--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm obsessed with the Victorian novel. I…" description: "\"I'm obsessed with the Victorian novel. I can't help it. I feel like the novel then was so powerful and agile in ways I'm not sure it is now.\" — Jennife..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/jennifer-egan-825_books_i-m-obsessed-with-the-victorian-novel-i_537625.jpg" --- # I'm obsessed with the Victorian novel. I can't help it. I… ![“I'm obsessed with the Victorian novel. I can't help it. I feel like the novel then was so powerful and agile in ways I'm not sure it is now.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/jennifer-egan-825_books_i-m-obsessed-with-the-victorian-novel-i_537625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/jennifer-egan-825_books_i-m-obsessed-with-the-victorian-novel-i_537625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/jennifer-egan-825_books_i-m-obsessed-with-the-victorian-novel-i_537625.jpg) > “I'm obsessed with the Victorian novel. I can't help it. I feel like the novel then was so powerful and agile in ways I'm not sure it is now.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker is fascinated by Victorian novels, believing they possessed a unique power and agility that may be lacking today. **In simple terms:** Loves Victorian literature. Key Takeaway Read classic novels. Themes literature history novel appreciation Mood enthusiastic reflective Type literary critique When to use this quote - book clubs - academic study - creative writing Key Concepts Victorian era narrative form Questions to Reflect On - What makes Victorian novels compelling? - How can contemporary writing capture similar vigor? A Different Perspective Modern works may offer different strengths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Victorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victorian/) ## Related quotes > [I love working with genre. 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Pritchett > [“Length, I want to suggest, has a peculiar significance for the reader of a Victorian novel and especially so if we are concerned with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregor/length-i-want-to-suggest-has-a-peculiar-significance-for-the-reader/) [Ian Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gregor/) > [There is, in my mind, no higher compliment to pay a non-fiction book than to say it reads like a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/there-is-in-my-mind-no-higher-compliment-to-pay-a-non-fiction-book/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [It's certainly a cliche to remark that a nonfiction book 'reads just like a novel,' but in the case of Jonathan Eig's 'The Birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/it-s-certainly-a-cliche-to-remark-that-a-nonfiction-book-reads-just/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [Life is like a novel. It's filled with suspense. 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Its the chapter I met u and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/life-is-like-a-novel-many-chapters-read-and-forgotten-but-there-is/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [It is impossible to do a movie exactly the way a comic book is written and drawn, just as it's impossible to do a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/it-is-impossible-to-do-a-movie-exactly-the-way-a-comic-book-is/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. 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