strange and random happenstance

What I am about to say is going to sound like blasphemy to a lot of people, but when Alan Rickman was first cast as Severus Snape I wasn't that enthused. And while I admit he had that lovely menacing and melodious voice he never really became Snape for me until later. Don't get me wrong, I love Alan Rickman, just not in Harry Potter. I have a few friends who are probably disowning me at this moment for saying this, especially one specific friend who shall remain nameless who asked me to distract the security guard while she dove for Alan Rickman's Snape costume when we went to Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I opted to restrain her versus acting as a distraction. Seemed far more prudent. And I know the reason I disapproved is going to sound ageist... but there is no getting around the fact that he was too old to play Snape! Because of casting Alan every one of the adults was aged up, which annoyed me so much. In the first movie Snape should have been 31, not 55! That's a 24 year age gap and James and Lily Potter didn't even live to see 24! When I read the books I pictured a different Alan, Alan Cumming, as Snape because, when I first read the books Alan was 34, so about the right age. Then one day I watched The Barchester Chronicles and everything I thought I held dear changed. Because he was a 36 year old Alan Rickman and he WAS Severus Snape. There's a scene with Rickman as Obadiah Slope where he and Mrs. Proudie are trying to change the opinion of Obadiah's boss and Mrs. Proudie's husband, the Bishop Proudie, that isn't just sheer perfection showcasing a level of humor rarely achieved, but in that moment I realized I didn't hate Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, I hated the fact that he played the role too late. Yes, it's impossible for him to have starred in a movie of a book that wouldn't come out for over a decade, but now I can forgive the films. A bit. I can at least see a young Alan Rickman as Snape when reading the books. I also am starting to wonder if Rowling didn't see Rickman all those years ago and see him as the character herself... Slope/Snape... not too different. And don't get me started on how I am totally convinced she wrote Hagrid for Robbie Coltrane because of an episode of Blackadder.      

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alan Cumming, Alan Rickman, Anthony Trollope, Blackadder, Chicago, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Hagrid, Harry Potter, Obadiah Slope, Robbie Coltrane, Severus Snape, The Barchester Chronicles

Bookstore: Myopic Bookstore

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Why I Love Them: Whenever I go somewhere I try to find a bookstore nearby to visit. One November I was headed to the Chicago area to go to a Lauren Willig event and the whole day would oddly, aside from Lauren, have been a book bust if not for the Borders on Michigan Avenue having a going out of business sale. Because earlier in the day I had decided to take a chance on a bookstore that everyone raved about but that left me oddly cold. You might be wondering why I would profile a store that didn't bowl me over... well truthfully, I just want to say my two cents on a store that so many people rave about and secondly, all bookstores deserve a second chance and I haven't been there a second time and everyone in this day and age needs to support brick and mortar stores. Let's get to the point, I'm talking about Myopic Bookstore. Myopic looks exactly like what you'd expect a used bookstore in Chicago to look like. The "L" is right behind the store and creates that clackity whooshing sound that is the lifeblood of the city. The building is old and the top two stories have a wonderful bay window. But inside the store feels tenuous. Some landings feel as if they'd collapse with too much weight on them. Ceilings are occasionally really low as you look through old crates that have been lashed together to create shelving. As for the basement? The least said the better, although it could easily have been in The Silence of the Lambs. But for all that, they had great marketing graphics, and for that I'm willing to forgive a lot.

Best Buy: For all it's rickety and temporary feel, some sections felt homey, like there was a glow about them, most likely from the 80s desk lamps strapped to shelves so you could see. It was in one of these comfortable nooks that I found my best buy: a few Angela Thirkell books. Now most people probably don't know her, but to those of use who crave things to be even more British in our lives, she is a comfort read. Anthony Trollope wrote a series of books set in Barsetshire. They were famous, loved, and memorable, and not just because of the miniseries starring Alan Rickman. Though Alan Rickman is sheer perfection so you should check out The Barchester Chronicles as soon as you can. In the 1930s, almost fifty years after Trollope's death, Thirkell started to write books set in Barsetshire. They were contemporary, much like Trollope was in his day. They were funny and satiric, and just lovely, making it no surprise why Virago Press finally got around to republishing many of these classics. This book buying excursion was before Virago got involved. At this time the only editions were pricey copies published by Moyer Bell, the same publishers as Helene Hanff if you're into those kinds of weird facts. In fact many of the editions I found that day at Myopic were never released and don't appear to be in the pipeline at Virago, no matter how many times I email them! So this proves that even in the most odd of stores I can still find a best buy... but in truth, I can always find an excuse to buy a new or new to me book.    

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alan Rickman, Angela Thirkell, Anthony Trollope, Barsetshire, Borders, Chicago, Helene Hanff, Illinois, Lauren Willig, Moyer Bell, Myopic Bookstore, Support Your Brick and Mortar, The Barchester Chronicles, Virago

Bookstore: Frugal Muse

Location: Far West Side of Madison, Wisconsin

Why I Love Them: Frugal Muse is the store that made me fall in love with bookstores. Not the generic gridded out box stores like a Barnes and Noble or a Borders, but a store with nooks and crannies, where at any turn you might find yourself transported to another world. The original location was a converted video store and felt like it went back for miles and miles. There was a lovely shortcut from the biographies to the mysteries that created a blind spot and you felt yourself lost to the outside world. Round about the history section there was another lovely nook that you could tuck yourself away in for hours. When my mother, Marian the librarian, was in the process of expanding the library for the school she worked for not a week went by without us stopping in to see what new books had arrived. Frugal Muse has always gotten a handful of new books to put on display near the front of the store, but it's the hunting of rare used books that really warms the cockles of my heart. A few years back now they moved to a newer location which is less magical, but if you look you can still find areas to hide it, I particularly like the mystery section, and who knew the magical nook in the history section was movable? Because, there it still is. In a different place, but just as wonderful. 

Best Buy: As for my "best buy" I realized it was actually an easy answer, my Penguin Numbered Trollopes! Back in the early oughts there were two wonderful Anthony Trollope miniseries produced, The Way We Live Now and He Knew He Was Right, which lead me down a rabbit hole to The Pallisers and so much more. The problem with Trollope as a writer was that stateside his books weren't easy to find. I remember watching an episode of Black Books and Manny just calling up their distributor and asking for the complete set of Trollope. If only it was that easy! I couldn't call anyone to get these books and therefore when I discovered their existence the hunt began. The Penguin Numbered Trollope consists of fifty-two books, of which I'm still missing twelve (2, 4, 6, 7, 17, 18, 22, 30, 32, 37, 43, and 45 if you're interested.) But a large chunk of these came from a one day purchase at Frugal Muse. I came into their old location and wandered back to the fiction section near the bathrooms and right there on the shelf were ALL these Trollope books, beautiful and orange and numbered. I cumbersomely took them up to the register and one of the two owners, who are just wonderful by the way, gave me an extra 15% off because I was taking the whole set off their hands. I LONG for a book buying high like I achieved that day to happen again and there's every chance that it will be at Frugal Muse.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Trollope, Black Books, Frugal Muse, He Knew He Was Right, Librarians, Libraries, Penguin, Penguin Numbered Trollopes, Support Your Brick and Mortar, The Pallisers, The Way We Live Now, Used Bookstores

Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Winter Tide is a weird, lyrical mystery ― truly strange and compellingly grim. It's an innovative gem that turns Lovecraft on his head with cleverness and heart" ―Cherie Priest

After attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future.

The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race.

Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature.

Winter Tide is the debut novel from Ruthanna Emrys, author of "The Litany of Earth."

It's the first of the month... here's a deluge of new books!

Brimstone by Cherie Priest
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new dark historical fantasy from the “supremely gifted” Cherie Priest, author of Mapelcroft and Boneshaker.

In the trenches of Europe during the Great War, Tomás Cordero operated a weapon more devastating than any gun: a flame projector that doused the enemy in liquid fire. Having left the battlefield a shattered man, he comes home to find yet more tragedy—for in his absence, his wife has died of the flu. Haunted by memories of the woman he loved and the atrocities he perpetrated, Tomás dreams of fire and finds himself setting match to flame when awake....

Alice Dartle is a talented clairvoyant living among others who share her gifts in the community of Cassadaga, Florida. She too dreams of fire, knowing her nightmares are connected to the shell-shocked war veteran and widower. And she believes she can bring peace to him and his wife’s spirit.

But the inferno that threatens to consume Tomás and Alice was set ablaze centuries ago by someone whose hatred transcended death itself...."

Ironic to have a Cherie Priest new release seeing as she recommended the previous book here. 

Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An astonishing literary debut about a young girl’s coming of age in the haunting, enchanting world of an English commune—a modern gothic novel with echoes of Room and Never Let Me Go.

Foxlowe is a crumbling old house in the moors—a wild, secluded, and magical place. For Green, it is not just home, but everything she knows.

Outside, people live in little square houses, with unhappy families and tedious jobs. At Foxlowe, Green runs free through the hallways and orchards, in the fields and among the Standing Stones. Outside, people are corrupted by money. At Foxlowe, the Family shares everything. Outside, the Bad is everywhere. At Foxlowe, everyone in the Family is safe—as long as they follow Freya’s rules and perform her rituals. But as Green’s little sister, Blue, grows up, she shows more and more interest in the Outside. Before long she starts to talk about becoming a Leaver....

Building inexorably to its terrifying climax, Foxlowe tells a chilling, irresistible story of superstition and survival, betrayal and redemption, and a utopia gone badly wrong."

YAS! 

Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of When Falcons Fall, the gruesome murder of a young boy takes Sebastian St. Cyr from the gritty streets of London to the glittering pleasure haunts of the aristocracy...

London, 1813. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is no stranger to the dark side of the city, but he’s never seen anything like this: the brutalized body of a fifteen- year-old boy dumped into a makeshift grave on the grounds of an abandoned factory.

One of London’s many homeless children, Benji Thatcher was abducted and tortured before his murder—and his younger sister is still missing. Few in authority care about a street urchin’s fate, but Sebastian refuses to let this killer go unpunished.

Uncovering a disturbing pattern of missing children, Sebastian is drawn into a shadowy, sadistic world. As he follows a grim trail that leads from the writings of the debauched Marquis de Sade to the city’s most notorious brothels, he comes to a horrifying realization: someone from society’s upper echelon is preying upon the city’s most vulnerable. And though dark, powerful forces are moving against him, Sebastian will risk his reputation and his life to keep more innocents from harm..."

A series I really need to read more of. 

My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series returns with an irresistible new novel about one man’s adventures in the Italian countryside.

Paul Stuart, a renowned food writer, finds himself at loose ends after his longtime girlfriend leaves him for her personal trainer. To cheer him up, Paul’s editor, Gloria, encourages him to finish his latest cookbook on-site in Tuscany, hoping that a change of scenery (plus the occasional truffled pasta and glass of red wine) will offer a cure for both heartache and writer’s block. But upon Paul’sarrival, things don’t quite go as planned. A mishap with his rental-car reservation leaves him stranded, until a newfound friend leads him to an intriguing alternative: a bulldozer.

With little choice in the matter, Paul accepts the offer, and as he journeys (well, slowly trundles)into the idyllic hillside town of Montalcino, he discovers that the bulldozer may be the least of the surprises that await him. What follows is a delightful romp through the lush sights and flavors of the Tuscan countryside, as Paul encounters a rich cast of characters, including a young American woman who awakens in him something unexpected.

A feast for the senses and a poignant meditation on the complexity of human relationships, My Italian Bulldozer is a charming and intensely satisfying love story for anyone who has ever dreamed of a fresh start."

Alexander McCall Smith writes, I reads. 

The End of the Day by Claire North
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At the end of the day, Death visits everyone. Right before that, Charlie does.

You might meet him in a hospital, in a warzone, or at the scene of a traffic accident.

Then again, you might meet him at the North Pole - he gets everywhere, our Charlie.

Would you shake him by the hand, take the gift he offers, or would you pay no attention to the words he says?

Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which.

The End of the Day is the stunning new novel by Claire North, author of word-of-mouth bestseller The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August."

There's something about this sparse description that makes me go YES! 

Earthly Remains by Donna Leon
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Donna Leon’s bestselling mystery novels set in Venice have won a multitude of fans for their insider’s portrayal of La Serenissima. From family meals to coffee bars, and from vaporetti rides to the homes and apartments of Venetians, the details and rhythms of everyday life are an integral part of this beloved series. But so are the suffocating corruption, the never-ending influx of tourists, and crimes big and small. Through it all, Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti has been an enduring figure. A good man who loves his family and his city, Brunetti is relentless in his pursuit of truth and some measure of justice.

In Earthly Remains, the twenty-sixth novel in this series, Brunetti’s endurance is tested more than ever before. During an interrogation of an entitled, arrogant man suspected of giving drugs to a young girl who then died, Brunetti acts rashly, doing something he will quickly come to regret. In the fallout, he realizes that he needs a break, needs to get away from the stifling problems of his work.

When Brunetti is granted leave from the Questura, his wife, Paola, suggests he stay at the villa of a relative on Sant’Erasmo, one of the largest islands in the laguna. There he intends to pass his days rowing, and his nights reading Pliny’s Natural History. The recuperative stay goes according to plan until Davide Casati, the caretaker of the house on Sant’Erasmo, goes missing following a sudden storm. Now, Brunetti feels compelled to investigate, to set aside his leave of absence and understand what happened to the man who had become his friend.

Earthly Remains is quintessential Donna Leon, a powerful addition to this celebrated series."

For my mom, who loves this series. 

Scarweather by Anthony Rolls
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 250 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'My friend Ellingham has persuaded me to reveal to the public the astounding features of the Reisby case. As a study in criminal aberration it is, he tells me, of particular interest, while in singularity of horror and in perversity of ingenious method it is probably unique.'

1913. John Farringdale, with his cousin Eric Foster, visits the famous archaeologist Tolgen Reisby. At Scarweather - Reisby's lonely house on the windswept northern coast of England - Eric is quickly attracted to Reisby's much younger wife, and matters soon take a dangerous turn. Fifteen years later, the final scene of the drama is enacted.

This unorthodox novel from 1934 is by a gifted crime writer who, wrote Dorothy L. Sayers, 'handles his characters like a "real" novelist and the English language like a "real" writer - merits which are still, unhappily, rarer than they should be in the ranks of the murder specialists.'"

Classic English Crime. Yes. Please. 

The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 840 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Newly restored from the original manuscript and more than a quarter longer than the existing editions: one of the finest novels from one of the greatest English novelists is finally available in the form he intended.

Trollope wrote The Duke’s Children, his final Palliser novel, as a four-volume work but was required by his publisher to reduce it to three, necessitating the loss of nearly sixty-five thousand words. A team of researchers led by Steven Amarnick has worked with the manuscript at Yale’s Beinecke Library to restore the novel to its original form. The result is richer and more complex, with a subtly different ending: a clearly superior book to the one that has always been published.

Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium, has lost both his vivacious wife, Lady Glencora, and his position as prime minister of Great Britain. The bereft duke is left to try to manage his three grown children, whose rebellions take the various forms of gambling debts, university pranks, and unsuitable romantic attachments. But though he fails to understand his offspring, Palliser truly cares for them, and he navigates the clash of generations with a growing awareness of the necessity of compromises, both political and personal. Insightful, entertaining, and compassionate—and now restored to its full glory—The Duke’s Children is a fitting conclusion to the epic Palliser series, one of the most remarkable achievements of British fiction."

Hey Everyman's Library do you know how annoying it's been waiting for you to put out this book so that all my Pallisers books will be the same? REALLY is the answer. 

Perfect by Cecelia Ahern
Published by: Feiwel amd Friends
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this thrilling sequel to Flawed, Celestine must make a choice: save just herself or risk her own life to save all Flawed people.

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine's life has completely fractured--all her freedoms gone.

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick--the only person she can trust.

But Celestine has a secret--one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing.

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed?"

The first book in this series was one of the first books I got in my OwlCrate subscription... should probably get around to read it... 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 5: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the World by Ryan North
Published by: Marvel
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone gets a week-long break from class, and Squirrel Girl is taking Nancy to visit her parents up in Canada! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG, RIGHT? Turns out, nothing! It's a great trip and nothing of note happens and our story is actually EXTREMELY DULL. Sorry everyone. No, just kidding! Our story is actually SUPER AWESOME and things get real crazy real quick once a certain super-powered villain nobody has heard of for over a decade reappears! That's right! This comic features mysteries AND Canadians AND camping, not to mention our ALREADY super-enticing focus on squirrel powers! Let's see Howard the Duck promise you THAT."

I might be a little addicted to Squirrel Girl...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Anthony Trollope, C.S. Harris, Cecelia Ahern, Cherie Priest, Claire North, Donna Leon, Foxlowe, Ruthanna Emrys, Scarweather, Squirrel Girl, The Duke's Children, Winter Tide

Modern classics is an interesting categorization for books. We all know what Classics, with a capital "C" are. They're books that have endured. They have proven to stand the test of time. Think of the 1800s. Such a glut of authors writing yet we have but a handful of authors that are remembered; Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Wharton, Gaskell, Eliot, Trollope, and more. But comparatively small. They're like the 1% of authors. Now look to the 1900s. Just a hundred years or less isn't really enough time to know if a book will still be read and loved in another hundred years. As Stephen King himself says, he doesn't think his books will be remembered. They are loved and devoured by today's readers, but there's also something transitory about them. But there are books that people place favorable odds on enduring. The works of Hemingway are pretty much a shoo-in. Or so we think. And that's what makes, say A Farewell to Arms, a "modern" classic. We are pretty sure that a book with this moniker will go on. So much so that many of these books make up the curriculum of high school English classes. Vonnegut, Kesey, Slaughterhouse-Five, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, anyone of my generation will recognize these as standard reading. But will people a few generations from now recognize them? This is one instance in which I would love to peak into the future and see what endures. Of the books I've selected... it's a crapshoot.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Trollope, Backlog Bonanza, Bronte, Charles Dickens, Classics, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, George Eliot, Jane Austen, Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut, Modern Classic, Slaughterhouse-Five, Stephen King

The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: 1855
Format: Hardcover, 203 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Mr. Septimus Harding is the Warden of Hiram's Hospital in Barchester. He is also the precentor of that town's cathedral. Yet it is his care of Hirman's Hospital that brings him much grief. The hospital was founded by John Hiram many many years before as an almshouse for the care of twelve bedesmen. Hirman's wish was for his Hospital to care for those who had worked hard all their lives and had no one to care for them. Here enters the Warden. The Warden would care for the spiritual and psychical well-being of the men. Over the years though the position of Warden has become an envious position and a gift of the Bishop, because while the cost of living has changed, the men still only receive what was stipulated in the will, while the rest of the now considerable money goes into the pockets of the Warden.

Mr. Harding though is an innocent man. He does not think of money but only the well-being of his charges. All this changes when Mr. Bold appears on the scene. For quite some time he has been a friend to Mr. Harding and a hopeful suitor to his daughter, Eleanor Harding. Yet Mr. Bold is also a bit of a reformer. He likes seeing his name attached to good deeds in the press and here is the Warden, oblivious in the ways of the world. A man who doesn't know he is doing wrong and continuing the evils of the church. Despite his love for Mr. and Eleanor Harding, he launches an attack on the hospital. With the newspapers grabbing hold of the story, it soon turns into a witch hunt with lawyers on both sides and the poor Warden in the middle.

Trapped between doing what he loves and feeling that perhaps he is in the wrong, Mr. Harding for the first time in his life has to dig deep inside his soul and find an answer for himself. While his son-in-law, Dr. Grantly, is zealously defending the church and his own father, the Bishop, it might come down to the evil muck flung at Mr. Harding by the press that finally sways him. To be thought to be doing wrong is more than this innocent lover of music and caregiver can take.

Quite a few years back now I remember watching The Way We Live Now and thinking, damn, this Anthony Trollope is awesome. As it often happens with me, I first devoured all the miniseries I could, falling deeply in love with The Pallisers, and then going out and getting all the books I could lay my hands on. This was harder then it is now because at the time Trollope was oddly out of print here, but thanks to Andrew Davies and the BBC that has since changed. In fact, because of the surge of interest in Trollope they re-released an old BBC Miniseries The Barchester Chronicles. I immediately bought it, mainly because it had Alan Rickman in it, so it couldn't be bad, now could it? I was sort of wrong... there where times when it was wonderful, and times when I was bored to tears. The miniseries followed the first two books in the Barchester Chronicles, and can you guess which part bored me to tears? That's right, the part based on The Warden.

Yet, despite my boredom with the miniseries, I knew one day that I would read this book. Mainly because the Barchester Chronicles, all six books in the series, are some of the most loved books of their time. I thoroughly enjoyed the Pallisers, so I HAD to eventually get to reading this book. In fact, I was hesitant on many occasions. But my desire to read about Barchester, a land so loved that even other authors, like Angela Thirkell, have taken up their pen to this hallowed ground eventually won out. That and I was determined to read a Trollope book for my Dickensian Denouement and the first book in the Pallisers, Can You Forgive Her, is like five times the length and with school, my time is precious.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised at first. The story was simple and sweet and even if you don't care anything for church politics and reform, Trollope was able to make the story engaging by having you fall in love with the characters. Yet there was a flaw that Trollope repeatedly fell prey to that made me more than once set the book aside after my eyes had glazed over and I almost fell asleep. He had these long diatribes that would be inserted almost but not quite randomly into the story. Not only did it break up the narrative and take you out of the book, but dear lord, there was almost more diatribe than plot for a lot of the book!

Trollope's two main attacks where against the press and against popular sentimental authors. While the attack on the authors was funny, because it was clearly aimed directly at Dickens and in particular Bleak House, which had just finished it's weekly run, and it's limp heroes and heroines (Ester anyone?) and fascinating though absurdly named secondary characters. Yet this rant went overly long and the amusement I felt waned and I just wanted it to end. His other rant was even longer. The press and popular journalist where his other target. While it is more than a little terrifying that in his lambasting of the press he was able to nail the growing power that the press has gotten a hold of, to the extent where it creates the news, even to this day, I didn't sign up for reading so much about it, thank you very much.

Though, I have to say, I'm excited, now that I've gotten through the first book, who knows the awesomeness that awaits. I hope people have not been steering me wrong all these years and that the rest of the series is as wonderful as they say. If Trollope sticks on topic, I have no doubt of his abilities... Tom Towers indeed, get thee and thy press away.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alan Rickman, Anthony Trollope, Barchester, Can You Forgive Her?, Charles Dickens, Dickensian Denouement, The Barchester Chronicles, The Pallisers, The Warden

Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful and prolific writers in Victorian England. He out wrote Dickens two to one, writing forty seven novels, as well as dozens of short stories and a few books on travel. His best loved novels are the Pallisers series, which was made into a BBC series in the seventies, and the Chronicles of Barsetshire, that are so loved, other authors, such as Angela Thirkell, used the imaginary county as a setting for her books. Oddly enough, one of his lasting contributions was from his work in the Post Office, when he introduced the Pillar Box to England, which is a free standing post box for mail which is still in use today, a lasting image that is truly British and is all thanks to Anthony Trollope.

Dickens and Trollope mainly knew each other through Dickens's friendship with Trollope's family, mainly Anthony's elder brother Thomas. Dickens also corresponded with Trollope's father and his mother, Francis, who was a well known writer in her own right. So it can be safely assumed they knew each other for quite some time, at least since the 1840s. Though the extent of their friendship is not known, they dined at each others homes and Dickens even corresponded with Trollope's wife Rose, though perhaps he had ulterior motives... one never knows with Dickens!

Their friendship was quite cordial, though Dickens apparently didn't like Trollope's writing, even though he published The Duke's Children in All the Year Round. They mainly saw each other at literary functions where occasionally they would speak on the same platform. The real reason Trollope must be mentioned with Dickens is for sheer output. You can not talk about one without the other. These two authors baffled their readers with how much they could produce. Yet, aside from their overabundance in writing, they greatly differed, moving in different crowds, Trollope loving the domesticated life and his work at the post office and his clubs, whereas Dickens felt stifled by his home life and loved to abandon it for actors and actresses and caused quite a to-do with his leaving his club.

While Dickens has come to be known as the Victorian paragon, during his time, aside from his writing, he was rather outre. He left his wife for an actress twenty seven years his junior. Trollope more embodied the ideals of the era, Victoria and Albert and all that is good and British. After Trollope's death in 1882 his popularity has greatly fluctuated. When his autobiography was published posthumously, his critics took great glee in learning that Trollope adhered to a strict daily writing quota, siting that output doesn't mean excellence, though that's just their opinion on the matter. Yet Trollope has surfaced again and again in popularity over the years and has strong societies dedicated to his works in both the US and UK. Two of his books, The Way We Live Now and He Knew He Was Right, have been recently adapted by the paragon of adaptations, Andrew Davies, for the BBC. His writing style is also far easier to enjoy than Dickens, but that is just a personal opinion. Anyway you look at it, the two of them dominated the literature of the Victorian era.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrew Davies, Angela Thirkell, Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Chronicles of Barsetshire, He Knew He Was Right, Post Office, The Pallisers, The Way We Live Now, Victorian, Victorian Literature

Charles Dickens held a unique place in Victorian England, in that he was connected to so many other literary folk. From friends to family, frenemies to fans (nod wisely if you get the Doctor Who joke), Dickens knew most of the other writers of his time. Whether it was just because of the ease of contact due to modern living, or his magazines which employed and mentored fellow writers and exposed them to an audience that might otherwise have never read their works of genius, Dickens was a lodestone of the time. From his deep friendship with Wilkie Collins, to his love hate relationship with Thackeray, to publishing and erroneously editing Elizabeth Gaskell's works, he knew, and occasionally worked with, all the Trollopes (and no, this isn't a bad joke), Dickens was the center of this motley crew of literati.

Over the next month I'll take an in depth look at Dickens' relationship to four other authors of his day, one is even an American! How did Dickens influence or infuriate them? Because one can not just look to the man, to get an true appreciation of Dickens one must look to those around him, to realize the scope and range that made him the sensation he was and why we are still lauding the man 200 years after his birth and marvelling at the legacy he left behind.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Trollope, Bicentenary, Charles Dickens, Doctor Who, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thackeray, Victorian, Wilkie Collins

For the Madisonians who read my blog I have exciting news. The new Frugal Muse opened today! For years Frugal Muse has been hands down the best used bookstore in Madison, and I don't think this is likely to change anytime soon. They have the nicest and most knowledgeable staff, as well as the fastest turnover rate for books, meaning new finds are possible every week. I still fondly recall finding the numbered Penguin Trollope there and hold out hope to one day find the rest, the person who owned the first half has to have the second half and may one day sell it! Their move is still a little bittersweet for me, I loved their old west side location behind Barnes & Noble and next to Westfield Comics. The rambling nature of the store and the feeling you could easily get lost. Their new location next to Old Navy and Target is bigger and sleeker, but I think what makes it work is that the bigger means there's more room for books. So while the old location will still hold a certain nostalgia, the added space for books sways me. If only I could get added space for my books too?

The new location is shaped more like a shoebox and is very logically laid out. The Childrens section seems to be smaller but conveniently located near the registers. But the Young Adult section appears to have expanded, which I am so in favor of. The Mystery and Science Fiction Hardcovers are interestingly nestled within the end of the alphabet in Fiction. The shelves currently have a lot of space left, meaning more books to come! But I think the most important thing about the move being over is that I no longer have my favorite bookstore at half power. The last few months have been depressing seeing the old store slowly being emptied, almost as if they were going out of business. But now that my store is back, all the hours to spend searching the shelves...in fact maybe it's not a good idea the location opened, I have to re-factor in the time suck and the extra shelving needed! Go enjoy perusing the shelves the grand opening is still to come!

Frugal Muse
235 Junction Road (The Prairie Towne Shopping Center next to Old Navy)
608-833-8668
Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm
Sunday 10am-5pm

Posted by Miss Eliza at 5:31 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Trollope, Bookstores, Frugal Muse, Used Bookstores, Westfield Comics

Unlike most people I think of summer as the time of the miniseries. Most people associate them with cold winter nights in January and February, in other words, when Masterpiece no-longer-Theater airs their classic line-up, but not me. Most likely this is to do with the fact that the first time I watched Andrew Davies' Pride and Prejudice it was mid-July 1996. Unlike everyone else I know who watched it back in February of that year I was too busy finishing up senior year of high school. Soon after finally getting my diploma (held until I returned my cap and gown) I started a crash course in Jane Austen. After all 1996 was the perfect year for Austen, Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility was in theaters as well as Gweneth Paltrow's Emma, and of course, Pride and Prejudice. I would read the book, then watch the accompanying adaptation. I watched Pride and Prejudice in one sitting. It was all I asked for for my birthday that year (VHS of course!) But since then I have developed a veritable fount of miniseries knowledge and information, and I will give you the best of the best (which tend to be Andrew Davies centric), but I have also watched the worst of the worst as well, so when I say watch, think of all that I've seen to make it a must watch. Also for my facebook friends I have made an even more extensive list contained in my notes!

First with the Austen adaptations:

Sense and Sensibility - The 1995 Emma Thompson version, mainly because of Hugh Laurie, but also because Willoughby in the newer version looks like a monkey and the clothes are crappy (which they tried to justify with a documentary on the disc but I'm still crying foul).

Pride and Prejudice - The 1995 Andrew Davies' adaptation staring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle created the modern miniseries. As one reviewer said, "Man goes into lake, man comes out of lake, world changes."

Mansfield Park - The 2007 Billie Piper version, and yes it takes big liberties, but it's still a lot of fun, and the Crawfords are superbly cast. Also I won't talk to you about the Frances O'Connor version, there was not slave trading in Jane Austen's novels, it might be historically correct, but Harold Pinter raping slaves? NO!

Emma - The 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version, because I can't bring myself to like the Kate Beckinsale version due to Mark Strong being a creepy Knightly. Also Alan Cumming is perfect as Mr. E.

Northanger Abbey - The 2007 Andrew Davies' adaptation is possibly his best Austen adaption yet! Who knew it was so funny! Also the inclusion of more of the contemporary Gothic literature from Anne Radcliffe and others is sheer genius.

Persuasion - I like both the 1995 version with Amanda Root and the 2007 version with Sally Hawkins. The Sally Hawkins version is more liberal with the source material, but Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy) as Sir Walter Elliot is perfect! As is Tobias Menzies as William Elliot.

Thackeray, a nice bridge between Austen and the Brontes:

Vanity Fair - 1998 Andrew Davies' adaptation with Natasha Little is perfect in every way and doesn't miss the point of a "novel without a heroine" like the Reese Witherspoon version.

Now onto the Bronte's, who I really can't hate for hating Jane Austen, everyone can have their own opinion (though Mark Twain seemed to have an unreasonable hatred of Jane):

Jane Eyre - 2006 adaptation with Toby Stephens is the first adaptation I have just loved. Plus filmed at the same castle as The Princess Bride!

The Brontes of Haworth - 1973 docudrama on their lives, totally fascinating, plus a young Michael Kitchen (Foyle of Foyle's War).

Elizabeth Gaskell:

Wives and Daughters - 1999 Andrew Davies' possibly BEST EVER adaptation. Michael Gambon won the BAFTA for this and it's not a surprise in the least. Just perfect.

North and South - 2004 adaptation has slow parts, but the ending is perfect. Made Richard Armitage the next Colin Firth.

Cranford - 2007 adaptation, so sad, be prepared for lots of death.

Dickens, of which I've watched alot and enjoyed, but only one I truly loved:

Little Dorrit - 2008 Andrew Davies' adaptation with a perfect cast, and Gareth from The Office in a bizzare cameo (you have to love Mackenzie Crook!)

Trollope:

The Pallisers - 1974 tv series, a little dated, but still fabulous, and there are rumors Andrew Davies is doing a new adaptation!

Barchester Chronicles - 1982, and if you can get through the slow first episode, some of the funniest acting from Alan Rickman ever!

The Way We Live Now - 2001 Andrew Davies, and it shows that David Suchet can act! (I really had my doubts).

He Knew He Was Right - 2004, perfection by Andrew Davies, Bill Nighy, so funny, but you can't top David Tennant in this production nor a knife weilding Claudie Blakley.

George Eliot:

Middlemarch - 1994 and the start of the Davies Dynasty, which he is ironically re-writing to be shot again!

Daniel Deronda - 2004 Andrew Davies, introduces us to Hugh Dancy and somehow was able to make Hugh Bonneville scary!

Flora Thompson:

Lark Rise to Candleford - 2008, perfection and happiness in a world where nothing goes too badly.

John Galsworthy:

The Forsyte Saga - 2002 and perhaps the best miniseries in existence! You will cry till you feel slightly ill, but it's worth it. Also how Corin Redgrave didn't win a BAFTA is beyond me. Don't miss part two, "To Let" which continues the saga. Also lets hope that now Damian Lewis' tv series Life was cancelled they will finish the series with the final chapter.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 10:49 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrew Davies, Anthony Trollope, BBC Miniseries, Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, Flora Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Jane Austen