Modern Victorian novels

As Sarah Waters came up in another group I'm in recently, I thought it might be interesting to start a thread to discuss modern novels set in Victorian times.

I'll mention just two: I've read Fingersmith by Waters (I haven't read Affinity yet) which I enjoyed. I also read Arthur Phillips Angelica which I enjoyed. The latter seems at first to be a Victorian ghost story but as the other viewpoints unfold it becomes far more than a ghost story and gives us a interesting peek into the era. I read it after reading Liz Hand's review in the Washington Post. There are, of course, SPOILERS in the review (but that didn't seem to bother my reading of the novel).

avaland, I think part of your post may have disappeared?

I, too, enjoyed Fingersmith, as well as Waters' earlier Tipping the Velvet.

Three others I liked enough to mention are:

The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber, about a prostitute in Victorian London. Like Fingersmith, this book is structured like a Victorian novel, although with much more sex than you would find in the real article.

Lady's Maid, by Margaret Forster, is the (fictional) story of Elizabeth Barrett's maid both before and after Barrett's to Robert Browning.

Misfortune, by Wesley Stace, again structured like a Victorian novel, is the tale of a foundling raised by a fey aristocrat. (I must caution that, although I liked this book, it was a first novel and it shows.)

You could try The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox.

Here are a few suggestions:

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason
The Observations by Jane Harris
The Salt Letters by Christine Balint
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
Unravelling by Elizabeth Graver. Set in US, but late 19th century.
The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman

Not all equal. I recommend the first three.

Cabegley, I have to say that I did not really like The crimson petal and the white. I was disappointed, I guess I was expecting something more.
After reading The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips, I decided never to read anything written by him again. However, avaland, since you say Angelica is good, perhaps I will give it a try.

Quincunx, by Charles Palliser is one of the first "modern Victorian triple-deckers" I ever read. It is, as it should be, quite esoteric and convoluted, and a great deal of fun.

It's a long time since I read them, but you might like to try Howard Spring, particularly the 'Manchester' novels set around the turn of the Century. Rattling good yarns with a lot of Victorian/Edwardian detail as I remember.

I have to say, aluvalibri (#5), it has been a while since I read The Crimson Petal and the White, but I do remember being disappointed that it didn't quite live up to its promise. I did like it, but I enjoyed Fingersmith much more.

thanks, cabegley, I fixed my original post (left the second quotation marks out of the link). aluvalibri, skim Hand's review and see what you think. Content may not be what you prefer.

I enjoyed Crimson Petal also but felt a little cheated by the ending. The Salt Letters is a very short debut novel but quite good. It chronicles a young woman's trip from England to Australia. I'd second the Piano Tuner also - another excellent debut novel.

This one is a little earlier than Victorian: A Factory of Cunning by Philippa Stockley. Not quite as enjoyable as Fingersmith but it's an entertaining read all the same. I second lilithcat's recommendation of Quincunx

How about Possession? Victorian in parts and well worth reading if you've missed it.

I agree with lilithcat and pamelad on The Quincunx, which I read years ago and thoroughly enjoyed.
Again, since Possession is one of my favourite books ever, I cannot but agree with pamelad (once again).
:-))

I would also suggest Kept: a Victorian mystery by D.J. Taylor. I read this one last month and really enjoyed it. I thought Taylor did a great job of intertwining plots and I loved the epistolary format.

Have to third? fourth? the nomination of Possession. Also one of my favorites.

As mentioned elsewhere on LT today...I am reminded of The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman. I thought this quite good also.

I picked up Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin today at the bookshop. It looks intriguing... It's the story of the housemaid to Dr. Henry Jekyll.

#14 Oooh, that's a good one! (Skip the movie, however.)

Thanks for mentioning it, avaland. I had forgotten about it even if I have often looked at it in the bookshop.

Oh come on, Mary Reilly has Malkovich who is incredibly sexy as Hyde. That's the only reason to watch it however. I'd watch Malkovich peel potatoes. He's so hypnotic.

Yeah, I'm a freak.

Well, yes, there's Malkovich--playing his usual Malkevich (which I also adore).

But then there's Julia Roberts . . .

Like I said, Malkovich is the only reason to watch this. Well that and Michael Gambon as an absolute shit.

Hmm, I didn't realize the connection between the two Mary Reillys (the book and the movie). Wonder how I missed that.

Just read The Seance by John Harwood. An entertaining read with many twists and turns. Has anyone read his other, The Ghost Writer?

Fixed touchstone.

I have read The Ghost Writer, pamelad. I was totally sucked in the book, and could not put it down till I finished it. And, let me tell you, what an ending! So......go get it NOW!
:-))

"Modern Victorian" readers might enjoy Indiscretion and Passion both by Jude Morgan and both excellent books.

I have to say that I too really enjoyed The Meaning of Night. Also loved Deanna Raybourn's Silent series featuring Lady Julia Grey. Another really good book, available in the UK, is Girl in a Blue Dress, by Gaynor Arnold. Fictionalization of the life of Catherine Dickens, wife of Charles. Also just released is The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue, about a scandalous divorce case.

I wasn't so fond of Kept, however. I thought it was a little convoluted in places, and the "mystery" wasn't much to write home about.

I quite liked crimson petal, though I must admit I picked it up to begin with because of Tennyson, I agree with others that Sarah Waters is better, and Possession is one of my favourite books. I thought I'd find more on my shelves to recommend, but now that I look, there are more of an 18th or 17th century slant...

#23 Passion is one of my top all-time favorite historical novels. It's a little earlier than Victorian, as the subtitle explains: "The Romantic Poets and the Women Who Loved Them." It's a wonderful book about the Byron-Shelley-Keats circle, told mostly from the points of view of the women in their lives: Mary Shelley, Claire Clairemont, Lady Caroline Lamb, Fanny Brawne and others.

I'll throw out two more that are definitely Victorian:

Angles and Insects by A. S. Byatt
The Observations by Jane Harris

You've hit on a genre I just can't get enough of! Probably my favourite of all is The Crimson Petal, and if you do try that one you could follow it up with The Apple, but I have loads more in my library and I'm going to try and compile a list here of the best of them.

As the thread started out that way, I'll kick off with anything by Sarah Waters - Affinity is wonderful, as is Tipping the Velvet. You might also try 98 Reasons For Being, Arthur and George, The Unburied, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Great Stink, Mr Wroe's Virgins, The Quincunx, This Thing of Darkness.

I think those are some of the best I have read - and, before anyone else picks me up on it, I've interpreted 'Victorian' as 'pretty-much-19th century'. One or two of these fall just outside the stricty-correct interpretation of the word. I've also confined myself to fiction. If you're generally interested in that period a couple of very readable non-fiction books you might try are The Victorian House and Victorian London. Hope you find something there you'll enjoy.

Edited to fix touchstones

For an American take on the Victorian romance, I recommend Joyce Carol Oates's A Bloodsmoor Romance, all the usual delicious tropes with an annoying and delightfully moral narrator to lead us around by the nose and tell us simply everything about the Zinn family and their five lovely, marriageable daughters (most early American fiction is very moral).

I love Victorian settings. I'm looking forward to reading Jack Dawkins by Charlton Daines next week.