Cape May MAC’s Inaugural Summer Book Club Kicks Off June 18
by Evelyn Maguire
Calling all book lovers, Victorian-era devotees, and anyone who enjoys a spirited discussion! Cape May MAC’s inaugural summer book club kicks off on Saturday, June 18 and will run until August 27, featuring six lesser-read literary works from the Victorian era. Open to locals, visitors, and virtual members alike, the Cape May MAC Book Club will be hosted largely on Facebook with accompanying columns and commentary from book club members and the book club’s humble leader, me!
My name is Evelyn, and I’m thrilled to be starting this book club, what I hope will continue to be a summertime tradition for Cape May MAC! A little bit about me (feel free to skip ahead if you want to get to the good part — the book list): I am a lifelong lover of Cape May and books, and a current graduate student and English teacher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I’m pursuing a Master of Fine Arts within the school’s program for Poets & Writers, and when I’m not working for Cape May MAC, you may spot me running props for the Cape May Stage or bothering Lindsay at Givens on the Washington Street Mall.
Over the course of this summer, we’ll read six books published between 1848 and 1891, each over the span of two weeks. You won’t find Jane Eyre or anything by Charles Dickens on this list, and that’s intentional. While the “big hitters” of Victorian-era literature are surely beloved (as they deserve to be), I wanted to delve into some of the lesser-read yet groundbreaking Victorian books to treat book club members to something new (despite being over a century old). On this list you’ll find a novel by the oft forgotten third Brontë sister, a memoir by a trailblazing wartime nurse, a subversive vampire novel which predates Dracula, and more. This collection is an eclectic one, spanning fiction and nonfiction, horror and comedic travelogue, and one that I hope has something for everyone to enjoy.
Check out the book list and reading calendar below, and pick up our first read, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As you read, tell us what you think (the good, the bad, and especially a strong opinion) on our Facebook Event Page. I’m exceptionally excited to get started — look out for the introduction to Anne Brontë’s novel as we officially kick off our reading period on June 4.
Happy reading!
Week 01, June 4–18: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (1848)
Pages: 430
Though overshadowed (and perhaps intentionally thwarted) by the success of her two sisters, Anne Brontë was a literary force in her own right — and her final novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered the most scandalous of any of the Brontë sisters’ works. Framed as a series of letters and diary entries, the 1848 novel chronicles narrator Gilbert Markham’s budding friendship with Helen Graham, a mysterious young widow who challenges the stringent society that constrains her.
Week 02, June 19-July 2: The Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole (1857)
Pages: 288
A pioneering nurse, a literary trailblazer, and even a consequential figure in the Crimean War, Mary Seacole lived an astonishing life. Perhaps even more astonishing is her 1857 autobiography — considered to be one of the earliest such accounts published by an Afro-Caribbean woman. From her childhood in the West Indies to the frontlines of wartime medicine, this fascinating account brings an oft-overlooked figure to brilliant light.
Week 03, July 3-July 16: Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Pages: 110
When hapless Lady Laura meets Carmilla, an enticing — if strangely off-putting — young woman, the two become intimate confidantes. But little does Laura realize, Carmilla has bloodthirsty secrets…Predating Dracula by over two decades, this eerie novella by Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu is one of the earliest works of vampiric fiction, a masterful gothic tale with a startling female villain.
Week 04, July 17–30: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1853)
Pages: 180
Eshewing the Victorian tradition of lengthy and purposeful plot, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell is a novel in sketches, propelled by character as opposed to a structured narrative. In a fictionalized hamlet remarkably similar to that of Gaskell’s true hometown, the arrival of retired Captain Brown disrupts the patterns of everyday life, and an interwoven tale of social class begins to unfold.
Week 05, July 31-Aug 13: Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (1888)
Pages: 176
George, Harris, Jerome, and of course, their dog Montmorency, set off on a boating holiday up the River Thames. What begins as a serious travelogue devolves into a raucous adventure, rife with cultural commentary and humor that feels shockingly modern. Upon release, this comedic book was dismissed as vulgar and immature — only to be rediscovered and cherished by later generations more open to, shall we say, a raunchier sense of humor.
Week 06, Aug 14–27: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)
Pages: 176
While sitting for a portrait, young Dorian Gray muses on the ultimate importance of beauty — and wishes that his portrait would bear the trials of aging instead of himself. As Dorian falls into a lifestyle defined by hedonistic impulses and the disregard of others, he discovers his wish has come true… and it has cursed him beyond repair. Published in 1891, this groundbreaking novel made Wilde the subject of much controversy, even causing one publisher to remove every single copy from shelves.
For the full list of this summer’s book selection and a calendar of important dates, visit https://capemaymac.org/plan/educational-outreach/book-club
