My Nathaniel Hawthorne short story today was "The Great Carbuncle." (An unfortunate title, since now "carbuncle" has an unpleasant definition; in Hawthorne's day it could refer to a red gemstone--I guess it still can, but I've never heard it used that way.) In any case, I enjoyed the story, and it had some connections with Hawthorne's Wonder Book, so my pleasure-reading dove-tailed into my research-work today.
I'm nearing the end of Trollope's American Senator. I've read it before, but Chris and I both decided to read it again this summer, discuss it, and write the commentary on it for the Trollope site. I know the "real" heroine of the novel is Mary Masters, but--gosh--I do love Trollope's presentation of Arabella Trefoil and her sheer pluck. (When discussing one of Arabella's actions, Trollope has a sentence on the usefulness of pluck which is one of my favorite sentences of all time.)
I'm listening to Austen's Northanger Abbey on my walks. It's so cutting as a novel. For that reason, it can be uncomfortable sometimes, but also funny.
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