The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

This is a novel that I've often referred to as the grandfather of the English novel.  It has elements that seem so clearly those of Dickens or Austen and even the Bronte's and yet this novel came first. And he fits it all into 224 pages!

Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728 and died at the age of 43.  He wrote plays, poems and this novel.  He was friends with Samuel Johnson*, who, according to Wikipedia related the following about the sale of the The Vicar of Wakefield to a publisher.

"I received one morning a message from poor Goldsmith that he was in great distress, and, as it was not in his power to come to me, begging that I would come to him as soon as possible. I sent him a guinea, and promised to come to him directly. I accordingly went as soon as I was dressed, and found that his landlady had arrested him for his rent, at which he was in a violent passion: I perceived that he had already changed my guinea, and had a bottle of Madeira and a glass before him. I put the cork into the bottle, desired he would be calm, and began to talk to him of the means by which he might be extricated. He then told me he had a novel ready for the press, which he produced to me. I looked into it and saw its merit; told the landlady I should soon return; and, having gone to a bookseller, sold it for sixty pounds. I brought Goldsmith the money, and he discharged his rent, not without rating his landlady in a high tone for having used him so ill. ”  The novel was not published until 1766.

 I discovered that there are paintings of scenes from the book and so I included a few of those for fun.

*(For those who recognize the name Samuel Johnson but can't recall what he's known for, I'll help you out, since it was driving me crazy and I had to look it up myself.  "After nine years of work, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship."  He also annotated Shakespeare's plays and Rasselas and wrote A Journey toe the Western Islands of Scotland and what wkipedia describes as the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, a collection of biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets. 
Here's a painting of him reading the manuscript to the Vicar of Wakefield

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Better late than never . . .
This is what we read last month with did lead to some very interesting discussions.

For any who had more to say or were unable to attend, here's a place to discuss:

 If you were facinated by this story here are some links that tell a bit about the history and debate of the story:

The Catholic Encyclopedia

About.com's writer, Jone Johnson Lewis tells why she thinks the story isn't true and that's ok.

Pope Joan: a Novel official website with links to a synopsis and excerpts of the novel, and information about the author.

And here's the movie trailer.

and a link to a clip on a 1972 version

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

Our April discussion will be about 

"The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love" 

by Kristen Kimball.  

The author keeps up her own website here.

There is an NPR story, 

"'The Dirty Life': From City Girl To Hog Butcher"

A couple author videos.

If the food and farm aspect of this book appealed to you, you might also find this blog interesting:

Farmbrarian:  Harvesting Books about Growing & Eating Real Food (This link specifically takes you to their review of The Dirty Life).

On a completely personal note I just want to say that this book's SUBtitle could be a book about my mother and our family farm (which sadly long ago ceased to be a productive farm).  I feel like I usually say more about the books themselves in these blog entries, but I haven't read this one yet and quite honestly I have too much to say on the subjects of Farming, Food and Love so I'm stumped at where to start.  And even more, and as we approach 10 years since my mother died the very idea of the book had made my heart a bit overly tender.
Some comparisons.  My mother had a Scarlett O'Hara love of land, specifically our family Farmland even when it was reduced to just 'land';  a love of food and cooking to rival Julia Child (although she didn't mess with French food); and a capacity to love that equals, if not surpasses, everyone I've ever known.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

 This month we will discuss Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

I know a few of you have started (and some finished) reading this book and so here is a place for you to discuss things while they are fresh in your mind.
And also a place to find out some more, if you are so inclined.

This is the true story of Louis Zamperini and how he went from Olympian to Soldier to Prisoner of War and how he coped with that by learning to forgive.

Lauren Hillenbrand's Unbroken Website
A chapter by chapter summary of the book