Come and escape from the world in some great books!
Quotations... as an English Literature teacher and English Literature graduate, there are so many quotations bouncing about in my head! And we are also in the midst of GCSE Exam season so I hope - please god I hope - that there are plenty in my students' heads too! And for me, you say quotation, I go to Shakespeare!
SIX BROTHERS AND SISTERS. ONE INJUSTICE THAT WILL SHATTER THEIR BOND FOREVER. Junius is the patriarch, a celebrated Shakespearean actor who fled bigamy charges in England, both a mesmerising talent and a man of terrifying instability. As his children grow up in a remote farmstead in 1830s rural Baltimore, the country draws ever closer to… Continue reading Book Review: Booth, Karen Joy Fowler
It has been a long time since I have been to the theatre live, and the National Theatre Live cinema showing of staged performances are a relatively easy and accessible variant, and last night's offering of Henry V was visually impressive but ultimately a little confused. The evening began with an interview with Kit Harington… Continue reading Theatre Review: Henry V, National Theatre Live
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. So this week we are looking at character traits we love. Things… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Character Traits I Love
So moving on with this, the challenge has shifted to characters for today rather than novels with the challenge to find A literary character you want to have dinner (or drinks) with. Can I not just ask for all of them? Not together. Obviously. I don't have enough chairs! It's my blog and my rules,… Continue reading 30 Day Book Challenge: Day 11!
Once again, a deliciously striking cover for Margaret Atwood's most recent novel, and the most recent entry into the Hogarth Shakespeare Project... and the first in the project that I've read. Now, I have a confession to make before going much further: I've never really got Margaret Atwood. I've wanted to; I've tried to. I… Continue reading Hag-Seed, Margaret Atwood
Some books need more of an exercise in imagination than others. A bigger suspension of disbelief. An unborn narrator, for example, is one such. And not just unborn in a metaphorical sense but literally foetal. The narrator of McEwan's most recent book - recently serialised on Radio 4 - is a third-trimester Hamlet, set in modern London, recounting… Continue reading Nutshell, Ian McEwan
It's surprising how coincidences happen sometimes. I mean, it's no surprise that there's been a lot of crime and detective fiction in my reading list recently: it's basically research! But there's also been a lot of Shakespeare in it! Ali Shaw's The Trees isn't - I don't think - based on Shakespeare but there are… Continue reading The Ghost Of Shakespeare
Oh I'm in two minds about this book. I so wanted to like it. A alternate history world in which the borders between reality and books is flexible and malleable. Who would love to pop to Wuthering Heights for a cup of tea with Nelly Dean? Or stroll through the 100 Acre Wood? Or play hide-and-seek… Continue reading The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
Hamlet, perhaps the most famous and most argued over play by Shakespeare, was written between the years 1599 and 1601 as Elizabeth I was reaching the end of her reign. The play features two of the most famous women in Shakespeare: Ophelia and Gertrude and Hamlet’s relationships with these women account for a large number… Continue reading Hamlet and Women, discussion
Absolutely sublime play. Re-reading it after many many years and still bowled over. A GCSE set text; an integral part of Degree level "tragedy" unit (other people got to play with dead bodies, I learned how to be miserable: thanks Cambridge!!); and a vital part of my make up! As I write, please near in… Continue reading Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare
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