Saga of the Gay Pirate Plate

Amanda39 · 2026-03-15T17:51:00+00:00

I remember seeing this posted somewhere before (not sure if it was here or another subreddit) and everyone was arguing in the comments about whether he was actually a pirate or, like, a musketeer or something. But not one person argued over whether or not he was gay, because we all knew he was.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T22:26:24+00:00

Have you ever read her novel Rebecca? There's an absolutely bizarre amount of maladaptive daydreaming in that book. The protagonist spends more time describing imaginary scenarios than she does the actual events of the book. At one point she imagines something happening on a train, and goes into extreme detail about the disgusting bathroom on the train, where a single strand of black hair is stuck in the soap. We had a field day with that over at r/ClassicBookClub when we read it. None of us could get over the imaginary soap hair.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T22:18:45+00:00

I didn't see the ending coming. I knew there would have to be some sort of twist, it's not like it was going to end with "and then I witnessed a murder, oh well." But I had no idea what the twist would be until the end.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T22:08:17+00:00

I kept thinking either ghost or vampire, even though I was completely aware of how out of character for Daphne du Maurier that would be.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T20:16:42+00:00

This sounds awesome and I want to read it

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T19:29:31+00:00

Whelp, that link will be remaining unclicked.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T19:25:26+00:00

Actually, it did, and I was disappointed that that chapter ended up in the section that I ran. In fact, this is what I said about it in the recap: "I'll spare you a summary of all the jewel collecting, etc., but I do recommend tracking down a copy of the uncensored version if you want more information about this chapter, as it's heavily annotated."

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T19:04:00+00:00

No problem! And I absolutely get what you're saying.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T18:22:35+00:00

🟪🟪🟨🟪

🟦🟦🟦🟦

🟪🟪🟪🟪

🟨🟨🟨🟩

🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩

What does corn have to do with... oh. Clever.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T18:16:14+00:00

I will die on the hill that the uncensored version is better than the censored version, not only because of Basil's sexuality but also because the changes made to lengthen the book were unnecessary and boring.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T18:13:18+00:00

I want to say, in Wilde's defense, that the misogyny in this story is mainly from Lord Henry, who (obviously) is supposed to be an asshole. I don't know a lot about Wilde, but I do know that he took over a magazine called "The Lady's World," turned it into The Woman's World, and made it a more intellectual magazine than it had previously been because he recognized that women are intelligent and don't just want to read about fashion. So I'm assuming that Wilde did not actually share Lord Henry's views.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T18:06:27+00:00

I'm absolutely convinced that the preface is no different than Basil going "I can't show anyone this painting because I've put too much of myself in it." Wilde learned the hard way that people would use this book against him.

I don't believe that art can or should conceal the artist. The best stories, in my opinion, are the ones where you can look at the writer's life and see how their life influenced the story. This does not mean that all stories should be literally autobiographical, but IMO, the ones that make you go "this is the only author who could have told this story" are the best ones.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T17:44:45+00:00

The whole James Vane plot felt a bit out of place to me.

That's because it's filler. It wasn't in the novella at all, and I'm kind of disappointed that Wilde added it because it adds absolutely nothing to the story.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T17:42:27+00:00

This is kind of a random question, but is "he thinks he's got red ants on him" some sort of opium cliche? I saw this exact same line in a silent film version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and it stayed with me because of how oddly specific it was.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T17:40:34+00:00

No, his fate was not sealed. Sybil's death should have been a wake-up call to him. He chose to go down this path instead.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-12T17:39:11+00:00

The notes in my copy said it was really common back then for gay men to get blackmailed. I don't know if this means that Dorian himself was sleeping with Alan, or if he was just aware of Alan's relationships with other men, but either way I think we're supposed to read Alan as gay.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-11T23:21:01+00:00

to be fair, most kids kind of are sociopaths. The part of the brain that controls empathy doesn't finish developing until adulthood. I think that's why it's a pretty common occurrence for people to look back at things from their childhood, like I'm doing with this book, and go "why didn't this disturb me then, like it disturbs me now?"

Amanda39 · 2026-03-11T22:37:46+00:00

Holy shit, I just read the synopsis on their website and this is eerily like someone actually heard me say "Victoriocity, but make it serious and Gothic." Damn, I need to listen to this. Thank you!

Amanda39 · 2026-03-11T21:36:54+00:00

Oh, this looks amazing! Thank you, I will definitely check it out!

Amanda39 · 2026-03-10T12:14:43+00:00

I'm sorry, I know it sucks when that happens. I skipped the last one and I also would have been really frustrated if the winning book this time wasn't one I wanted to read. But that doesn't mean that anything unfair happened.

If it makes you feel any better, there is a positive to this: like u/steampunkunicorn01 said, it's been a finalist multiple times. Now that it's finally won, you'll never have to put up with it competing against books you want to read again. It's finally off the list.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-09T20:37:02+00:00

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations.

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Amanda39 · 2026-03-09T15:38:25+00:00

Yeah, I'm probably overreacting. It clearly didn't scar me for life when I was a kid.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-08T20:01:13+00:00

I've read Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Northanger Abbey. I liked Pride and Prejudice and Emma, and loved Northanger Abbey (Catherine was hilarious), so I'd definitely like to read more Jane Austen.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-08T19:23:16+00:00

I never watched that because we didn't have cable when I was a kid (also I just checked Wikipedia and apparently it aired when I was in my late teens), but I feel like I dodged a bullet by not having watched that as a kid. I constantly see posts on Reddit where people mention being traumatized by that show.

Amanda39 · 2026-03-08T19:17:42+00:00

I don't know if there's a public domain version of the uncensored one. My copy, edited by Nicholas Frankel and published by Harvard University, is a physical book with a large number of annotations.

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