Victorian Literature Challenge- Sign-Up Post

I've decided to join one more challenge for 2011- the Victorian Literature Challenge at Words, Words, Words. I tend to really enjoy Victorian literature, and have most of these books either in my possession or available for free through Amazon. I'm only committing to two challenges for the year (this one and Sheila at Book Journey's Where Are You Reading? Challenge) because I tend to overcommit myself!

I'm joining at the "Great Expectations" level, which requires reading 6-9 books written in the Victorian era (considered the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria, from 1837-1901) between January 1 and December 31.

Books I will be reading for the challenge:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Somehow I never read Jane Eyre during high school or college. With a new movie adaption coming out in March this is the perfect excuse to finally read it!


The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
I've read another mystery by Collins, The Moonstone, and this psychological mystery sounds really intriguing.


The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green 
 I've been wanting to read this mystery for a while (it's considered a predecessor to the Sherlock Holmes series) so this is a great opportunity.

North and South by Elizabeth Gasskell
The BBC version of this was absolutely fantastic (hello Richard Armitage!) so I'm looking forward to reading Gasskell's novel about Margaret Hale, a young woman who moves from the pastoral south of England to the more industrial North.

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
I've never read Trollope, but the description of this satire on greed and dishonesty sounds really relevant to our current financial climate.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Like Jane Eyre, this is another classic I haven't read yet. The fact that it's one of Oprah's newest book club choices is purely coincidental :)

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
This sounds like an interesting coming-of-age novel set in 18th century Scotland. Also, it's free for Kindle.

                                  Sonnets From the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
I've always found Elizabeth Barrett Browning's life story really interesting, and I fell in love with the 1934 Norma Shearer movie based on her life, The Barretts of Wimpole Street. I'm looking forward to reading this collection of her poems dedicated to Robert Browning.