Ann Dromeda's List: Victorian

The San Antonio College LitWeb

Mary Anne (Mary Ann, Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era.

Jane Austen - Biography (introductory)

MGM, 1949 (Color, 104 minutes, Production No. 1440)

Answering an ad in the newspaper, Andrew Larkin begins corresponding with a female pen pal. The "intellectual" correspondence soon turns to love, and Andy's thoughts begin to turn to marriage. In the meantime, his pen pal, Veronica Fisher, comes to work in the same music store, unbeknownst to either of them. Sparks fly from the beginning; the two just can't seem to get along. Through their correspondence, they agree to meet for dinner one evening, but Andy sees Veronica through the restaurant window, and refuses to go in. He leaves her sitting alone and, though he now knows who his pen pal is, she is left in the dark...for the time being.

The Shop Around the Corner
MGM, 1940, B/W, 99 minutes, ****
Released January, 1940

Class Act
Class Act Must-See!
Must See!

"Matuschek's" is the gift shop around the corner. Among the staff is Alfred Kralik, a likeable young man who's in love with a woman he has never met and whose name he doesn't even know (their "romance" has been conducted through a post office box). When Klara Novak comes to work as a clerk in the shop, the sparks begin to fly - she and Alfred can't stand each other. Of course, what neither knows is that Klara is the woman Alfred has been romancing through the mail!

This is the film that inspired the 1949 film In the Good Old Summertime -- in fact, some of the dialogue is identical. It has also been remade in a number of different guises in more recent years (such as You've Got Mail). It is a true classic... one of the great stories of filmdom.

Movie set in the Victorian Era, about the first years of flight.