Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" adapted for television

Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell

It is with great pleasure that I have started to watch the BBC adaption of Hilary Mantel's two books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. The first two parts of the six part series do not disappoint. They have managed to capture the calm undertone, in spite of all the things happening, that pervades through the books.

Normally, BBC does not make you disappointed when they adapt historical drama. Neither this time. The cast contains some of the finest actors in England, and it is all very professionally done.

Peter Kosminsky, the director of the series, said:

This is a first for me. But it is an intensely political piece. It is about the politics of despotism, and how you function around an absolute ruler. I have a sense that Hilary Mantel wanted that immediacy. ... When I saw Peter Straughan's script, only a first draft, I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was the best draft I had ever seen. He had managed to distil 1,000 pages of the novels into six hours, using prose so sensitively. He's a theatre writer by trade. The Guardian

Do have a look if you have the possibility

New interesting books

I recently found the web-site of Bookreporter and am now subscribing to some of their newsletters. In the latest version I found two books that sound especially interesting. There are of course many more, especially a lot of thrillers/mystery books that are interesting, but these two stuck out for me.

CARELESS PEOPLE: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell (Literary History)

CARELESS PEOPLE is a unique literary investigation: a gripping double narrative that combines a forensic search for clues to an unsolved crime and a quest for the roots of one of America’s best-loved novels. Acclaimed scholar of American literature Sarah Churchwell reconstructs the events of that pivotal autumn in 1922, revealing in the process new ways of thinking about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.
Penguin Books * 9780143126256

Series vs Single Book

It seems that the new trend in book writing is to write a series rather than a single book. There are different kind of series; those where the story continues over a number of books, or, those where the story is finished in each book, but the main character reappears in several books. The last option has been a trend for a long time, especially within the detective story genre. Some of the most famous sleuths belong to this category; Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and others. I think this is a favoured category among readers.

The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan

Author: Kate Riordan
Penguin
Format: Paperback
Published: 15 Jan 2015

Two generations, two women, two mansions and a hidden secret going down through history. This is my kind of book indeed. Kate Riordan's first book does not disappoint you.

The story is told with two voices; Alice’s and Elisabeth’s. Elizabeth is the unhappy woman, in the 1890s, who once inhabited Stanton house. Alice is the young girl, finding herself unmarried and pregnant in 1933s London. Her shameful mother makes up a story that she is a widow and sends her to a childhood friend in the country to await the birth.

Alice is unhappy about the whole situation when she arrives at Fiercombe Manor.  The house is an old and lovely Tudor house, but she can feel a non-visible presence. Someone is watching her. Old houses like this always have their own ghosts, but Alice feels that there is something more. Little does she know how Elizabeth's life will be intertwined with her own and how her own life will change forever.

Mrs Jelphs, her mother’s childhood friend, and Mr Ruck are both old and have been working for the family since Elizabeth’s time. They keep a close guard upon her, and she does not know why. While she is getting familiar to the estate and the surroundings, she discovers the grounds of the now, torn down, Stanton house, and the ‘Eremitage’ by the river. There is a suffocating feeling hanging over the whole valley, which is not entirely caused by the heat wave. When she finds the diary of Elizabeth in the ‘eremitage’ she slowly discovers the story of a woman, who, in a lot of senses, seems to be connected to her own, present day, situation. A woman who is frightened and in distress.

Enjoying a winter week in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

For the first time in years I am enjoying a real winter. We were lucky enough that the snow came just the day before we came. We had a lovely drive from Bergamot via lake Garda to MdC. Here some photos along the way.

Jane Austen and Names by Maggie Lane

After finishing Jane Austen and Food  it was time to get on with Maggie Lane’s Jane Austen and Names. Names have a special meaning to most of us, and mostly names mean more than just the name itself. In this study, Maggie Lane has looked at an area which has not been given much attention. She looks at the history of English names up to Jane Austen’s time and the pattern of giving names in society, and the way Jane Austen uses names that fits the personality of her characters, as well as their place in society. Unlike most novelists of her period, Jane Austen used names found in everyday life.

Sometimes she uses a name to explain the characteristics; “Her Charlottes are usually clear-eyed pragmatists and her Henrys are rarely without charm. More often, characters given the same name have nothing in common at all. In one novel Fanny might be a despicable, mercenary snob, and in another the timid, tender-hearted heroine. George Wickham and George Knightley are morally worlds apart. No fewer than three of Jane Austen’s most vulgar characters are named Anne; but so too is the possessor of the most refined mind she created.” 

In her six published novels Jane Austen uses 26 boy’s names and 55 girls’ names. They are repeated through her novels for the naming of 114 male characters and 127 female characters. For some characters she just uses only surnames; Mr and Mrs Allen, Mr and Mrs Bennet, Colonel and Mrs Wallis etc.

Jane Austen and Food by Maggie Lane

Jane Austen never gave much detail to food and eating in her novels. Still, food is a very important part of her writing, since all references to food and eating, although indirect, suggests something about the character who refers to it. Maggie Lane, an English author of several books about Jane Austen and her time, has examined the books to find out Jane Austen’s attitude to food and how it affects the social sphere and customs of her characters. Maggie Lane starts:

“One of the characteristics of Jane Austen’s style is how sparing it is of physical detail. She never pauses in her narrative to give a lengthy description, whether of faces, clothes, rooms, meals or any other facet of material life. … Jane Austen pays us the compliment of letting us imagine for ourselves. …”

Jane Austen grew up in the countryside as one of eight children. Her father was a reverend, but also a gentleman farmer, so the household was more or less self sufficient during her early life. Her mother catered for this big family, and we can imagine the logistic of preparing things to eat every day, which must have been full time work. Although Jane Austen did not herself care to much about this duty (it was taken over by her sister Cassandra when her mother died) she nevertheless had an idea of how the food issue worked.

Reading translated literature

This post is inspired by Dolce Bellezza's post on the reason to read international literature. For Americans, and other English speaking countries, it is surely not a necessity, considering the number of authors and books that are published in this world. However, for a small country like Sweden, we would be very poor if we did not read foreign literature. I think that if you live in a big country like the US you have most things around you and might not have to look abroad. For smaller countries it is a necessity. Since most of the European countries are now in the European Union, we can see ourselves as a bigger entity. However, the countries in Europe are definitely more different than the various states in the US. Each country has their own history and culture. Through history we were often at odds with each other, so it is really comforting to know that today we strive for a common goal.

Monday morning inspiration

It is not always easy to write inspired blog posts regularly. For a book blog it depends on finishing
books to have something to write about. Although there are a lot of other 'bookish' matters that you can write about, but that depends entirely on inspiration. I have spent this - once again very windy - morning to read inspirational blog posts, recommendations, inspirations, good advice and so on, to start out this week in a good way.

Challenges for 2015

A while ago I said I would not follow any challenges for 2015, but my own. In principal this is what I am going to do. My idea is to do 'connected reading' which means that the book I am reading will lead to another book. The dilemma will be, that the next book has to come from my TBR shelves or the library. I definitely need to lower the number of books at these shelves. Apart from the 'connected reading' I will read other books as well. I will read:

The following fiction:

1. The City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt
2. The Children's Book by A.S Byatt (I even have a signed book since I bought it on an event where she was talking about her books)
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
4. The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
5. Light in August by William Faulkner
6. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
7. My Childhood by Maxim Gorky
8. The Go-Between by J.P. Hartley
9. Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
10. Det röda fältet (The Red Field) by Mo Yan
11. Sarum by Edward Rutherford
12. Påven Johanna (Pope Joan) by Donna Woolfork Cross

The following non-fiction:

1. Kansler Axel Oxenstierna, part 1 by Gunnar Wetterberg
2. Kansler Axel Oxenstierna, part 2, by Gunnar Wetterberg
3. John Keats - A Life by Stephen Coote
4. Civilisation - The West and the Rest by Nial Ferguson
5. The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar by Gordon Napier

The following plays:

1. Rickard III by William Shakespeare
2. Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams
3. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
4. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

What came in the post today?

Diana Gabaldon's The Outlander Companion came today. This is a book I wanted to buy since I was aware that it existed, but I didn't get around to it until now. It contains the background to the Outlander series. It is a lovely, 'old fashioned' book, and it has the feel of an old book, the way it is printed. Each page has two columns, and it is illustrated with black-and-white drawings.

The 'Companion' covers the first four books in the series. There is also a background from Diana Gabaldon on how she came to write the books, which is interesting. Here you can read about the Synopses, the Characters, the Family Trees, a guide to the glossary, web-sites and online venues connected to the series, Research, where the titles come from, the view from Lallybroch, FAQs and more. It includes 'The Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel' which should be interesting.

I would like to go into this book right away, but alas, have some other books that I absolutely have to read. This book will be my breakfast reading. Hmm, but it might mean that my breakfast will be rather long!

Reading year 2014 - closing up

It is time to sum up the reading year 2014. 2013 was the first year I really went for a more determined reading. It was also the year I started really blogging, which was great.  2014 continued with more exchanges with the blogging community, getting to know people out there and be inspired for new reading ventures.

In 2013 I read 108 books, and last year  91. A little bit less than expected, but a lot of other things took precedence from time to time. Here some statistics from the year. The books I have read you find under the ‘Read’ label (click on year 2014).

The Food Pharmacy and Food - Your Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper

I received these two books as a birthday present from my husband a year ago. I was not over
enthusiastic at the time, but they have grown on me. It might not be something you read from cover to back, but they make an excellent reading on eating healthy and use food instead of medicines. That does not mean that we can stop taking our medicines, but we can definitely increase our awareness of eating healthy food.

Healthy food is a big issue these days. I suppose we are all more or less affected by it. In the Food Pharmacy, Jean Carper tells us how food can fight disease. Here some examples; Onions for the heart, Barley, Oats, and the Vegetarian Secret, Chili Peppers' Yin-Yang Therapy, The Cabbage - Cancer Connection and how nuts and seeds may help, the cranberry's strange antibiotic, wine, tea, and marvellous phenols, yogurt tales and much more. There is also a list with a lot of fruit, vegetables and other products and their beneficiary uses. This part you can use as an encyclopedia.

The Food - Your Miracle Medicine is more a list of food that can prevent diseases and she mentions; cardiovascular system, digestive system, common theories of food's healing powers, infections, breathing problems, joint and bone problems and much more.

Happy New Reading Year

I still have to read up on your close up for 2014 and your goals for 2015, as well as doing it myself. Having been away from home during Christmas and New Year, the blog has suffered. I promise that from next week I will see you more regularly again.

Celebrating this time of year in Mallorca is a treat. The weather has been fantastic, sunny and around 18-22 degrees C. Some rain and storms in between Christmas and New Year but now we are back on the sunny side.

Christmas here means a stroll through the wonderful town of Palma, some tapas and then head for the cathedral which is open for a Christmas mass. As usual wonderfully decorated.

Afterwords back to the flat for some Swedish Christmas buffet. This year we celebrated with our parents so the house was full. Now back to the quiet times and we are enjoying the nature here with walks. Martin is taking a walk over the mountains while I am enjoying a nice lunch here in Port de Pollenca.