What we’re about
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."
We are a group of people who love to read classic Western fiction. Think English, French, German, Russian, American and Australian. We tend to focus on books largely written before 1945. The only requirement is to read the book (or to try), or listen, come along and enjoy. As classics, they are easily available from libraries, bookshops and for free online from https://www.gutenberg.org
For those who physically come along to our book club meetings, feel free to join the Facebook group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1030647322264967
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Northanger Abbey (1817) by Jane Austin (Second Meeting)The Shakespeare Hotel, Sydney
Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, at 7.00pm on Thursday September 18, we will be discussing Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (1817).
The novel is a playful exploration of how young women dealt with the social expectations of England at the time. The main character, Catherine, is bookish 17-year-old whose obsession with Gothic novels leads her to see the world through the eyes of such novels. Sometimes, she gets a bit carried away with her imagination. One novel in particular, The Mysteries of Udolpho, leads her to misunderstand the world around her. As Catherine navigates the polite society of the city of Bath (in England) and the shadowy halls of Northanger Abbey, Austen satirises gender and class relations.
Bonus reading!
It's possible to read Northanger Abbey as a stand-alone novel of about 260 pages because we all get the basic idea of what a Gothic story is: think crumbling castles, the virtuous young woman in peril, the tyrannical villain, locked rooms, veiled objects, dark passageways, secret doors, underground spaces. All followed by a final, rational, explanation. Just imagine the old cartoon series, Scooby-Doo.
This Gothic genre, however, was established by an earlier novel, that Austen was satrirising. That earlier novel was The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe. That novel is much longer (about 600 pages) and is now known as the birth of 'Gothic literature.'
In short, we will discuss Northanger Abbey. But if you have the time, The Mysteries of Udolpho is great fun. As classics, there are numerous library and free online copies, from sites such as https://www.gutenberg.org/
- The Marble Faun by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Shakespeare Hotel, Sydney
Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, at 7.00pm on Thursday October 2, we will be discussing Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun (1860).
Set in 19th-century Rome, The Marble Faun is a classic of American and Gothic literature. It is a darkly romantic novel that blends art, history, and moral inquiry. The story revolves around four main characters: Hilda, a pure American artist; Miriam, a mysterious woman with a haunting past; Kenyon, a sculptor; and Donatello, a seemingly innocent Italian count whose resemblance to a classical faun statue gives the novel its name.
When Donatello commits a murder under murky circumstances, the characters are plunged into a psychological and spiritual crisis.
The novel explores themes of sin, guilt, redemption, and the loss of innocence—asking whether moral awareness requires the experience of evil. Rich with symbolic depth and descriptions of Rome’s ancient ruins, Hawthorne uses the setting as a backdrop to probe timeless moral questions.
The novel is a about the same length as A Tale of Two Cities. It is approximately 370 pages long, depending on the edition. Available from Guthenberg in two 'volumes' from https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=the+marble+faun A professional recording (edited) is 7 hours long and can be found at https://www.audible.com.au
Amazon has paperback copies for $21.
Numerous summaries and reviews can be found on youtube.
