#george tdw

[1864-66readingproject]

Noooo 😭

[philosopherking1887]

Okay, I really hope I’m not bothering you too much, but what about Alan Taylor director of The Dark World? Idk how much it leans towards Christianity versus Norse mythology, but that was the film that really made me fall in love with Loki. Hiddleston’s portrayal was heartbreaking and the whole narrative with his mom?? Why are people not talking about Alan Taylor?

Nope, not bothering me, and I will get to your other question eventually…

The reason I don’t talk much about Alan Taylor is because I don’t really think of him as an artist with a distinctive voice or vision, the way Kenneth Branagh, Joss Whedon, and Taika Waititi are. That might be unfair to him, but I only really know him as one of a rotating cast of directors on Game of Thrones, where the writer and the director are almost always different people, and the “voice” of the series, if there is one, belongs either to George R.R. Martin or to Benioff & Weiss (especially in the last season… what a mess of disappointing clichés).

Now, it’s also true that the writer and the director of Thor 1 and Thor: Ragnarok were separate people: Thor 1 was written by Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz; Ragnarok was, in theory, written by Eric Pearson. However, by all accounts TR was about 80% “improvised,” which is to say, Taika Waititi suggested/shouted things to say instead of what was in the script… and Jeff Goldblum came up with his own shit. One of the more egregious examples of directorial departure from the original screenplay appears to be the infamous bit where Loki plans to betray Thor to the Grandmaster and then Thor outsmarts him by putting the obedience disk on him, gives him a smug little lecture about growth and change while he’s convulsing in pain, and then leaves him there incapacitated and defenseless (which I still think is unbelievably cruel, negligent of Loki’s safety, and OOC). According to people who have read the novel version (which I haven’t but maybe should) – @whitedaydream might be the person I got this from, or @lucianalight – that entire sequence was completely absent from the novelization. And we seem to have some evidence that they filmed a version without it: in some of the trailers: Loki shows up on the Bifrost with the rest of the Revengers rather than arriving later with the big ship. So even if the outlines of the plot were provided by Eric Pearson’s screenplay, the tone and character of the movie – its “humor,” if you liked it, or its soulless flippancy and cruelty (to both characters and fans), if you didn’t – indubitably came from Taika Waititi.

Thor 1 adhered more closely to the screenplay – which is available on IMSDb, if you’re interested – so I consider Miller & Stentz to have more of a role in its creative vision than Pearson did with TR. Stentz has even commented on Twitter about the theme of internalized racism; and that writing team also did X-Men: First Class, in which you can see some of the same themes and also the (totally unintentional…?) homoerotic tension between the two main male characters. That said, you can definitely see Kenneth Branagh’s distinctively Shakespearean sensibility in the way some of the important confrontations are presented – and that’s a major part of what gives that movie its overall tone and emotional power. (Also, as this post notes, Branagh & Hiddleston made some notable departures from the acting instructions in the screenplay that contributed to its tragic and also gay-incestuous vibe.)

The Dark World, as much as I loved it for its Thorki fic realness and ANGST, was kind of a creative mess. Patty Jenkins was supposed to direct it, but then backed out for reasons I’m not completely clear on, and Alan Taylor was brought in kind of last-minute. The screenplay was mostly written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, who wrote the Captain America movies, Infinity War, and Avengers 4, and whom I am fond of calling dimwitted hacks because that’s what they are. (The First Avenger was fine; The Winter Soldier is massively overrated and frankly kind of boring and confusing IMO; Civil War was a disaster of muddled, unsympathetic characterization and missed opportunities for interesting philosophical exploration; Infinity War was similarly disastrous, and showed us exactly why dimwitted hacks should not be attempting to explore philosophical issues.) I say “mostly” because Joss Whedon was brought in as a script doctor (one of his original jobs in Hollywood) to rewrite some scenes that weren’t working, including an “emotional” scene between Thor and Jane (not sure which one), the notorious Thorki bro-boat scene (and you can definitely see the hallmarks of his writing in that one), and Loki’s shapeshifting scene. Loki’s trial scene at the beginning was also a late addition, inspired by a TDW prelude comic; I honestly don’t know who wrote that scene, but the comic seems to have been written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost. The upshot is that TDW was most definitely a horse designed by committee, so it’s hard to identify whose creative vision it was expressing. I can identify Alan Taylor’s influence in the dark, grungy Game of Thrones-esque aesthetic, but I’m not sure where else to find him.

[1864-66readingproject]

Currently reading my April chapters of The Doctor's Wife. Have just finished chapters 10 and 11 and

ohhhhhhhhh 😞

I just feel so sorry for both of them. Slightly more Isabel, I guess, since the chapters are more focused on her POV, but also for George. He may not understand her, and not seem to put much effort into trying to do so, but likewise, I don't think she understands him or is putting much effort into trying to do so either. He may count when she's trying to read him poetry, but she reads when he's trying to talk to her.

[1864-66readingproject]

I really enjoyed the first part of The Doctor's Wife, which uses three chapters to introduce three characters through Braddon's signature style: gentle ribbing.

Chapter 1 - 'A Young Man From the Country'

Introduces us to George Gilbert, a 22-year-old country doctor - presumably the doctor whose wife is in the title? So presumably he will marry at some point?

"he was only a common-place lad"

Reads historical action-adventures and skips over the first chapters to get to the action quicker

"He had those homely, healthy good looks which the novelist or poet in search of a hero would recoil from with actual horror, and which the practical mind involuntarily associates with tenant-farming in a small way, or the sale of butcher's meat."

Oblivious to young women who fancy him

Goes to London, immediately gets lost

Overall he seems like a nice, simple young man. My guess is that his simplicity and/or his traditional values will be challenged by the end of the novel?

Chapter 2 - 'A Sensation Author'

Sam Sigismund Smith, fiction writer for penny magazines and school friend of George's who he is intending to stay with for a few days

Ink-smudged young man

Sigismund is supposed to be studying to become a lawyer (the "supposed to be" reminds me very much of Braddon's earlier character, my beloved Robert Audley. The big difference between Sigismund and Robert being their energy; Sigismund may not be a studying the law as intended, but he is pursuing a career...)

"He found literature a great deal more profitable and a great deal easier [...] and he abandoned himself entirely" to writing

"He was a very mild young man. He could not have hit any one if he had tried ever so; and if you had hit him, I don't think he would have minded—much."

Meanwhile, writes very passionate and melodramatic fiction

(Also like Robert Audley in liking marmalade and getting laughed at for it. Neither of them performing masculinity sufficiently, apparently.)

He also seems very lovely. I'm not sure if he will be a main character, or if he gets a chapter of his own just as a necessary link between the characters of chapter 1 and chapter 3... I hope he will stay a prominent character, because I really like him! If he does, I think perhaps he'll end up getting passionate about something in real life for once.

Chapter 3 - Isabel

The daughter/step-daughter/half-sister of the family Sigismund lives with

Spends "the best part of her idle, useless life" reading

Most of the time her eyes look black, but in some lights - yellow? orange? For the sake of my own mental image, I'm going assume that means she has brown eyes...

"She knew a little Italian, enough French to serve for the reading of novels that she might have better left unread"

"She played the piano a little, and sang a little, and painted wishy-washy-looking flowers on Bristol-board from nature, but not at all like nature"

"She wanted her life to be like her books; she wanted to be a heroine,—unhappy perhaps, and dying early"

I have a horrible feeling she's going to regret that wish by the end of the book... Or, indeed, may already be regretting it by the end of chapter 3.

I sort of assume (as George seems to fancy Isabel) that she will become the titular Doctor's Wife, but with the ending of chapter 3, it's a bit difficult to see how at the moment... timeskip? Didn't go so far as America after all? ¯\(°_o)/¯ I'm looking forward to finding out...

[1864-66readingproject]

‼️⁉️‼️

Just reached the end of chapter 29 of The Doctor's Wife

And because I'm reading it following the initial serial publication I have to wait AN ENTIRE MONTH until I can read the next chapter 😩😩😩

[1864-66readingproject]

This is a sideblog for my own sort of personal reading project for the next couple of years. Based on the Reading Like a Victorian website, I have picked six/seven books published serially during 1864-1866 and will 'follow along' throughout 2024-2026, probably also reading some of the other publications from those years in their correct 'serial moment.'

See below the cut for the works I'll be reading and how I'll be tagging, etc.

Why 1864-66?

It lines up with my more general reading goals (at some point in 2024 I hope to move from a focus on literature from 1837-1859 to a focus on literature from 1860-1879)

It's the two-year period on RLV with the most novels I haven't already read (which have librivox recordings available - I have a chronic illness and have to spend a lot of my non-working time lying down, so the vast majority of my 'reading' is in audio form.)

The books I'll be reading serially are:

Luttrell of Arran by Charles Lever in 15 monthly parts, Dec 1863 to Feb 1865 (I didn't decide I was going to include this one in time to begin in Dec 2023, so read 2 parts in Jan 2024, and will otherwise follow schedule until Feb 2025) [This one is the only one not on librivox - I'm using a text-to-speech app instead]

The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon in 12 monthly parts, Jan to Dec 1864 (Jan to Dec 2024)

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens in 19 monthly parts (the last month having approx twice the normal number of chapters, as a sort of double-installment), May 1864 to Nov 1865 (May 2024 to Nov 2025)

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell in 18 monthly parts, Aug 1864 to Jan 1866 (Aug 2024 to Jan 2026)

Armadale by Wilkie Collins in 20 monthly parts, Nov 1864 to May 1866 (Nov 2024 to May 2026)

The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope in 16 twice-monthly parts, May 1865 to Jan 1866 (May 2025 to Jan 2026)

Cradock Nowell: A Tale of the New Forest by R.D. Blackmore in 16 monthly parts, May 1865 to Aug 1866 (May 2025 to Aug 2026

The 'other' works from 1864 to 1866 I hope to read at the corresponding 'serial moment' are:

Henry Dunbar, the Story of an Outcast by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, published as a 3 volume novel in May 1864 following previous serialisation (May 2024)

Brother Jacob by George Eliot, a short story published in a magazine in July 1864 (July 2024)

Enoch Arden by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a (narrative?) poem published November 1864 (Nov 2024)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, children's story published in one volume Nov 1865 (Nov 2025)

Felix Holt, the Radical by George Eliot, a three-volume novel published in August 1866 (Aug 2026)

I'll also be 'binge' reading other works (mainly Victorian, initially focusing on the period 1837-1859, then moving on to the 1860s, then on to the 1870s), so I'm not going to be *strictly* staying in the 'serial moment'... but it will be an interesting project for me nonetheless.

Tagging:

The reason I'm doing this on a sideblog rather than my main is that I want to post fairly unfiltered thoughts, and not to spend much time dithering over a post; therefore please be aware that this blog is highly likely to post untagged spoilers for the works, and probably untagged triggers.

For the most part, I will also not be using the standard tags for the works, as I don't want to clog up the main tags. I'll be using alternative tags like so:

#LoA (Luttrell of Arran)

#TDW (The Doctor's Wife)

#OMF (Our Mutual Friend)

#W&D (Wives and Daughters)

#Arma (Armadale)

#TBE (The Belton Estate)

#CN (Cradock Nowell)

#HD (Henry Dunbar)

#EA (Enoch Arden)

#AiW (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

#FH (Felix Holt)

I may also tag with the month & year (e.g. #Jan 1864) and serialised part (e.g. #part 1). When I tag characters, I think I will generally do first name & work initials (e.g. for Bella Wilfer from Our Mutual Friend: #bella OMF) unless I want the post to go in the main tag for that character.

Things I hope to pay particular attention to:

Serialisation: serialised parts, how the part-breaks are utilised (or not), how characters who have been out of the narrative for a few months are recalled to mind (or not), etc

The characters of Cynthia Kirkpatrick (Wives and Daughters) and Bella Wilfer (Our Mutual Friend)... W&D and OMF are the only two books of the above that I've read before, and I don't think it would really have occurred to me to compare them as they are so different in setting and tone, but actually - once I began thinking about it - I realised that both of them explore, in different ways, the psychological effect of financial insecurity on lower-middle class young women, and how that affects their approach to life and the choices they make and so on, so l think that will be an interesting thing to consider as I read. I will also consider if characters in any of the other works also explore similar ideas.

Social class as it relates to romantic storylines (again, I think there are some possible parallels to be drawn between W&D and OMF at least)

Class more generally, and all the different things that contribute to class and perceived class (wealth, posessions, income, occupation, education, birth & family, company & connections, 'manner', 'respectability', etc)

Women and reputation

Women in sensation plots...

Sensation plots more generally... In particular, I want to see if I can figure out why I've never seen anyone categorise OMF as a Sensation novel, despite it being from the right time period and including a lot of the hallmarks of the Sensation genre, including questions of identity, deception, crime, scheming, moral dilemmas, etc. I'm hoping that reading it alongside a few Sensation novels (Cradock Nowell is apparently a sensation novel, as are Armadale and both Braddon novels) and a few novels from authors associated with non-sensation literature (Gaskell, Trollope and Eliot), will help me figure out what I'm missing... [Actually, between writing the above and posting, I found this from the review of OMF by E.S. Dallas, published in The Times 29 Nov 1865: "The story, of course, we are not going to tell. It is very ingenious, and the plot is put together with an elaboration which we scarcely expect to find in a novel published in parts. All we shall say of it is, that those readers who pant for what is called "sensation" may feast in it to their heart's content on sensation; and that those who care more for quiet pictures and studies of character will also find that the author has provided for them. Mr. Dickens's range is wide, [...]"]]

Crime and morality

Violence

The role of the urban and the rural

Wives and Daughters contains a woman who becomes the wife of a doctor, and based on the title, I rather assume The Doctor's Wife does too... this could be a very shallow parallel but I guess I'll find out!

The last installment of W&D... I'm wondering if (by that time) being used to the 'rhythm' of the novel's serial publication will shed any sort of light on how things might have played out, beyond what is explicitly given...

Possible queer readings, esp of Our Mutual Friend

Other things worth mentioning:

The illustration used in my header and icon is by Marcus Stone, for the original serialisation of Our Mutual Friend.

I will also be attempting to do some relevant academic reading around some of the themes, etc, but 1) I want to avoid spoilers for the works I haven't already read, and 2) I don't have a lot of time/energy due to being both chronically ill and employed, so I don't know how successful I'll be at that.