The Isle of Wight, Alum Bay, UK Dear friends and readers, My 64th birthday! Who’d have thunk it? I never thought to last this long and really it’s an accomplishment. Millions have died much much younger. It takes nerve. And since yesterday (a couple of days now) I’ve had the Beatles’s famous jaunty tune , [...]
Archive for November, 2010
The Beatles Tune, “When I’m 64 pleasantly ringing in my ears …”
Posted in Austen, Autobiographical, Musical, tagged Fanny Price, Isle of Wight on November 29, 2010 | 6 Comments »
WSC Richard III: a parable about politicians
Posted in European Renaissance, history play, political novels/films, Theater, tagged WSC on November 29, 2010 | 9 Comments »
A press night photo (not everyone is in costume) Dear friends and readers, I’m just back from going to the first production of the Washington Shakespeare Company at their sparkling new theater in Arlington. Izzy and I went without the admiral who had suffered badly from a stomach virus the night before — he’s on [...]
Claire Denis’s White Material: pushing back at de-humanizing & desperately ignoring the filth of a world turning into garbage
Posted in 20th century culture, Film adaptations, French culture, political novels/films, women's art, womens' films, tagged isabelle Hubbert on November 28, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The film begins where it ends, nearly on this still both times: the last day of the existence of the plantation when it goes into a pitch of violent conflagration (Isabelle Hubbert as Maria Vial) Dear friends and readers, As with my blog on Stephen Frears’s (et aliae) Tamara Drew, I’m hurrying to post about [...]
Andrea Levy’s Small Island & the 2009 mini-series: painful disillusionments, inescapable identities
Posted in 20th century culture, feminism, Film adaptations, historical fiction, novels of sensibility, political novels/films, romance, women's novels, women's art, tagged John Alexander, post-colonalist, post-modern, racism, Ruth Wilson on November 26, 2010 | 12 Comments »
Gilbert Joseph (David Oyelowo), Small Island Queenie Bligh (Ruth Wilson) greets Hortense (Naomie Harris), Small Island Dear friends and readers, A blog on this marvelous, sweeping and intimately moving novel, and its effective film adaptation. The hype is deserved even if both book & film have flaws. The central thrust of this paradoxically finally optimistic [...]
Routs coming slow: (just) past & coming conferences
Posted in 18th century, 18th century novels, 20th century culture, Austen, Autobiographical, conference report, Conferences, Costume drama, Film adaptations, historical fiction, history play, later 17th century, men's memoirs, Poldark, women's memoirs, women's art, tagged marge piercy on November 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Kenilworth, 1575 reconstructed Dear friends and readers, As you may know, for the last two weekends I have been away: for 4 days in Portland, Oregon, for JASNA AGM, preceded by the Burney conference, whose topics were the Abbey (NA) and gothic respectively. Kenilworth, popular 1814 print And for 1 night, 1 day and 1 [...]
Winston Graham’s Memoirs of a Private Man: “an instinctive feminist”
Posted in Autobiographical, feminism, Film adaptations, film studies, historical fiction, men's memoirs, Poldark, political novels/films, Winston Graham, tagged Jill Townsend, life-writing, marital rape, mysteries on November 7, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Graham with Angharard Rees (who played Demelza in the original two series) Perfection is a full stop. Give me the comma of imperfect striving, Thus to find zest in the immediate living. Ever the reaching but never the attaining Of the mountain top (Memoirs of a Private Man, Book 2, Chapter 11, p. 312). Dear [...]
Graham’s Four Swans: “there is no transference — can be no transference — of experience” (Poldark novel 6, Cornwall 1795-97)
Posted in 18th century, 18th century novels, feminism, Film adaptations, historical fiction, Poldark, political novels/films, Winston Graham, tagged jane wyman, Jill Townsend on November 3, 2010 | 19 Comments »
Hugh Armitage (Brian Stimer) and Demelza’s (Angharad Rees) relationship: one of two equals rather than the girl and man (as she was with Ross) When I am gone remember this of me That earth of earth or heaven of heaven concealed No greater happiness than was to me revealed By favour of a single day [...]
