The Scapegoat - Daphne du Maurier

I stumbled upon a movie version of The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier a few years ago and was fascinated by the story. So, of course, I got a copy of the book, which I hadn't read when I watched the movie, and it sat on my shelf until the GoodReads True Book Talk group read it in March.

Once again, Dame Daphne didn't let me down. The Scapegoat was a classic DMM thriller. Basic story is that a boring British academician (John) whose specialty is French history meets his doppelganger, a roguish French count (Jean), in a bar and Jean tricks John into changing places with him. Very much a Prince and the Pauper story that Mark Twain played around with, and Dickens had a go at in A Tale of Two Cities.

In The Scapegoat, Jean has made an utter mess of his life, his family business is going under, his daughter is flighty and quasi-suicidal, his sister is a religious fanatic who hasn't spoken to him for 20 years, his mother is a morphine addict, his brother hates him...you get the picture. He tricks John into being his scapegoat - assuming his identity so he can disappear without causing a manhunt. John also feels he has made a mess of his life and is headed to a monastery to try to find a reason for living.

Matthew Rhys played John and Johnny in the British movie based on the novel.

Incredibly, John is able to step into Jean's shoes--they are identical, and John's French is perfect. It was fun to read about how he managed to figure out all the various threads of Jean's life, and wonderful to see how he was able to mend the family and the business. John is definitely the hero of the story.

The book and the movie differed most in the ending, although the movie is set in England not France, and Jean became Johnny. The book turned out to be very positive and life-affirming. The movie version took a much darker tack. I ended up rewatching the movie after finishing the book and really wonder why the film makers choose to go dark instead of light with their version.

The Scapegoat was first published in 1957, making it one of DMM's later works. It was tightly written, really interesting, especially since WWII and the French occupation and resistance is still very fresh in people's lives, and well worth reading.

This novel is part of my Classics Club first 50--I'm closing in on getting this challenge done this year!

Classics Club Spin #20

Update************
The spin # is 19 - huzzah! I started Song of the Lark this morning...set in my home state of Colorado.
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Since I'm closing in on finishing my list this year, I will commit to the Classics Club Spin #20--the spin # will be revealed on Monday, April 22, and the completion date is May 31.

I have six books left to read, so I have repeated them twice with two getting on the list three times.

Truthfully, I am hoping for #1, #7, #13, #19 as I really want to read Song of the Lark next, but these are all books I really want to read, so I cannot lose!

1. Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
2. Daniel Deronda, George Eliot
3. The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
4. Can You Forgive Her?, Anthony Trollope
5. Roughing It, Mark Twain
6. The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton
7. Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
8. Daniel Deronda, George Eliot
9. The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
10. Can You Forgive Her?, Anthony Trollope
11. Roughing It, Mark Twain
12. The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton
13. Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
14. Daniel Deronda, George Eliot
15. The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
16. Can You Forgive Her?, Anthony Trollope
17. Roughing It, Mark Twain
18. The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton
19. Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
20. Daniel Deronda, George Eliot

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Classics Club - 50 Club Questions

Since I still haven't finished War and Peace--I'm getting close---so I decided to take the Classics Club 50 Question survey. 

It's long but was fun to revisit my blogs since joining the club almost 6 years ago. I am not quite done with the 50 books I selected to read in 5 years, and to be honest I've done some substituting along the way, but here goes (dividing the 50 questions into more manageable 5 sets of 10):

Set 1

1. Share a link to your club list.  https://janegs.blogspot.com/2013/04/joining-classics-club.html
2. When did you join The Classics Club? Almost 6 years ago - April 27, 2013 was my first blog post on it. How many titles have you read for the club? 42 out of 50
3. What are you currently reading? War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
4. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it? I read Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey in January--I know I'm in the minority but Anne is just not a writer of the same caliber as her sisters Charlotte and Emily.
5. What are you reading next? Why? Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather - two birds with one stone, it will be my book set in a place I have read for Back to the Classics Challenge, 2019
6. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why? East of Eden, by John Steinbeck - technically it was a reread as I read it in high school but I reread it a couple of years ago, and then listened to it on a road trip to CA, where we visited Salinas.
7. Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list? Of my remaining titles, I think The Buccaneers, by Edith Wharton has me most excited--I saw the mini-series decades ago and finally got it on a reading list.
8. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why? The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy - he can be so depressing!
9. First classic you ever read? Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
10. Toughest classic you ever read? Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy - I disliked all the characters, found the story insipid, and the rambling annoying.

Set 2

1. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry? In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote - scared me because the story was real not fictional
2. Longest classic you’ve read? Between Dickens and Tolstoy, who knows? Longest classic left on your club list? Either Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot or Can You Forgive Her, by Anthony Trollope
3. Oldest classic you’ve read? From my list, The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith Oldest classic left on your club list? Probably Can You Forgive Her, by Anthony Trollope
4. Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any? Jenny Uglow's biography of Elizabeth Gaskell is absolutely first rate--comprehensive, charts her progress as an author, her motivations, and great lit crit on the novels themselves.
5. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why? I personally love Middlemarch, by George Eliot. To me, it is about forgiveness and recognizing that we are all weak in different ways and to be compassionate.
6. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any? A two-volume, hardbound complete works of Jane Austen. I bought it at a used bookstore for $13 when I was 13. The first books I bought with my own money.
7. Favorite movie adaption of a classic? North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell - one of my favorite books and adaptations of all time.
8. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film. Sylvia's Lovers, by Elizabeth Gaskell - the setting (north Yorkshire coast during the whaling days) and a classic lover's triangle, would make a terrific video
9. Least favorite classic? Why? There are some I have no interest in rereading (Anna Karenina, Vicar of Wakefield, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), but none I would consider a waste of my time to have read.
10. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read. Victor Hugo, William Faulkner (except for 1-2 novels in high school), Flannery O'Connor, Kate Chopin, James Baldwin

Set 3

1. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why? Les Miserables for the very obvious reason that I love the musical.
2. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? (This could be with the club or before it.) Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton - was unimpressed in high school, but loved it when I read it a few years ago.
3. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head? Roger Hamley from Gaskell's Wives and Daughters - I love that he was modeled on Gaskell distant relative Charles Darwin; he is kind and gentle, loving and honest, and grows in self-realization in the course of the story.
4. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself? I have always identified with Dorothea Brooke of Eliot's Middlemarch
5. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like? Sophie Croft in Austen's Persuasion - practical, pragmatic, warm, compassionate
6. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend? Roger Hamley of Wives and Daughters reminds me of my husband and best friend ever.
7. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why? Gaskell's Wives and Daughters - she died before finishing it, and while she left notes, another 500 pages of Roger and Molly would be such a gift.
8. Favorite children’s classic? Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne - my father read this as well as Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows to me repeatedly, and I love them all but Pooh most of all.
9. Who recommended your first classic? My mother bought me a copy of Pride and Prejudice, and shortly after that my older brother Mark gave me a copy of Jane Eyre to read. I've been reading the classics ever since.
10. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.) My brother Mark, my friend Maxene, and my sister Frances.

Set 4

1. Favorite memory with a classic? I've read The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens at least three times, and I enjoy chatting with my brother about this because it is one of his favorites too.
2. Classic author you’ve read the most works by? It has to be Dickens, just because he wrote more novels than did Austen. But, I've read all of Austen and Gaskell, and still have a few titles by Dickens before I have read the lot.
3. Classic author who has the most works on your club list? Dickens (some were rereads)
4. Classic author you own the most books by? I own more books by and about Austen, with Shakespeare, Dickens, and Gaskell nipping at her heels.
5. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?) I'm ready to dive back into Mark Twain and Bernard Shaw.
6. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with.  Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way? I did this with Gaskell, and have been working my way through Eliot (Daniel Deronda will finish Eliot for me), but I would really like to get a handle on Barbara Pym and read her books in order and read about her as an author.
7. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy? 9 of the 50 were rereads - I enjoy rereading favorites or revisiting books I was ambivalent about when I read them at a young age. Since I have been reading classic literature for almost 50 years, sometimes rereading a book from my teenage years is like reading it for the first time!
8. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish? I have tried on at least three occasions to read Ulysses, by James Joyce, and give up by about page 100.
9. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving? War and Peace - so much better than I expected. One of my all-time favorite reads.
10. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature? 2020 means that books published in 1970 are now officially classics: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Sophie's Choice; Burr; Centennial

Set 5

1. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? Leaving my comfort zone and reading classics from Latin America.
2. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? Anything by Dostoevsky.
3. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club? Inspiration to explore classic authors/titles I haven't heard of.
4. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs? Karen at Books and Chocolate (her love for Emil Zola inspired me to read Germinal), Margaret at Books Please (very eclectic--from classics, to mysteries, to non-fiction, to travel), Adam at Roof Beam Reader (extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking posts), Fanda at Fanda ClassicLit (she is very ambitious and dedicated when it comes to selecting what to read next--inspiring), Joann at Lakeside Musing (our tastes align so well--if she recommends a book, I read it!)
5. Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber? Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis (reviewed by Karen of Books and Chocolate) - I remember seriously not liking this book when I read it as a teenager; Karen has inspired me to give it another chance...next year!
6. If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you’ve completed? a fond memory? a good friend made? I read A Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins as a read-along by someone who posted the serialization according to the original schedule, but 150 years later. It was awesome to read it like this.
7. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why? I would do a reread of War and Peace as a read-along. So much to talk about in that book!
8. How long have you been reading classic literature? My dad read classic children's lit to me from infancy. I graduated to grown-up classics at about age 11, and have had a steady diet of classics for the past 50 years or so.
9. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc. Elizabeth Gaskell compilation of posts; Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Great Gatsby reimagined; Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday; Back to 1599: Looking at Henry V in Context; The Invisible Woman: the Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens
10. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!) What makes a work a classic? Older than 50 years and still in print or reasonably available and still relevant. Except for the age criterion, it's really a judgement call.

That was fun - I look forward to reading fellow Classic Clubbers answers as well.

Classics Club Spin #19

UPDATE - the lucky number is 1, so I'll be reading Agnes Grey by end of January.
Actually I might wait until January 1 to start it so it can count for a Back to the Classics 2019 (assuming Karen at Books and Chocolates runs that marvelous challenge again next year!).
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I've never done a Classics Club spin before, but since I am done with my Back to the Classics challenge for the year, I might as well!

The drawing will be held on Tuesday, November 27 and the deadline for completion is January 31.

Since I only have 10 books left and the drawing is from 1-20, I have listed each twice.

1. Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte
2. A Diary from Dixie - Mary Chesnut
3. No Name - Wilkie Collins
4. Daniel Deronda - George Eliot
5. The Art of Eating - M.F.K. Fisher
6. The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
7. Can You Forgive Her - Anthony Trollope
8. Roughing It - Mark Twain
9. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
10. The Buccaneers - Edith Wharton
11. Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte
12. A Diary from Dixie - Mary Chesnut
13. No Name - Wilkie Collins
14. Daniel Deronda - George Eliot
15. The Art of Eating - M.F.K. Fisher
16. The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
17. Can You Forgive Her - Anthony Trollope
18. Roughing It - Mark Twain
19. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
20. The Buccaneers - Edith Wharton

The only one I'm hoping doesn't get picked is The Art of Eating because I am already reading a few non-fiction books, and am ready to sink my teeth into a good story. Even though the Mary Chesnut diary is technically non-fiction, I am definitely hoping that one wins! 

Classics Club Spin #3

The Classics Club Spin #3 -I enjoyed Spin #2 although the book chosen by the Spin Doctors wasn't all that great (Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier).  Most of the books are ones I actually plan to read this year or am excited about, so the "dreading" category is stretching the feeling a bit.  

Here's the format.

• Pick twenty unread books from your list. This could be five you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice.
• Number them from one to twenty.
• On Monday, August 19 a number will be drawn.
• That’s the book to read by October 1.

1. Mystery Mile, by Margery Allingham
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden, Elizabeth von Armin
3. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
4. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (reread)
5. The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens
6. Battle Cry of Freedom, by Bruce Catton
7. Trilby, by George du Maurier
8. Felix Holt, by George Eliot 
9. The Art of Eating, M.F.K. Fisher
10. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
11. The Sybil, by Par Lagerkvist (reread)
12. The Leopard, by Guiseppe di Lampedusa
13. 1876, by Gore Vidal
14. Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner
15. Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates
16. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym
17. Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott 
18. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
19. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (reread)
20. Dr. Thorne, by Anthony Trollope 

If left to my own devices, I would go with #8, #17, #19, or #20 as they are all on my Back to the Classics Challenge; #12 is on my TBR Pile Challenge, so I would also like to get going on that one as well.

Interestingly, I had to change up this list quite a bit since the last spin, as I had read four of the 20 in the list in the meantime.  These were the chosen book (Frenchman's Creek), The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Blue Castle, and I'm just finishing up Beloved.

Lucky Number 6

The Classics Club Lucky SPIN number is 6!

This means I get to read Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier by July 1.

What an absolute treat I have in store.

Here's the Amazon blurb:

Jaded by the numbing politeness of Restoration London, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape. But when chance leads her to meet a French pirate, hidden within Cornwall's shadowy forests, Dona discovers that her passions and thirst for adventure have never been more aroused. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him. Frenchman's Creek is the breathtaking story of a woman searching for love and adventure who embraces the dangerous life of a fugitive on the seas.

I read a lot of du Maurier's novels in my teenage years, but somehow never read this one.  Sometimes it's good to hold out on finishing up on an author so that you can have a treat later on!

The Classics Spin

The Classics Club Spin #2 - I wasn't a member for the earlier spin this year, but I loved the idea of having a random number generator pick what classic I would read next.  

Here's the format.

• Pick twenty unread books from your list. This could be five you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice.
• Number them from one to twenty.
• On Monday a number will be drawn.
• That’s the book to read by July 1.

1. Mystery Mile, by Margery Allingham
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden, Elizabeth von Armin
3. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
4. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (reread)
5. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
6. Frenchman's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier
7. Trilby, by George du Maurier
8. Felix Holt, by George Eliot 
9. The Art of Eating, M.F.K. Fisher
10. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
11. The Sybil, by Par Lagerkvist (reread)
12. The Leopard, by Guiseppe di Lampedusa
13. The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery
14. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
15. Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates
16. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym
17. Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott 
18. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by R.L. Stevenson
19. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (reread)
20. Dr. Thorne, by Anthony Trollope 

If left to my own devices, I would go with #8, #18, #19, or #20 as they are all on my Back to the Classics Challenge.

The Classics Club - May Meme

The Classics Club meme for May is:
Tell us about the classic book(s) you’re reading this month. You can post about what you’re looking forward to reading in May, or post thoughts-in-progress on your current read(s).

I just finished Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and look forward to blogging about it shortly.  It's been on my reading list for years, and I have mixed feelings.  I expected to unconditionally love it, but I had a few issues.  It was still a great read and a timeless classic.

I am almost done listening to Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling.  Just two chapters left, and it is terrific.  Sort of a mini version of Moby Dick--I feel like I have been well-schooled in fishing vessels at the turn of the last century.  I'm even inspired to maybe add a question or two about it to the Goodreads' Never-Ending-Book-Quiz, my personal favorite procrastinator's tool.

I'm about to start Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguao.  I had meant to read his Remains of the Day first, but I joined a read-along this month and so changed the reading order.

Joining the Classics Club

A lot of my blogger friends are members of the Classics Club, and since this seems to be my year of jumping on the bandwagon, I decided to join.  Here is my list of fifty classics in five years.  

Only one is currently in-progress, Frankenstein, the rest are books that I plan to read or reread within the next five years. 

Most are novels, but there are a couple of non-fiction books in there as well.

1. Mystery Mile, by Margery Allingham
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
3. Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte
4. Villette, by Charlotte Bronte
5. The Thirty-nine Steps, by John Buchan
6. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
7. Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather
8. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
9. The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens (reread)
10. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (reread)
11. Dombey and Son, by Charles Dickens
12. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (reread)
13. Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens
14. Frenchman's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier
15. The Scapegoat, by Daphne du Maurier
16. Middlemarch, by George Eliot
17. Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot
18. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
19. A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster
20. The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith
21. The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
22. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. A Movable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway
24. Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling
25. The Sybil, by Par Lagerkvist (reread)
26. The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery
27. Jane of Lantern Hill, by L.M. Montgomery
28. Miss Marjoribanks, by Margaret Oliphant
29. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym
30. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley 
31. The Black Arrow, by R.L. Stevenson 
32. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by R.L. Stevenson
33. Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner
34. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (reread)
35. Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck
36. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (reread)
37. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
38. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
39. Dr. Thorne, by Anthony Trollope 
40. Framley Parsonage, by Anthony Trollope
41. The Small House at Allington, by Anthony Trollope
42. The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope
43. Can You Forgive Her, by Anthony Trollope
44. The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman
45. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
46. The Buccaneers, by Edith Wharton
47. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
48. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White
49. Germinal, by Emile Zola
50. The Paradise, by Emile Zola