classics Club Spin? If so, what book will you be reading?

10Oct2023

Getting ready for the Fall 2023 Classics Club Spin!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!

Here are the dates and guidelines from the host blog:

On Sunday 15th, October, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 3rd December, 2023.

We’ll check in here on Sunday the 3rd December to see who made it the whole way and finished their spin book!

What’s Next?

Go to your blog.

Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.

Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday, 15th October.

We’ll announce a number from 1-20.

Read that book by 3rd December.

I’m a little nervous this time around, because my reading schedule already feels overstuffed with a couple of big books related to group reads. I’m tempted to drop the longer books from my list… and yet, with a month and a half to get it done, even something on the lengthier side might be possible. Maybe. Fingers crossed.

Okay, sticking with the list I already had going, and just adding in the replacements for books I’ve already read…

Here’s my list of 20 classics for the next Classics Club Spin:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholom Aleichem
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

Wish me luck! I’ll be away on October 15th and for the week following, but I’ll share my spin result once I’m back online.

My previous Classics Club spins:

1Jul2023

Book Review: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Classics Club Spin #34)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Herland
Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Publication date: 1915
Length: 147 pages
Rating:

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A prominent turn-of-the-century social critic and lecturer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is perhaps best known for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a chilling study of a woman’s descent into insanity, and Women and Economics, a classic of feminist theory that analyzes the destructive effects of women’s economic reliance on men.

In Herland, a vision of a feminist utopia, Gilman employs humor to engaging effect in a story about three male explorers who stumble upon an all-female society isolated somewhere in South America. Noting the advanced state of the civilization they’ve encountered, the visitors set out to find some males, assuming that since the country is so civilized, “there must be men.” A delightful fantasy, the story enables Gilman to articulate her then-unconventional views of male-female roles and capabilities, motherhood, individuality, privacy, the sense of community, sexuality, and many other topics.

Decades ahead of her time in evolving a humanistic, feminist perspective, Gilman has been rediscovered and warmly embraced by contemporary feminists. An articulate voice for both women and men oppressed by the social order of the day, she adeptly made her points with a wittiness often missing from polemical writings.

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an ahead-of-its-time feminist novel imaging a secret society of women living in an isolated utopia that’s existed for 2,000 years. The plot is narrated by one of a trio of male explorers who “discover” Herland and must learn to adapt to its highly evolved society.

According to Wikipedia:

Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, who bear children without men (parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction). The result is an ideal social order: free of war, conflict, and domination. It was first published in monthly installments as a serial in 1915 in The Forerunner, a magazine edited and written by Gilman between 1909 and 1916, with its sequel, With Her in Ourland beginning immediately thereafter in the January 1916 issue. The book is often considered to be the middle volume in her utopian trilogy, preceded by Moving the Mountain (1911). It was not published in book form until 1979.

As the book opens, narrator Van and his traveling partners, Terry and Jeff, become obsessed with the idea of locating a hidden land that’s rumored to be inhabited only by women. The men are all scientists of one sort or another, and each has his own attitude toward women. All find it hard to believe that such a place could actually exist, but they finally organize an expedition to discover the truth.

Before arrival, they seem to share a belief that there must be men in this land somewhere, whether residents or occasional guests. How else could this society continue to exist? As well, there’s a doubt about a society of women’s ability to manage — they can’t conceive of women as builders, providers, or growers, and deduce that they must have men’s help. On the other hand, Terry is the womanizer of the group, and while he’s doubtful about the rumors, he’s also sure that a group of women deprived of male company will be absolutely delighted to have him in their midst.

Once the men arrive in Herland, it becomes clear that their expectations are completely off-base. After initial tensions that seem likely to erupt into violence, the men are treated as guests — although without permission or opportunity to leave, they’ve more like gently-treated prisoners. They’re provided shelter, food, and clothing, and the women of Herland begin a lengthy, patient process of teaching the men their ways, culture, and habits.

The men are astonished — Herland is civilized and thriving, with beautiful cities, rich agriculture, and swarms of happy, healthy children. Motherhood is valued above all else, and the women eventually teach the men how their country came to be, and how parthenogenesis spontaneously occurred many generations back, allowing their people to continue to reproduce and flourish.

The men bring with them the expected sexism of their time, and only Terry seems to find it difficult to let the old attitudes go once faced with the reality of a women’s utopia.

Herland examines early 20th century attitudes toward femininity and masculinity, gender-based social roles, appearance and age, and the dynamics of relationships and marriage. Nothing is as the men expect, and their firmly-held beliefs about women’s abilities, about the purpose and goals of wives and mothers, and about the necessity of men to a healthy society are all proved wrong, time and time again.

The writing flows well and contains plenty of amusing outbursts and exclamations each time the men discover some new and unexpected aspect of Herland. I had to laugh over Van’s description of the clothing they’re provided with:

I see that I have not remarked that these women had pockets in surprising number and variety. They were in all their garments, and the middle one in particular was shingled with them.

See? Even in 1915, it’s clear that women’s clothing with pockets absolutely ruled.

After hearing about Herland for years, I’m glad to have finally read it. There is apparently a sequel, With Her In Ourland, which follows immediately upon the events of Herland, showing what happens when a woman from Herland accompanies the men back to the United States. Right now, I don’t feel all that inclined to read the sequel, although I may come back to it at some point down the road.

All in all, Herland is a fast, enjoyable read, with a style reminiscent of the works of H. G. Wells, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, or other adventure tales of the era. Herland provides a compelling look at the state of feminist theory and literature in the early 20th century. It’s a fascinating story about cultural and gender-based biases and expectations from that time, and has many concepts and situations that resonate even today.

Another terrific read thanks to a Classics Club Spin!

18Jun2023

My Classics Club Spin book for summer 2023 will be…

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Earlier this week, I shared a post with my list of books for the newest Classics Club Spin challenge (see it here), and today, this spin’s number was announced. (For those keeping track, it’s CC Spin #34, and for me personally, #6!)

For CCSpin #34, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (published 1915)

Synopsis:

A prominent turn-of-the-century social critic and lecturer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is perhaps best known for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a chilling study of a woman’s descent into insanity, and Women and Economics, a classic of feminist theory that analyzes the destructive effects of women’s economic reliance on men.

In Herland, a vision of a feminist utopia, Gilman employs humor to engaging effect in a story about three male explorers who stumble upon an all-female society isolated somewhere in South America. Noting the advanced state of the civilization they’ve encountered, the visitors set out to find some males, assuming that since the country is so civilized, “there must be men.” A delightful fantasy, the story enables Gilman to articulate her then-unconventional views of male-female roles and capabilities, motherhood, individuality, privacy, the sense of community, sexuality, and many other topics.

Decades ahead of her time in evolving a humanistic, feminist perspective, Gilman has been rediscovered and warmly embraced by contemporary feminists. An articulate voice for both women and men oppressed by the social order of the day, she adeptly made her points with a wittiness often missing from polemical writings.

This wasn’t necessarily the book I was most hoping for this time around, but I’m happy with the spin results regardless! I do think I may have read an excerpt from Herland for a women’s studies class way back in my college years — but I’m not 100% sure, so this will be a good chance to find out. This is a relatively short book (under 150 pages, in the edition I checked out from the library), and I look forward to diving in!

What do you think of my newest spin book?

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #34: