rec requests: Regency and Victorian novels, and novels set during the English Regency/Victorian

[coraa]

Since I've gotten wonderful responses when I asked about cookbooks and steampunk novels (and many thanks to everyone who suggested things -- I've enjoyed many of the books!), I'll try again. I've a hankering for things set in the English Regency and early- to mid-Victorian period (the absolute hard cutoff is that it needs to be pre-WWI). The caveat is: I'm looking for things that focus on social life, society, and -- where possible -- the life of women. IE, I'm looking for Emma, not Kidnapped!; Middlemarch, not King Solomon's Mines. ;) (I say this because the vast scope of Victorian Novels! will swamp me, but focusing on society makes it at least a little bit easier a mouthful to bite off.... Also, because that's frankly what interests me. Society! Relationships! Women!)

I'd be happy to read things actually written during these periods (as long as they're about contemporary society; not so much Ivanhoe), as well as Regency/Victorian historical fiction. Also, Regency romance and category mysteries, as long as they're good! And if you know of good Regency/Victorian fantasy that focuses on social life, please! Suggest!

What I've read (and some examples of what I'm looking for): You don't need to mention Jane Austen; that's covered. ;) I've also read Sorcery and Cecelia and The Grand Tour, by Wrede and Stevermer (the first one many times, even), though I haven't got round to reading the third book in the series. (In fact, S&C is why I got interested in this in the first place, probably.) Also, To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis; Silas Marner, by George Eliot; The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton; Lady Windemere's Fan, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde; Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton; and, um, this is embarrassing, but the Samantha books by the American Girl Company, which realistically is probably the actual reason for my interest in the period.

What I am already planning to read: Madeleine Robins' Point of Honor; George Eliot's Middlemarch; William Thackeray's Vanity Fair. Also, I am aware of Georgette Heyer, Anthony Trollope, and Charles Dickens, though I'd love suggestions on which books to start with. (I have read David Copperfield.) More Wilde. Ruby in the Smoke, by Philip Pullman. The Temeraire books, though I suspect they're more adventure/military than society-and-culture, and society-culture is what I want. Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome. Tess of the d'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. (This planning-to-read is heavy on stuf written during the period in question, but I am looking also for modern fiction written about the period; I just don't know as much of it to put on the list.)

Also, if you know of any good nonfiction (I've enjoyed What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, and I wish I could find another copy of Austen's household book) that focuses on society/culture, I'd love to hear that too. And please feel free to point other people to this for more suggestions....

Thank you, everyone!

Comments

[fairmer.livejournal.com]

There's a book called Lady Elizabeth's Comet that purports to be a Regency romance, but it's so damn funny and atypical for the genre that I think it's just something else. (It's about a female astronomer who discovers a comet, and the love story is a friendship story, really.)

The Brontes focused on women's lives, of course! Anne Bronte's Tenant of Wildfell Hall has a section in it that reminds me incredibly much of Austen, and I am so sad that Anne didn't live longer and write loads more. (The rest of the book is typical Bronte bluster and drama.)

Non-fiction: The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in Georgian England by Amanda Vickery...

Oh, and if you have a chance, watch Regency House Party. It's fantastic! There's a book that goes with it, and you just learn so much about the time period.

Oh, and in the "unsung Regency romance" category is any of the early series by Marion Chesney. They're very popular in public libraries, and they usually have some fantastic nuggets of historical information amidst their tremendously light/silly plots.

Uhm... I have so many more thoughts, but I have to pause for now...

[coraa.livejournal.com]

The Brontes! I knew I was missing someone big.

Thank you -- the recs look wonderful. (And Regency House Party does look great! Adding it to my wishlist, for certain.)