OT: Literary Societies

Would be curious to know whether you Faddicts subscribe to literary societies of your favourite authors.

I have in the past been interested in joining with like minded souls in connection with the likes of Waugh, Tolkien, PL Fermor, Scott, Stevenson etc. The latter being the only one I’ve actually joined at some point in the past.

Ain't this LT a literary society. ?

>2 Macumbeira: In a very loose sense perhaps, more bibliophiles gathered together I’d say.

Only the Powys Society, which I was a member of in the 1980s and rejoined recently.

>4 davidjbrown10: oh! Very interesting. I wasn’t aware of this family.

>5 LesMiserables: Oh, the Powyses were a creative world unto themselves. Out of 11 siblings, no fewer than seven were published authors, and of them John Cowper, Theodore Francis, and Llewelyn were highly gifted, quite prolific, and very different from each other in style and content. I've been a fan, mostly of JCP, since the 1960s.

>6 davidjbrown10: What would you recommend to dip a toe in their writing?

>7 LesMiserables: Ah... difficult question. Maybe the best advice would be to read the Powys Society's introductory page on each, linked here its home page, and see what seems to be the most appealing to your taste: https://www.powys-society.org/index.html. For me, John Cowper has always been the one that speaks most powerfully, and of his books, I have returned to "Wolf Solent" and, in particular, "A Glastonbury Romance" repeatedly.

>8 davidjbrown10: Many thanks.

Virginia Woolf Society
Trollope Society

Both produce regular excellent magazines with a wide range of aricles and news items.

Edited to add: The Trollope Society currently has a sale of some remaining volumes from the complete works series - £5 instead of £30 for members. Only so-called 'lesser' items left but some great bargains to be had.

>10 Boschfan: I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never read any Trollope. Not one.

>11 LesMiserables: You should rectify this situation.

>12 coynedj: Agree. Where to start?

>13 LesMiserables:

I would suggest 'The Warden'.

If you like it, you can continue with the run of 5 further novels that are loosely classified as 'The Barchester Chronicles'

>11 LesMiserables: Same! But I do have The Fixed Period on my short list.

The Warden is indeed a good introduction to Trollope. It's quite short, so you can decide whether you like his style enough to invest in a longer book. Or several, of course.

>14 Boschfan: >15 HonorWulf: >16 coynedj: Many thanks. I’ll add it to TBR list and report back.

>17 LesMiserables:

Finally, an author I love that you have not dipped into yet. Before doing a Trollope series, I'd recommend a stand-alone book: The Way We Live Now or Orley Farm. If you like those, I'd recommend Trollope's first book which features a sympathetic priest as a major character, The Macdermots of Ballycloran (get the FS edition). Yes, The Warden is a short book, but it's not typical of his longer, richer work (plus, when he wrote that book, he suffered from Dickens Envy and it shows). The two series, the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which starts with The Warden, and the Palliser novels, are arguably his pinnacle--or maybe, his twin peaks--but they are each six novels long and require quite a bit of commitment (well worth it in my opinion).

As a bonus, FS published a few years ago the very first unabridged edition of The Duke's Children, the last of the Palliser novels (I would recommend the all-leather version).

>18 podaniel: Thanks for the recommendation. I own one Trollope which just so happens to be The Warden by FS so I’ll try that out first, but the reviews of The Way we live Now are overwhelmingly positive so I might take you up on that should I enjoy his writing.

>6 davidjbrown10: Thanks for this, wasn't aware of that (both society and sibling author's)

Had never heard of JCP till last year and have Wolf Solvent and Autobiography on my TBR pile.

Wish I'd discovered him years ago, as think his writing would have gelled with me at an earlier age.

>20 Ignatius777: Never too late!

>20 Ignatius777:

I think you'll easily gel with Wolf Solvent.

Just finished the Warden and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you Boschfan, Coynedj, and Podaniel for the suggestions.

>23 LesMiserables: Now you can either continue with the Barsetshire series, of which Barchester Towers is the next (I confess that I haven't read it), or try podaniel's suggestion of The Way We Live Now, which is superb.

>24 coynedj: I think I may just pick up another Trollope prior to Christmas: not sure which one but note the recommendations of which it will probably one of the two. I do have to get back into City Of God by Augustine and finish the History of Rome by Livy before that though.

>25 LesMiserables: Barchester Towers is absolutely wonderful. It introduces the magnificent Mrs Proudie, the Bishop's wife, who enlists the Rev Slope in her nefarious schemes, and also the semi-recumbent La Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni, a glamorous invalid who ensnares men from her chaise longue on which she is carried from room to room with a great deal of attention seeking bustle. Too good to delay reading ...

>26 red_guy: Noted with thanks.