A short post just to celebrate the fact that the blog has been going for one year. I’ve had a great time doing this, especially in the last few months, as people have started to post comments and to email me directly. Special thanks to those who have shared their thoughts on the Lymond Chronicles and who have welcomed me into the Dunnett fold. I look forward to meeting some of you in person in November.
★★★★
(Iris Theatre, St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, until 4 August 2012)
Once again, in the grounds of St Paul’s Church in the heart of Covent Garden, Iris Theatre have created a little pocket of Arcadia. Last year it was the woods of Athens, for A Midsummer Night’s Dream; this year their unique brand of magic transforms the garden into the Forest of Arden, for As You Like It. As today was one of those rare summer days when London enjoyed glorious sunshine and Mediterranean temperatures, I decided to seize the moment and went off for some immersive Shakespeare.
(British Museum, until 25 November)
Even though I’m a bit of a Bardophile, I make the mistake of looking at Shakespeare’s plays as texts, rather than as expressions of a living, vivid, turbulent world. When I watch Romeo and Juliet, or As You Like It, or The Merchant of Venice, I focus on the world that Shakespeare is creating, rather than the world that created him. And that’s where this exhibition provides a really interesting counter-balance.
★★★★★
The Lymond Chronicles: Book VI
In the last half an hour, traversing the final few chapters of the book, my emotions have been masterfully manipulated. I’ve swerved from denial to triumph, followed by shocked immobility, and then a cool, tingling spread of realisation; finally, I have to admit, I actually cried (mainly with relief). I should say, first and foremost, that if you have any intention of reading this series – and by God, if you enjoy good books you should – then you shouldn’t read this post. There is no way on earth that I can write this without spoilers. So stop reading this now and, for goodness sake, go buy the first book and start the series for yourself!
★★★★
The Lymond Chronicles: Book V
My head is spinning: I am now so close to the end of the series that I find myself galloping along, devouring the book whenever I have a few minutes. I’ve been reading at ramming speed – and I have such a compulsion to find out what happens that I’m afraid I may have missed some of the finer points.
Now for something completely different… You have two choices. You can read my post and listen to me burble, or you can simply skip all of that and buy your tickets right now. This is a fantastic experience. It’s the perfect day out for Potter fans, film buffs or parents who are wondering how on earth to keep the children amused until they go back to school in September. Without a doubt, it is one of the best visitor attractions in the UK at the moment; and I say that with complete objectivity, because I’ve never really cared that much for Harry Potter…
★★★★★
The Lymond Chronicles: Book IV
After my reservations about The Disorderly Knights, I felt some anxiety as I embarked on Pawn in Frankincense, the fourth book in the Lymond Chronicles. However, there is very little to find fault with here: it is a magnificent novel, richer and more powerful than any of its predecessors in the series. I found it interesting to compare it to Queens’ Play, which I also enjoyed, for very different reasons. While Queens’ Play takes place in a small area of France, Pawn in Frankincense unfurls across the breadth of Europe and North Africa, embracing Switzerland, France, Algiers, Djerba and then Constantinople, the greatest and most dazzling city of all.
★★★
The Lymond Chronicles: Book III
And so, from the tumbling moors and hills of Scotland, and the stately, chivalric glitter of Blois, we come to Malta, to the sand and dust and bleached blue skies. This third volume in the Lymond Chronicles is a strange beast: after Queens’ Play, which I enjoyed immensely – with its strong, stand-alone story and its clear sense of purpose for Lymond – I feel much more ambivalent about The Disorderly Knights. I know this series well enough by now, and I trust Dunnett enough as a writer, to believe that it all has a purpose. But there were points, especially in the first half of this book, where my faith faltered. In time, when I have read the following books and better understand the foundations being laid here, I am sure I will fully appreciate her decisions; they just left me feeling a little lost at times.
★★★★
(directed by Nikolaj Arcel, 2012)
In 2006 I went to a talk at the Oxford Literary Festival, in which Stella Tillyard discussed her book A Royal Affair: George III and his Troublesome Siblings. The book looked at the fates of George III’s various brothers and sisters, but the most memorable story within it was that of Caroline Mathilde, George’s youngest sister, who was married off to Christian VII of Denmark. As this film has the same title, I assumed that it must have been based on the book, but there was no credit to Tillyard in the opening titles and there’s no mention of her on the film’s Wikipedia page.
There’s been a rather exciting development in recent weeks. I’ve bought some art for my flat, in the form of wood-engravings by three artists: Sue Cave, Sue Scullard and Sue Woollatt (it’s complete chance that they share a first name). This is a momentous step for me: although I spend a good proportion of my life looking at art, I don’t own much. Indeed, what I have so far can be counted on one and a half fingers.
The Idle Woman 