FLY HIGH!

FRIDAY NIGHT MISCELLANEOUS POSTING - ON LOVE LETTERS, ANGELS, POETRY AND MORE

2012-01-28T01:41:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since my last miscellaneous post. But, today has been such a full day, so intense and tiring that ...I can't simply stop now, nor close my eyes and sleep yet, though it's nearly midnight. So, maybe to share some of my thoughts and emotions of the last 24 hours can help me to relax.

Let's start from ... last night, more or less this time last night.

I'd been quite unwell yesterday, a virus's conspiracy against my poor digestive system has knocked me down for a while and being in bed all day but not fit enough to read or write, I re-watched some old stuff (ehm... not saying what, try to guess) and watched the latest episode of a new ITV1 series. I turned off my husband's iPad just at midnight, after the episode finished in fact.

I started watching this new series because it was set in York and I was curious to see the beautiful city I visited in July filmed on TV. Then, I went on watching it trying to understand whether I liked it or not.

Eternal Law is the title of the series, have you seen it? Sam West, Orla Brady, Tobias Menzies, Hattie Morahan are the other reasons why I got to see last night's episode too. However, I'm still undecisive on my response after 4 episodes. York is stunning, the cast is of first quality but ... the storyline hasn't convinced me, hasn't won me. Written by the same writers as Ashes to Ashes, though it features extraordinary winged beings like angels ... it doesn't fly. I'll watch the next two episodes and then ... the verdict, your Honour.

This morning I was exhausted, weakend by the desease, but got up and got ready to be at school in time. No regular lessons because the students had organized activities for the Holocaust Remembrance Day ... Lest We Forget. Could I stay at home? No, I went. Feeling dizzy and unstable, I tried to do my best and concentrate on the series of poems, slides, songs, literary passage readings, video interviews and movie clips they had prepared. Could I miss the chance to revalue my spoilt kids once I had the chance? They did a good job, for once they were not the lazy, unmotivated kids to blame but young people to appreciate. And I was glad to do it. Lest We Forget, a poem to reflect on:

Holocaust

by Sudeep Pagedar

- Selected Poems

How do you
explain that term
to a ten-
year old boy
who, one day,
hears it mentioned
by some relatives?

And even if
you do manage
to make him
understand what it
actually does mean,
do you also
tell him that
because he is

A GERMAN JEW,

perhaps, some day,
he might be
included in it...?

Or should he
just not be
told, so that
he remains calm
and doesn't lose
sleep over it?

But what is sleep,
in front of death?
Perhaps Death is greater,
perhaps the two are the same;
we do not know yet
but we'll know, by the end of the day;
the Chambers are yet some hours away.

"To die, to sleep...to sleep, perchance to dream..."

How did Shakespeare realise that?
Did he know some Jew
who was persecuted too?
Perhaps he was wrong,
maybe he was right...
Anyway, I suspect we'll find out
by tonight.

I've been correcting two different tests all afternoon and till this evening, then I prepared notes, excerpts, tasks and videos for tomorrow's lessons. Yes, I work on Saturday. Five different classes each Saturday. Don't envy me that much, please!

1. Shakespeare, Macbeth (Reading and Watching act II scene iii)

2. Writing Test (I prepared 3 different tasks among which students can choose - 120/130 words)

3. Shakespeare, Macbeth (Reading and Watching act II scene iii) (same lesson, different class group)

4. Medieval Literature - From the Ballads to Chaucer (Medieval Poetry) - I should revise the ballads we studied (Edward, Lord Randal, Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne) , eliciting the students comments and introduce Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales.

5. Reading excerpts from C. Bronte's Shirley and comparing them to the excerpts we read (and watched) from Gaskell's North and South .

Curious coincidence: while reading from, on and about Bronte and Gaskell for my lessons, I happened to find this article online: "Charlotte Bronte’s lost love letters to married professor were preserved by his wife". Of course, I'm not going to discuss such intimate matters with my students tomorrow but I've been thinking over and over about the cold picture we wrongly get of the eldest Bronte sister from her official biographies (Gaskell's especially) and how different, how fragile and human she becomes through these letters. Her passionate, improperly brave pursuit of a married man makes her quite modern and strong willed, not the pious , almost frigid inhabitant of a desolate Yorkshire parsonage someone might have wrongly perceived . Sad, moving and touching that she could at least be fully herself through her characters. Jane Eyre could fulfill her dream after much suffering and Charlotte through her. As for Villette, at least Lucy's love was requited ...

Good night. Off to sleep. I have to work hard tomorrow so I must really go now.

ME + RA + RICHARD III - AN INTERVIEW

2012-01-25T20:26:00.000+01:00

I'm a visiting guest today at King Richard Armitage . This is a site supporting Richard Armitage‘s dream project of producing a Richard III TV series by signing a Petition.

A group of very active supporters want to use the collective voice of the Richard Armitage fanbase to demonstrate to potential investors that there is already a global audience for this project. There is an active online community of bloggers and webmasters who will promote its launch and an ever-expanding loyal fanbase who will watch the series.

To revise this king’s negative and ill-deserved image in popular culture and pay tribute to his legacy, Richard Armitage has more than once expressed interest in developing a major film/television project that is envisioned as a prequel to The Tudors, a television series that aired on Showtime and BBC.

This project is a deeply personal one for Richard, who was born on the day that Richard III died (August 22) and named after the king by his father.

I was glad to answer some questions about my interest in both Richard and, of course, I signed the petition. I would love to see this project come true. What about you? Have you signed the petition? Would you like a TV series proposing and popularizing a totally new image of Richard III?

I'll wait for you at KRA site to sign the petition and to read my interview

Thank you!

FORBIDDEN BY SYRIE JAMES AND RYAN M. JAMES - GIVEAWAY WINNER

2012-01-24T17:12:00.000+01:00

Today is release day for FORBIDDEN! I wish Syrie James and her son Ryan great success. I can't wait to get my review copy and read it. I'm sure I'll like it at least as much as Nocturne, which I loved, and not less than The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, which was lovely.

Just on the day of its release, a lucky reader of FLY HIGH! is going to get her brand new copy of Forbidden after leaving a comment to Syrie and Ryan's guestpost. Congratulations to ...

Tina Anthony!!!

Forbidden (Summary from Syrie James's Site)

Claire Brennan has spent her entire life wondering who her father is, and why her paranoid, "hippie" mom insists on moving every year or two. Who—or what—are they running from? Desperate to stay put at the high school she loves, Claire hides the fact that she's started getting psychic visions that seem to predict the future—especially when the visions take a darker turn, warning Claire that her own life is in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is a handsome, angelic watcher with incredible powers, who chose Emerson Academy as the ideal hiding place where he could escape his exhausting duties and just be normal for once. He hadn't planned on falling deeply in love with Claire, whose secret heritage makes their relationship—and her very existence—forbidden.

When the reason behind Claire's unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how much will they risk to stay together? How far will Alec go to protect her.

To find out more about Forbidden, visit its website or Syrie's website, SyrieJames.com. You can also connect with Syrie and Ryan at Forbidden's Facebook page or follow them on Twitter - Ryan @RMJames and Syrie @SyrieJames

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS BY PHILLIPA ASHLEY, NELL DIXON AND ELIZABETH HANBURY - GIVEAWAY WINNERS

2012-01-23T22:07:00.001+01:00

Brief post to reveal the names of the winners of Brief Encounters!

An e-book goes to rainakochan and another e-book to Dee

Congratulations!!!

Only one commenter asked to be entered in the contest for the paperback meant to be the prize for UK readers: Mystica. So, no drawing, she's the winner of the paperback!!!

Many thanks to Elizabeth Hanbury for taking the time to answer my questions (here's her interview) and being my guest here on FLY HIGH! Good luck to her, Phillipa Ashley and Nell Dixon and great success to their "Brief Enconters"!

ANNE O'BRIEN: RICARDIAN JEWELS ... TOUCHING THE PAST - AUTHOR GUESTPOST & GIVEAWAY

2012-01-21T19:34:00.002+01:00

Middleham Castle - Yorkshire

Anne O'Brien, the author of The Virgin Widow and Devil's Consort (Queen Defiant in the US edition), is my guest today with a new post for my Richard III series. "Ricardian Jewels ... Touching the past" is an intriguing post about medieval jewellery found out at Middleham Castle and exhibited in York Museum. Who did the fine jewel belong to? What is the story behind it?

Read and enjoy Anne's article. There's an extraordinary giveaway for you at the end of this blogpost. Discover which of her books you can win and how...

Ricardian Jewels ... Touching the Past

I find the whole subject of medieval jewellery fascinating. How remarkable when we discover a ring or a brooch that has existed for hundreds of years, and we can actually trace who once owned it. A jewel that was touched or worn or treasured by someone who lived so long ago allows us to reach out and actually touch the past. When I researched the lives of Anne Neville and Richard of Gloucester for my novel Virgin Widow, I hoped to find some personal possessions to make these two special people come alive for me.

My investigations began with Middleham Castle where I was captivated by the Middleham Jewel. Middleham Castle played a significant role in the lives of Anne and Richard. As a young girl, Anne spent much time there with her father the Earl of Warwick – the Kingmaker – and her mother and sister. It was a major stronghold in the north of England.

Richard first visited when a young boy, to complete his education at the hands of Warwick and it was here that he and Anne met for the first time. After their marriage, Middleham became Richard’s power base in the north when he administered the vast area on behalf of his brother King Edward IV. It was perhaps the backdrop for the happiest moments in their lives, but also the most tragic. Anne and Richard’s young son Edward died there, and so did Anne when only 28 on the 16^th March 1485.

The Middleham Jewel

The beautiful little artefact that has become known as the Middleham Jewel was discovered in 1985 near the castle by a local man with a metal detector. He thought it was an old powder compact but discovered it to be of outstanding value and significance. A gold pendant, it is engraved with the Trinity on one side and a nativity scene on the other. The jewel is a large sapphire, and round the edge is a charm to ward off epilepsy. It is a reliquary, and would have contained something of religious significance such as a piece of the true cross.

So who did this exquisite piece of medieval jewellery belong to? It is considered to be an outstanding piece of craftsmanship of the latter half of the fifteenth century and so contemporary with Anne and Richard. It is obviously a woman’s jewel with it inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew connected with childbirth. Its value is so great that it must have belonged to someone of the highest status. So who owned it? It has been speculated that it belonged to Richard’s mother, Cecily of York. But why? Would it not more likely have belonged to Anne herself since she lived at Middleham?

I like to think it might well have been Anne’s, that she wore it and believed in its efficacy when she gave birth to Edward. Even better – what if it was a gift from Richard during the few years of their marriage spent at Middleham – and object to express his love and care for his wife in her pregnancy. Childbirth was a chancy business for all women. Perhaps Anne wore in on a chain around her neck or attached to her girdle. It is a nice thought, and there is no evidence to prove otherwise. I hold to the fact that it belonged to Anne herself.

How was the lovely little jewel lost? It is impossible to say. Today it can be seen in all its glory in the Yorkshire Museum in York. The sum of £2.5 million was raised to purchase it and keep it in England

Portraits of Richard show him wearing a considerable array of jewellery; rings, chains and brooches.

I hoped that we might have at least one of his rings, perhaps in the British Museum, as we have the ring of the Black Prince, the hero of Poitiers. How wonderful if such a personal item of jewellery had survived for us to see. Sadly not. But I discovered that what we do have is something even more personal to him, which Richard would certainly have handled and gifted to a friend.

This iconic object is a livery badge found on the battle field at Bosworth. Recent archaeological studies have been made to discover exactly where the battle took place – a matter of considerable debate. On the edge of an area which is believed to have been marsh in medieval times – in Shakespeare, Richard’s horse foundered in a marsh - a silver object was found amongst the rest of the battle debris. This is the Bosworth Boar, a livery badge, probably made for Richard’s coronation in 1483, and of course copied from his personal device, the white boar. It is silver gilt and so of some value. Other such livery badges have been found but usually in pewter. This is the only one in precious metal and would have been worn by a knight in Richard’s personal retinue. Was the place on the edge of the old marsh on which it was found the exact spot where Richard was cut down?

The badge’s pin is missing, and so are its front legs and part of its snout, but it is over six hundred years old and its liveliness in remarkable. Possibly it was worn as a hat emblem. I am sure Richard gave something of such value to a favoured knight in his retinue. It seems a vibrant, tragic memory of Richard’s last moments.

How fortunate we are to have such possessions to give some personal insight into the lives of those who lived so long ago. What a pity that the reliquary and livery badge cannot speak and tell us what we wish to know about their owners. But simply looking at them, at their superb craftsmanship, and knowing their provenance, it is as if we can reach out and touch Anne and Richard themselves over all the years ...

Anne O’Brien

Author of Virgin Widow and Devil’s Consort(UK)/Queen Defiant(US)

The King’s Concubine, the story of Alice Perrers, will be released in May, 2012.

www.anneobrienbooks.com

GIVEAWAY

Leave your comments or questions for Anne and enter an amazing giveaway contest: 2 copies of her Virgin Widow (my review HERE), one for UK readers and one for readers from the rest of the world. So, please don't forget to tell us where you write from and to add your e-mail address to be contacted in case you win. You can choose between the UK edition (on the left) or the US edition (on the right) . This giveaway ends on 30th January. Good luck, everybody! MG

FROM ROMANCE TO YA FICTION: SYRIE JAMES ABOUT HER UPCOMING NEW NOVEL, FORBIDDEN . INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY

2012-01-19T22:37:00.004+01:00

Syrie James, known for her critically acclaimed historical and romance fiction, has ventured into new territory with her latest novel, which she co-wrote with her adult son, Ryan. The book’s about a 16-year-old girl whose life begins to implode when she comes into unusual powers—only to discover that her entire existence is prohibited—as is her relationship with the new boy at school, who is far more than he seems.

A page-turning tale of wit, fantasy, music, suspense, and paranormal romance, the upcoming Forbidden has been getting critical raves. Described by Beneath the Cover as "amazing... an addictive read," and by Sophie Jordan, author of Firelight, as "beautifully written! Romantic and filled with delicious tension. Forbidden enchants!", the novel will appeal to readers of any age or gender–or any genre!

Syrie, as an award-winning published author, what made you decide to experiment with co-writing, and with your son no less?

Ryan is extremely talented and imaginative, and had always been a voracious reader. For years, Ryan had been giving me such detailed, perceptive, and incredibly insightful notes on every book and screenplay I'd ever written, that I’d learned to never turn in a manuscript without first addressing his feedback. Although he'd never written a book before, in his work as an editor in the video game industry he was a storyteller by profession.

When I came up with the initial idea for Forbidden, and Ryan suggested we write it together, I was intrigued. We’d written two screenplays together in the past, so why not a book? Suddenly, the timing to write Forbidden appeared as if by magic. I had turned in the manuscript for Dracula, My Love and had an opening in my schedule. Ryan had a six month window between jobs. We decided to go for it!

What was the inspiration behind the story of Forbidden?

An idea had been percolating in my head to write a book about a teenage girl who begins getting psychic messages from a mysterious source, and enlists the aid of a boy at school to solve the mystery. A deeply felt romance would develop between them, and he’d prove to be far more involved and invested in the mystery than she ever anticipated. 

Years earlier, the independent movie I’d co-written with Ryan was about a young man named Alec—a lonely, supernatural action hero in a dark world, whose heart's desire was to be human and lead a normal life. What if, I thought, I combined my idea of a psychic girl with a character similar to Alec? What if he left his supernatural "job" forever, and tried to pass as human—but although he was over a century old, he looked so young that he could only fit in at a high school?

We were both excited about the idea, especially when we decided to have the girl's unusual psychic powers (and Alec himself) come from a heavenly source ... and to have Alec become her only true ally in a confusing and increasingly dangerous world. We set the story at a fictional version of the unique private high school Ryan attended, and this novel became a love letter of sorts to that wonderful school.  

A mother/son writing team seems pretty rare. What was your writing process?

We began by writing a detailed storyboard and outline, hashing out characters, plot, and all the details of the world—which was extensive, since we were creating our own version of angel mythology, with many paranormal elements, yet setting it in a very real world environment. Then, three days a week for six months, from 9AM to 6PM, we sat together at my computer and wrote the first draft. Once we sold the book to HarperTeen, several additional months of hard work went into the revisions. We both loved working together. We challenged each other to explore new ideas, and often found ourselves finishing each other's sentences. It has been a remarkable and very rewarding experience, and we are thrilled to share the novel with readers.

Did you write the chapters from Claire's perspective, and have Ryan write Alec's?

No. We wrote the entire first draft with the two of us sitting in one room, crafting all the material together—speaking much of the dialog and action aloud as he or I typed. Interestingly, that first draft was written 85% from Claire’s POV. Our editor loved the few sections we’d included from Alec’s POV and asked us to revise the novel with half from his perspective—which delighted us! Due to time constraints—Ryan had started his new job and was just about to get married and go on his honeymoon—I did that second pass myself, re-writing that original material from Alec’s POV, and then Ryan and I polished it together.

Do you believe this book is only intended for "Young Adult" readers?

Not at all. We wrote the novel with the intention and hope of appealing to people of all ages—and genders—and we are thrilled by the response it’s been getting from reviewers, many of whom have maintained that adults will enjoy the novel.

Adults went through the experience of high school too, and we believe they can just as readily relate to the situations and emotions experienced by Alec and Claire as can anyone under 18. Austenprose.com said, "This may be written for Young Adults, however, might I also suggest, for the young at heart?"

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Maria Grazia!

I'll leave few questions for your readers to answer. I'd love to hear from them. What piques your interest about Forbidden? Do you like YA fiction and if so, why do you think today's new YA fiction is so popular with readers of all ages?

Syrie James

GIVEAWAY CONTESTS LINKED TO FORBIDDEN

Visit and LIKE the new Forbidden Facebook page and enter the CONTEST to win cool Forbidden swag just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Order Forbidden in the first weeks of its release, and email Syrie at authorsyriejames@gmail.com with copy of receipt from any bookstore or online retailer, and FORBIDDEN BESTSELLER in the subject line. For each copy you purchase, your name will be dropped into the hat! Contest closes Feb. 12, 2012.

If you leave a comment here on FLY HIGH! , answer Syrie's question and add your e-mail address, you'll get a chance to win a copy of the book. The name of the winner will be revealed on January 24th when the book is released. Good luck! (Limited to US readers)

The Authors

Syrie James is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Nocturne; Dracula, My Love; The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte (Great Group Read, Women's National Book Association; Audie Romance Award, 2011), and the international bestseller The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (Best First Novel 2008, Library Journal.) Translation rights for Syrie's books have been sold in sixteen languages. An admitted Anglophile, Syrie loves paranormal romance and all things 19th century. She lives in Los Angeles and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America.
Learn more about Syrie’s books at syriejames.com, and follow her on facebook and twitter!

Ryan M James

Aside from being Syrie’s firstborn, Ryan M James has co-written two screenplays, directed an independent feature, and created the machinima webseries A Clone Apart. By day he works as an editor for the video game industry. Under cover of night, he conjures stories for print, screen, and web as a member of the Writers Guild of America. He and his wife live in Los Angeles about a stone’s throw away from Syrie. Visit him on facebook and Twitter, and at www.forbidden-book.com.

MY LESSONS ON NORTH AND SOUTH - IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

2012-01-19T00:09:00.000+01:00

It's that time of the year again, when in my lessons to my older students in their final year at school, I introduce the Victorian Age and read pages from novels I deeply love. This year I've decided to work on short module dedicated to the Industrial Novel (or social-issue novel) including Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton and North and South, Charlotte Bronte's Shirley and Charles Dickens's Hard Times.

I've posted two lessons with notes, videos and analysis about North and South in the latest days and we have worked in the lab with two of my classes.

They seemed quite interested, the reactions were warmly positive. They particularly appreciated my visual aids: clips from BBC series with Mr Armitage and Ms Denby-Ashe. Now these materials (links below) should help them to study and revise at home. If you want to have a look, promise, no tests for you!

1. Elizabeth Gaskell and the Industrial Novel: Mary Barton (1848)
2. Studying and Watching North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)
3. Masters & Workers. Mr Thornton and Nicholas Higgins, the ideal relationship according to Mrs Gaskell

INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH HANBURY, HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELIST + BOOK GIVEAWAY

2012-01-16T17:40:00.001+01:00

Elizabeth Hanbury is the author of two historical romance novels, one short story romance anthology and a contributor to another short story collection along with authors Nell Dixon and Phillipa Ashley: Brief Encounters She has been a finalist for Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award, with her novel being described by the RNA as ‘a thoroughly lovely read. The quality of the writing lifts it into a different class.’
Elizabeth writes Regency-set novels that appeal to a wide-range of readers. She lives in a village in the heart of the English countryside and writes romance whenever she can find time to sneak away to her desk. She is a member of the RNA and the Historical Novel Society. Here's my interview with her. Enjoy and leave your comments to enter the giveaway of 2 e-books for readers out of the UK and a paperback for UK readers of BRIEF ENCOUNTERS. Don't forget to add your e-mail address and to specify what country you write from. The giveaway ends on January 23rd.

Kindle Edition

Hi , Maria Grazia. Thanks for inviting me to your wonderful blog :0) I enjoy reading it very much and am delighted to be a guest.

Hello and welcome, Elizabeth! Here's my first question for you: why do you define yourself "a writer who writes wickedly captivates Historical Romance"?

Because that’s what I always try to do – produce stories that grab the reader from the outset, then plunge them into another world where they find great characters, engaging plots, humour and romance...wickedly captivating romance (sometimes more than one if there is a sub-plot!) that keeps you reading.

What author/s were crucial in your making up your mind to start writing novels?

It wasn’t a particular author that made up my mind to start writing novels, rather that I found myself craving an outlet for my creative side. Writing very soon became an essential way of channelling my creative energy. I chose historical romance because I’d always enjoyed reading it, especially Georgette Heyer, and doing research is part of the fun.

What is your favourite historical period? Why?

The Regency period has always fascinated me. The era has become associated with elegance and refinement, which in many respects it was, but it was also a time where the country was at war; a time of innovation in science and technology; advancements in the arts; an age of extravagance, where the upper classes occasionally indulged in amazing vulgarity, dubious sexual morality and gambling. It was a society on the cusp of reform on all levels, including social welfare and class structure. A huge amount of vitality and energy was packed into a relatively brief period. The tone was set by the Prince Regent himself, who despite his procession of mistresses, increasing weight and high living, possessed a terrific sense of style – something the era came to reflect.

What would you miss the most if you lived in that period?

Modern medicine! Medical knowledge, diagnosis and treatments then were still rudimentary and some of the cures were worse than the disease. It was easy to become addicted to opium through laudanum – taken either in liquid form, or in a variety of pills, lozenges, plasters, vinegars and other preparations. These were often given reassuring names, such as ‘Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup.’ Bleeding, either using leeches or opening a small vein with a lancet, was popular too. And the notion of the everlasting antimony pill is just plain scary!

Have you got a model hero and a model heroine?

Colin Firth as the libertine - Valmont (1989)

Model hero has to be Sir Waldo Hawkridge from Heyer’s The Nonesuch. He's handsome, intelligent, romantic, humourous, a gentleman, a philanthropist, and he has some great put-down lines – what’s not to like? ;0) I’ve been in love with him for years *g* He may not be everyone's cup of rack punch – some would say he’s too perfect - but he's certainly mine and has been since I first read the book. Waldo could easily have come across as a Goody-Two Shoes, but he’s three-dimensional without being rude, unpleasant, overbearing or rakish. There are few romantic heroes you'd want to meet, let alone live with, outside the pages of a novel, but Sir Waldo is an exception.

Heroines. This is more difficult because there are many that I admire in different genres. I’d probably choose another Heyer creation, Pru Merriot from The Masqueraders. Pru is in an invidious position throughout most of novel; she has to dress as a man, inhabit a man's world and cope with the dangers that brings, as well as living with the constant fear of discovery and its consequences. But this cross-dressing, sword- wielding heroine also has a quiet but luminous femininity that is very appealing.

I also have a soft spot for Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Wickham, a character who occasionally appears in novels and short stories by P.G. Wodehouse. She an attractive red-head who is rather wild, fond of practical jokes and creating mischief – she’s hilarious!

I’m fascinated by libertines , rakes and rogues in historical novels. Well, I’m thinking about Willoughby and Wikham in Jane Austen or The Duke of Avon or Damerel in Georgette Heyer. What about your novels? What are your villains like?

I’m fascinated by them too, and I think most historical romance readers are. It’s because of what I call The Redemption Factor: that the love for and of a woman - the right woman - will change them. And women want to tame bad boys. You could write a thesis on why this should be so, and people probably have, but it’s been going on forever and romance writers will continue to reflect it. A rake and the redeeming power of love feature in one of my a short stories, Blue Figured Silk from the Midsummer Eve at Rookery End anthology. What I found most interesting (and challenging) was taking him from rake to hero in just 7,000 words – rakes usually have a much longer story arc!

Villains, like the rest of the population, should come in a variety of forms. For me, the most compelling ones to write about are those who hide their villany behind a facade – perhaps one of respectablity, of seduction, or even friendship. They’re chillingly plausible.

What are you like as a reader?

I usually skip between fiction and non-fiction – it keeps me on my reading toes. Favourite fiction genres are historical romance, of course, also contemporary romance, some crime fiction and anything humourous.

What reads have you got on your night - stand these days?

Fiction : Mary Balogh – The Plumed Bonnet/The Famous Heroine.

Non-fiction: Roy Porter – English Society in the 18th Century.

Persuasion 1995

I’m fond of period drama, Elizabeth. What about you?

Yes, although I think there is scope for more variety. And I prefer it to be subtly done – the 1995 Persuasion adapation is a favourite of mine for that reason.

Have you got a Regency movie/series you particularly like?

Dr Lucy Worsley’s recent BBC series on the Regency – Elegance and Decadence: The Age of The Regency. She’s such an enthusiatic presenter. There were only three programmes yet they covered the period surprisingly well.

How would you describe your writing in three words?

Fun. Engaging. Romantic.

What are you up to? Have you got any upcoming release?

Look out for two new releases from me in 2012, Unexpected Pleasure and A Bright Particular Star. I’m also working on a novella which I hope to publish later this year too.

Great, we'll look out for them, of course. That's all for now. Thank you so much for being my guest, Elizabeth.

Thanks so much for letting me visit, Maria!

Giveaway

There are 2 e-books copies of the Brief Encounters anthology for readers all over the world and 1 paperback edition for a UK-based reader. Leave your comments and don't forget

1. to add your e-mail adddress
2. to say what part of the world you write from

Brief Encounters is available now from Amazon and on-line retailers, as are Elizabeth Hanbury's other books.

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS - E-scape Press Ltd, eBook. Paperback coming soon

ICE ANGEL – Robert Hale Ltd

THE PARADISE WILL – Robert Hale Ltd

MIDSUMMER EVE AT ROOKERY END – E-scape Press Ltd, eBook and paperback

http://www.elizabethhanbury.blogspot.com/

http://www.forromancereaders.com

SHAKESPEARE & MEDIEVAL HISTORY ON BBC . GREAT DRAMA ONLINE.

2012-01-14T21:46:00.002+01:00

Ben Winshaw as Richard II

Stellar cast for four Shakespearean Histories

BBC's 2012 schedule sounds quite interesting, even intriguing for someone who loves costume drama and ancient history. BBC2 commissioned 4 films for their Shakespeare season as part of the BBC’s contribution to the London 2012 Festival and the Cultural Olympiad. The four Shakespeare films will encompass Richard II, Henry IV (part I and II), Henry V.

In the first film of the cycle, RICHARD II , Ben Whishaw (The Hour) will play King Richard II with Rory Kinnear (The NT’s Hamlet) as his challenger, Bolingbroke. John of Gaunt will be played by Patrick Stewart (The RSC’s Merchant of Venice), with David Suchet (Poirot) as The Duke of York and David Morrissey (Sense and Sensibility, South Riding) as Northumberland. Tom Hughes (Silk) will play Aumerle and Mowbray will be played by James Purefoy (Rome). Clemence Poésy (Harry Potter) will play the role of Queen Isabella and Lindsay Duncan (Alice in Wonderland) will play The Duchess of York. Other confirmed cast members include Lucian Msamati (The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) and David Bradley (Harry Potter).

The second and third films, HENRY IV (PART I AND II) will see Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) playing Henry IV, supported by Tom Hiddleston (Thor) as Prince Hal. Simon Russell Beale (Spooks) will play Falstaff and Julie Walters (Mamma Mia, Mo) will play Mistress Quickly. Hotspur will be played by Joe Armstrong (Robin Hood) and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) is to play Lady Percy alongside Maxine Peake (Criminal Justice) as Doll Tearsheet. Lady Northumberland will be played by Niamh Cusack (A Touch of Frost) with Alun Armstrong (New Tricks) as Northumberland. Reece Shearsmith (The League Of Gentlemen) will play the role of Davy, Tom Georgeson (Notes on a Scandal) will play Bardolph, Pistol will be played by Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner) and Douglas Henshall (South Riding) will play Mowbray. Iain Glen (Spooks, Downton Abbey) will play Warwick and Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By) will play Lord Chief Justice.

Tom Hiddleston (Thor) will play the protagonist in HENRY V, the final film. John Hurt (Merlin, Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy) will play The Chorus and Julie Walters (Mamma Mia, Mo) will play Mistress Quickly. Lambert Wilson (The Matrix) will play the King of France with Mélanie Thierry (Babylon A.D) as his daughter, Princess Katherine. Anton Lesser (The Hour) will play Exeter, Paterson Joseph (The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) will play York and Edward Akrout (The Borgias) will play Louis, The Dauphin. Stanley Weber (Borgia) will play the Duke of Orleans, Owen Teale (Game of Thrones) will play Fluellen and Richard Griffiths (The History Boys) will play the Duke of Burgundy. Tom Georgeson (Notes on a Scandal) and Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner) return as Bardolph and Pistol.

The Wars of the Roses by Philippa Gregory will become a TV series

BBC1 is instead working on the idea of adapting Philippa Gregory's trilogy dedicated to the women involved in the intrigues and struggles for power of the Wars of the Roses. After the success of series like The Tudors, The Pillars of the Earth or The Borgias, they want to follow this popular trail and are going to produce an epic serial on one of the bloodiest period in English history based on the best selling novels by Ms Gregory: The White Queen, The Red Queen , The Lady of the Rivers. I'm not really dying to see it on screen. I only read the first book in that trilogy and, honestly, I was so disappointed by the inaccurate, imaginative account of those events that I decided not to try the others (my review of The White Queen) .

Richard III & Richard Armitage

As you can imagine, I'm quite disappointed with BBC1's choice of producing a series on the events of The War of the Roses (at last!) choosing such an improbable fictionalized version of those facts. As you can notice having a look around this blog or checking the pages at the top of the main page, I am interested in those years, especially in the Ricardian cause, aiming at the rehabilitation of the posthumous reputation of Richard III.

Furthermore, following the career of Richard Armitage as a loyal admirer of his work and talent and knowing he has been working on a Richard III TV series of his own in the last few years ( he talked about it in several interviews), I really hope that project comes to life sooner or later. There is even a petition to support Richard Armitage's project. If you are interested in a more accurate account of the Wars of the Roses, especially focused on the figure of Richard III and the story of his family, you may want to sign that petition (CLICK HERE)

Great theatre on your computer

If BBC offers great opportunities to watch classic drama or costume series on TV, there are opportunities to watch great theatrical performances online. You can even choose to download the play, keep it on your computer and see it whenever you feel like. Digital Theatre is an incredible source of British drama. If you love theatre but you can't fly to London or Britain any time there's a play you would love to see , click and check at Digital Theatre and maybe you can enjoy your favourite plays on your computer. Among the shows you can buy and watch these days: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate or Macbeth with David Morrissey and Julia Ford. This site is a very pleasant discovery (thanks a lot, K/V!) and a great temptation. Off to buy my Shakespeare fix!

SIR WILLIAM KNIGHTON'S BIOGRAPHY BY CHARLOTTE FROST - GIVEAWAY WINNERS

2012-01-14T18:38:00.000+01:00

Brief posting to thank Charlotte Frost for being my guest on FLY HIGH and for animating an interesting debate with her piece about Sir William Knighton, Regency doctor and cortier (HERE)

It's also time to reveal the names of the winners of 1 paperback and 2 e-books, which Charlotte generously provided for a giveaway contest.

The paperback copy has been won by Rachel Knowles

The two e-books go to Maribea and C.J. Archer

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE THREE WINNERS!

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD - DICKENS'S LAST GIFT

2012-01-12T16:38:00.002+01:00

It's a good period for period drama. BBC schedules several costume series and also promising original modern drama in 2012.
For instance, the last two nights on BBC2 were dedicated to The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870), an unfinished work which was Charles Dickens's last gift to his devoted readers, left incomplete when a stroke suddenly brought him away from the wordly stage he had always successfully and willingly trodden upon. When he died, he was only halfway through this dark tale, "leaving all the balls in the air and numerous hints, blind alleys, unrevealed connections and intriguing possibilities on display" - says Diarmouid Lawrence, the director of BBC2 adaptation , which ended last night.

The story has been completed by crime-writer Gwyneth Hughes. Opium dens and drug addiction, lust and obsession, stalking and a mysterious murder make this gripping Victorian tale quite a modern mystery novel. But we can't forget it was written by a genius story-teller in a time when the genre was only at his infancy. Ms Hughes had to find solutions for so many unanswered questions (Who actually kills Edwin Drood? What is the meaning of that strange and awful cry in the night? What brings the prickly and defensive Landless twins all the way back from Ceylon to the sleepy fictional cathedral city of Cloisterham? And is that really a big white wig on Mr Datchery's head? ) and she did it brilliantly.

The story

Though the title of the novel features young Edwin Drood (Freddie Fox), the central character is John Jasper (Matthew Rhys), his uncle. He is the cultured and much-respected choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral but he hides dark secrets. Not only is he passionately obsessed with 17-year- old Rosa (Tamzin Merchant) the fiancée of his nephew and one of his pupils, but he is also addicted to opium which he uses to escape from his life of frustrated ambition and boredom.

When unexpectedly Edwin disappears, everybody thinks he has been murdered. Among the suspects, young Neville Landless (Sacha Dhawan), who has recently arrived from Ceylon with his twin sister Helena (Amber Rose Revah) to be educated by Septimus Crisparkle (Rory Kinnear), the minor canon at the cathedral, who has worked alongside John Jasper for many years. Young Neville Landless is hot-tempered and he also cherishes Rosa Bud. This sentiment will provoke harsh rivalry between Edwin and Nevill since their first meeting.

A study of character

The aspect of the investigation on the mysterious disappearance is not as fascinating as the character study resulting from John Jasper's journey through the plot. That is a very intriguing element both in Dickens's manuscript and in Gwyneth Hughes's completion.

Mr Jasper is a complex, tormented, compelling antihero, who easily becomes the focus of the reader 's interest. Dickens's daughter, Katey Dickens stated that while writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood her father was not intrigued by the murder mystery in the tale, what most appealed to him was the observation of his character and "his strange insight into the tragic secrets of the human heart". Dickens knew how to get to the black depths of the soul and Ms Hughes's didn't fear to follow him down to the deepest.

A parade of Dickensian characters

If you've read the book, you'll notice that the screenwriter decided to leave out several features and a few characters: the trains, the weir, former seaman Mr Tartar (who eventually, for what we know of Dickens's plans, would have married Rose), widowed landlady Mrs Billickin, bullying philanthropist Mr Honeythunder and, in particular, the flying waiter. However, Gwyneth Hughes couldn't do without Mrs Crisparkle (Julia McKenzie) , who looks after her son , the reverend of Cloisterham Cathedral, and is also very sympathetic to John Jasper whom she has known since he was sent to Cloisterham as a lonely seven-year-old boy to study music; Mr Grewgious (Alun Armstrong) , Rosa's appointed guardian, an awkward solicitor, once in love with her long-departed mother; Bazzard (David Dawson), Mr Grewgious's enthusiastic and long-suffering clerk who investigates on Mr Jasper's secrets and on Edwin's mysterious disappearance; Stoney Durdles (Ron Cook), the keeper of the gloomy crypt under the cathedral which is at the heart of the mystery as a symbolical place of sin and death ; Thomas Sapsea (Ian McNeice), the pompous mayor of the town, always in search for an audience for anything he does.
I liked the two-part drama a lot. If not overwhelmed, I was intrigued by the narrative solutions Ms Hughes has contributed to the incomplete work and I was once more amazed at Charles Dickens's skills as a story teller.

After Great Expectations, this is BBC's second tribute to Charles Dickens in the year of his Bicentenary. Another excellent achievement, a new precious gift for the lovers of classic period drama.

On and about

- The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be repeated on BBC 1 on Tuesday 17 January at 1.25 (episode 1) and on Wednesday 18 at 1.55 (episode 2). It is also possible to watch it on BBC iPlayer if you live in the UK.

- The manuscript of The Mystery of Edwin Drood is kept at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London
(CLICK HERE)

- Read this article from BBC News Should unfinished works be left untouched?

- Here's a list of books researching on and about Dickens's last novel (CLICK HERE)

- If you like Dickens adaptation, you'll find several posts on FLY HIGH! Among them, Our Mutual Friend, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times, Great Expectations.

Coming soon

BBC1 will soon broadcast a brand new adaptation of Sebastian Faulks's modern classic, Birdsong, starring Eddie Redmayne and Clémence Poésy. Have a look at the official poster!

RICHARD III BACK ON STAGE - ROBERT FRIPP, DARK SOVEREIGN: A CHALLENGE TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

2012-01-11T15:19:00.002+01:00

For the first time in four centuries a modern writer challenges William Shakespeare head-on, writing in English as it was available to the Bard. Shakespeare wrote 'The Tragedy of Richard the Third' as Tudor propaganda for the Court of Queen Elizabeth I, portraying King Richard as a misshapen sociopath and killer.

Robert Fripp, the former Series Producer at CBC-TV's investigative 'The Fifth Estate' program, wrote Dark Sovereign over a period of four years. 'Dark Sovereign' counter-attacks Shakespeare's polemic, offering a researched, balanced tale of Richard's troubled reign.

British author Robert Fripp has also written several internationally published books. His fictive 'Power of a Woman' finds Eleanor of Aquitaine writing her memoirs.

Robert Fripp is my guest on FLY HIGH! to introduce you the results of his research and his play dedicated to Richard III. Enjoy his piece and join our discussion about the true nature of King Richard Plantagenet. Your comments and contributions will be really welcome!

Repairing King Richard III: Writing 'Shakespeare'

to change history

~ the story behind Dark Sovereign ~

By Robert Fripp

In 1983 I was producing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's ongoing investigative series, The Fifth Estate, each week. 1983 happened to be the five hundredth anniversary of King Richard III's accession to the throne of England, so the international press reached our Toronto Broadcast Centre full of stories about the mysteries and controversies that continued to broil around him. Rival theories about the life and times of the last Plantagenet king escaped from the Richard III community and gained wider attention.

As a current affairs television producer, and later as a communications consultant, I found the Richard III dilemma fascinating. Did he kill his nephews? Was the man a devil or a saint? He reigned for just 25 months, so why did well-educated people, would-be 'arbiters of conventional wisdom', continue to debate his actions and his character five centuries later? Charles Ross, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Bristol, even commented that Richard III was one of just two medieval figures who continued to be the subject of at least one major work in every generation through five hundred years.

Many books have proclaimed Richard a benign leader. Others take the opposite view. The verdict on Richard is more split than ever—which means that the number of his supporters is growing. Richard, who spent much of his life in the North Riding of Yorkshire, or guarding the Scottish border, worked hard to improve life in the underprivileged North. The North of England continues to support him. But one of William Shakespeare's first plays, The Tragedy of Richard III, has been a public relations disaster for Richard and his supporters through four hundred years.

The Tragedy of Richard III is a work of pure character assassination. Written around 1591, it was probably performed first for the Court of Queen Elizabeth I. Tudor monarchs had been ruling for more than a century by then, but their tenuous claim to the throne still seemed to trouble them. The first Tudor king, Henry VII, had killed Richard in battle at Bosworth in 1485, then ordered his body exposed for three summer days. Having denied Richard a decent burial a century earlier, the last of the Tudor monarchs, Elizabeth I, still found need to heap dirt on his reputation.

Four centuries have passed since The Tragedy of Richard III outlived its motive, which was to denigrate the Tudors' nemesis, the last Plantagenet king. But the Bard's propaganda remains a clever, firmly established and popular work of spite. It ranks among his top five performed plays.

I reasoned that the only way to combat four centuries of Shakespeare's hostility was to write a better play than the Bard, doing so in English as it was available to him and his contemporaries. It took four years, working 45 hours a week on top of my television job. Of course, I had to put as much work into researching the English language as into the history of Richard III.

It was difficult to write the English of the 'Golden Age' four centuries later. Dark Sovereign contains no word, preposition, verb form, expression, allegory or metaphor that entered English after 1626. That year marks the death of Francis Bacon, the 'last great Tudor'.

Dark Sovereign is now published as a book with an introduction I call 'The Owner's Manual'. This explains in detail how one goes about writing a Shakespearean play in the English of the 'Golden Age'. The short answer is: You crawl forward, and back, from syllable to syllable, and from word to word.

For example: How does one set up a metaphor describing inherited character traits without referring to evolution as Wallace and Darwin introduced it in the nineteenth century? I'll save you the months it might take you to answer that question: Open a Bible to the Book of Genesis, Chapter 30, and read the story of Jacob, Laban, and the streaked or spotted goats. After reading it a few times you may experience a Eureka! moment. You will suddenly realize how important it was to all the factions involved to control the education and life experiences of the twelve-year-old heir to the throne, the future Edward V. To possess the person of the boy would, in effect, enable the winning party to steer the direction of sovereign policy. There lies the urgency and motivation for Richard Gloucester's coup d'etat against the Woodvilles.

I started writing Dark Sovereign with one advantage. At the age of eight I won a choral scholarship to the choir of Salisbury Cathedral, where I spent five years reading, reciting, chanting and singing sixteenth century English through eight services and seven rehearsals a week.

Exhaustion was also a priceless asset. Dark Sovereign emerged after many fourteen- to sixteen-hour days, sandwiched between producing network television. Curiously, writing six to eight hours might generate little before exhaustion set in. At that point my conscious brain, bone-weary, dropped its guard and strange and alien concepts and words began to appear. A larger, intuitive spirit—a shamanic state of consciousness—took hold and I watched ink dry on serendipitous research findings and on words that appeared, suited and fit in time and in place. Aboriginal peoples would say: My helper spirits were at work. I agree. Having survived the strangely spiritual experience of creating Dark Sovereign, I wrote a book about Animism, spirit worlds and healing in ancient times: Spirit in Health. It seemed like the sensible thing to do.

As an experiment in language, Dark Sovereign has already generated several unintended consequences. For a start, uncut, it runs longer than Hamlet. (I have already shredded the full text of Dark Sovereign to suit the stage.) Overnight, Dark Sovereign becomes the longest play ever written in the English of the 'Golden Age'.

Thanks for reading

Robert Fripp

Dark Sovereign at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.UK

Visit Robert Fripp's site

GOOD TV DRAMA & BRITISH LITERARY TRADITION: SHERLOCK 2 AND TREASURE ISLAND

2012-01-09T00:49:00.003+01:00

Collage from Enchanted Serenity of Period Films

It's not a secret I greatly appreciate British TV drama. Their productions are mostly very good, especially those revisiting the literary classics. Well, also modern drama is sometimes brilliant . I loved Spooks very much , for instance, but I also liked the Moving On series, The Hour, A Single Father. I started watching British TV or buying DVDs for my interest in period drama, a genre in which they are masters, especially when it comes to adaptations of classics. And this is what they are amazing at : adapting their classics respecting their literary tradition. Something we totally lack on our TV here in Italy. I've seen so many beautiful series in the last three years: Austen's novels adaptations were brilliant, but also Gaskell and Eliot, Dickens and Thomas Hardy among others. My best favourite quite recent classic series are The Buccaneers, Our Mutual Friend, Daniel Deronda, North and South, Wives and Daughter, Middlemarch, Jane Eyre 2006, Bleak House,
Little Dorrit, Sense and Sensibility 2008, Emma 2009 and the latest Great Expectations. As for original costume drama, not directly based on classic literature, I liked Downton Abbey, Lost in Austen, The Devil's Whore, Upstairs Downstairs. But coming to these days ...The new year has started with two great TV series inspired to extremely popular tales from British literary tradition: Sherlock Holmes and Treasure Island.

New BBC Sherlock series 2 is proposing three of the most widely known among Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures. They are newly revisited adaptations of A Scandal in Belgravia (what an excellent episode, Steve Moffat ! Brilliant, amusing, amazing), The Hound of Baskerville (tense, thrilling, quite disquieting rewriting by Mark Gatiss ), The Reichenbach Fall (The Final Problem is the BBC title for it, not yet broadcast but hugely expected since it is based on the novel in which Sherlock and his nemesis Moriarty found their death). Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) investigating in contemporary London (or the northern moors) with extremely modern techniques (they even publicize their activity on a famous blog) have obtained a huge enthusiastic response both by the avarage TV viewers and by critics or purists. I think it is because authors and director fundamentally respect the Holmes of the tradition and in revisiting his adventure they don't disregard what the original author wanted to convey. Their additions add interest and charm to an already interesting, charming character without disfiguring or spoiling him. I can't wait for episode 3 in this series. Fingers crossed for a series 3!

TREASURE ISLAND was a two - part drama on Sky 1 ( 1 and 2 January) and it was a terrific production with lots of familiar faces and stunning locations. Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel was brought back to life with a fresh, bold approach which made this classic adventure tale tempting, appealing both to a contemporary young audience and to more traditional viewers. I particularly liked the interpretation of this e tale as also Jim Hawkins's journey from childhood and naivety to maturity and self -awaraness, as his personal formation novel, as well as the addition of a female point of view on the events in the subplot linked to Jim 's mother and Long John Silver's wife coping together with the hardships of poverty and the misuse of power. I've never loved this novel as much as I did while watching it retold in this latest TV drama version.

In the stellar cast, Eddie Izzard was Long John Silver, Elija Wood was Benn Gunn, Philip Glenister as Captain Smollet, Donald Sutherland as Captain Flint, Rupert Penry-Jones as Squire Trelawney, Toby Regbo was Jim Hawkins, Daniel Mays was Dr Livesey, Shirley Henderson was Jim's mother, Nina Sosanya as Long Silver's wife, David Harewood as Billy Bones and Keith Allen as Pew. Aren't these names promise enough of good quality drama? I really hope you can watch it, if you still haven't.

(See Treasure Island official site and on imdb)

AUTHOR GUESTPOST & GIVEAWAY - CHARLOTTE FROST ON SIR WILLIAM KNIGHTON, A PHYSICIAN AND COURTIER IN THE REGENCY ERA

2012-01-07T10:42:00.003+01:00

Ready for a journey back to the years of Jane Austen's and Lord Byron's England? Today's guest is Charlotte Frost.

Charlotte is a post-grad who, after years of anonymous, behind-the-scenes work for history projects, decided to put her name on a book cover. The result is Sir William Knighton. The Strange Career of a Regency Physician, a biography of George IV's influential, enigmatic courtier. She accepted to present this fascinating character and her research here on FLY HIGH! Enjoy her piece and try to win her book. The details of the giveaway contest are at the end of the post. Read them carefully, there are three copies of the book for you!

Lord Byron

Sir William Knighton was a farmer’s son who transformed himself into one of Regency London’s most expensive, fashionable physicians. Then, amidst the speculations of his contemporaries and to the dismay of his wife, he gave up his practice to become a courtier to George IV.

Though Knighton did not belong to Society, he was at its heart. In 1812 he was described as having the keynote of almost every family of distinction in the country. His patients included Byron , the first Marquis Wellesley, and Wellesley’s mistress. When Charlotte, Princess of Wales, died in 1817 soon after giving birth, Knighton took it on himself to safeguard the reputation of Charlotte’s physician, Sir Richard Croft, by reassuring Croft’s aristocratic patients.

Book cover

Knighton was a man of mystery. One of his contemporaries said that he gained control of his patients’ minds, always for their benefit. Another said that to have a conversation with Knighton was to conclude that he was in complete agreement with whatever one said. Opinions of him ranged from ‘dearest friend’ (George IV) to ‘rogue and a blackguard’ (Mrs Arbuthnot), while Princess Lieven wrote that he had poisoned his wife. He admitted to a friend that he knew little about his early years, and documents from that time show that his perception of his childhood was flawed.

Knighton was also a complex man. He stood high in his own estimation yet fretted over what others thought of him. Tiredness and ill health brought out the worst in him and sometimes he harboured resentment, yet friends in need received considered advice and practical help. He died in 1836 aged only 59, prematurely aged by royal duties that proved more arduous than he had envisaged. A decent, conscientious family man, he had come to regret his change of career yet remained loyal to his demanding but increasingly dependent royal employer, working tirelessly to serve him.

Prince Regent

Sir William Knighton was an important personality in Regency and late-Georgian England. To research his life was an adventure and I discovered intriguing new sources, including material from the Royal Archives.
Thank you, Maria, for inviting me to write about this elusive man. I'm ready to answer your readers' questions now.

Charlotte Frost

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Leave your comments to get a chance to win the paperback printed edition or one of the 2 e-books of Sir William Knighton's biography that Charlotte Frost generously provided me for this contest. Don't forget to add your e-mail address and to specify which area of the world you are writing from because the paperback is only for UK readers while the 2 e-books can be won by readers from all over the world. So, please, let us know where you live if you want to be entered this giveaway. The deadline is January 14th.

Ebook and print

You can get the print from most internet book stores, apart from Amazon.com in US.

Here's the Amazon UK link

ROME - TWO DAYS, ONE EXHIBITION, A MUSEUM, A WALK AROUND THE CITY CENTRE, SOME SHOPPING, ... AND FRIENDS!

2012-01-06T00:23:00.002+01:00

Have I ever told you how much I love being in Rome with my friends? Ehm... perhaps once or twice. But may I say it again? Yes? OK, thanks a lot for your patience!

Being on holiday, I had the opportunity to spend once again a couple of days with my friends in Rome: walking around the city centre nose up to the beauty all over, doing some shopping, visiting a stunning photographic exhibition in a new centre and a museum in one of Rome ancient noble palaces, pleasantly chatting and having dinner all together, rewatching an episode from one of our favourite TV series.

I'm not writing about everything we did, but only about the exhibition and the museum we visited. I hope you don't mind and I'm sure you won't have any difficuty in figuring out the fun we had together.

1. Steve McCurry at MACRO - The faces of war, the passion and colours of Italy . Steve McCurry is the American reporter, awarded for his courage and enterprising career, who became famous for his photo of an Afghan girl shot in December 1984 and published on the cover of the National Geographic Magazine.

Photo by Pasquale Formisano

This exhibition dedicated to his work runs until April 29 at the MACRO museum in Rome. It is a remarkable exhibition of more than 200 photos by McCurry designed by Italian Fabio Novembre. The structure of the exhibition is inspired to a nomad village and is based on the similarity of the emotions in the photos rather than more traditional categorisation.

McCurry focuses on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on the landscape, but rather, on the human face. The looks in the eyes of those peeople are stunning, especially children's eyes. He is driven by great curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world and everyone in it, and has uncanny ability to cross boundaries of language and culture to capture stories of human experience. “Most of my images are grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape, that you could call the human condition".

Curiously enough, Mc Curry has met and photographed the Afghan girl who made him popular again: her eyes and face are even more tragic than once now that the innocence and the beauty of youth as well as her hope have been swept away by years and years of violence and war. And here is what she looks like now ...

Read "How they found the Afghan Girl - from The National Geographic Magazine"

On the occasion of his exhibition in Rome, Mc Curry was asked to take photos of Italy too. He can see some of these Italian shots on his blog too: The Passion of Italy and The Colours of Italy. Honestly, while his ability in capturing the sufferings of people in poor countries or countries at war is amazing, his vision of Italy is rather stereotyped, predictable, hence disappointing. We are not the country of love, gondole, pizza, mandolino and religious processions. Not especially, not any longer, that's postcard Italy for tourists.

I can forgive Mc Curry, however: he needed smiling faces and scenes of love to enlighten and contrast the tragicality of those sad , scared, hopeless faces from distant countries. And he found smiles and people in love to photograph here in Italy. We are not at war, that's for sure and fortunately so. But we do not sing "O sole mio" in the streets. I hope he knows.

2. Palazzo Barberini - Raffaello meets Raffaello

Fornarina - detail

Palazzo Barberini is one of the sites of The National Museum of Antique Arts. On three floors of this monumental Palace, famous paintings by Raffaello, Caravaggio, Tintoretto, Piero di Cosimo, Lorenzo Lotto and many others are shown. There's even one of Henry VIII's portraits by Holbein. These days you can also visit an exhibition dedicated to the work of Guercino - Capolavori da Cento e da Roma 1591 -1666.

Portrait of a Young Man - detail

And also in these days, at Palazzo Barberini Raffaello meets Raffaello, too. The Portrait of the Young Man by Raphael has been borrowed from the Tyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid , and put in the same room where the Fornarina (Portrait of the Young Woman) is usually kept. The comparison between these two paintings has often been proposed by critics and now it is possible to draw it through direct observation. In the same room the two familiar faces of young people look at one another and directly into their beholders' eyes. Their stares never seem to want to lose contact with your eyes. They insistently follow you all over the place.

My favourite painting? A reading lady from ancient times.

Piero di Cosimo - St. Mary Magdalene

P.S. Special thanks to a very special friend who made all this possible.

FIRST GOOD READ OF THE NEW YEAR - LYNN SHEPHERD, TOM-ALL-ALONE'S

2012-01-03T12:04:00.003+01:00

UK cover

This book is going to be released in less than a month, February 2nd, as a homage to Charles Dickens in the year of his birthday bicentenary (February 1812 – February 2012) (Official Site -Dickens 2012)

Tom-All-Alone’s was one of the poorest, dirtiest, most squalid slums in 19th century London. Tom- All- Alone’s (The Solitary House in the US and Canada edition, May 1st 2012) is the title Lynn Shepherd has chosen for her second novel.

It is a gripping noir murder mystery set in foggy Victorian London, in which the characters of Dickens’s Bleak House and Lynn Shepherd’s own creatures come to interact . This is Lynn Shepherd’s second tribute to a great British writer. Her succesful debut book was set , in fact, in one of Jane Austen’s Regency novels and titled, Murder at Mansfield Park (published in the UK, the US and in Spain). (My review on My Jane Austen Book Club)

Usa cover

The two novels are linked through the figure of detective Charles Maddox, the brilliant thief taker who solved the complex murder case at Mansfield and is now old and suffering from a terrible desease which makes him perfectly lucid and coherent one moment but furious and lunatic the next. But when old Maddox is lucid, he is still the fine, skillful detective he was. The detective investigating on the complex case at the heart of Tom- All- Alone’s is now his nephew, young Charles Maddox, who was in the Metropolitan Police once but has been unjustly dismissed and wrongly suspected.

Young Charles is hired by Mr Tulkinghorn (the formidabile lawyer of Bleak House) to investigate on a series of threatening anonymous letters sent to an eminent banker, Sir Julius Cremorne, and other illustrious characters in London. Looking for the man who may have sent those letters and also for the reason of the blackmailing, Charles Maddox walks through the most dangerous areas of London, full of drinking dens, thieves, violent people and prostitutes: the London Dickens knew so well, but could only hint at. Bloody sicars and their murders, sexual depravity and vulgar language were to be hidden behind the hypocritical facade of moral respectability. It was the time of hypocrisy and dualism also Stevenson protrayed in his Jekyll and Hyde or Wilde in Dorian’s Gray only apparent perfect beauty.

Lynn Shepherd, free of course from any puritan Victorian perbenism, makes all the terrifyng, macabre, sinister details of the reality of the slums come into the foreground without mitigation. The result is an intriguing investigation, a well built mystery story filled with Dickensean moments , but with a stronger, more realistic portrayal of the social and moral degradation of the time. It’s a world where girls of twelve worked as prostitutes, unwanted babies are carelessly disposed of and those who pose a threat to great men are eliminated without remorse.

BBC Bleak House - 2005

Different narrating voices, psychological in-depth and good characterization, well – crafted alternation of light moments to more tragic grim ones, forceful description of people and places make this second novel a confirmation of Lynn Shepherd’s talent.

The story of young Charles Maddox investigating and the story of Bleak House with its characters run parallel at first, then they intersect with one another and culminate into an unexpected, surprising finale. If you’ve read Bleak House you’ll recognize inspector Bucket, Lady Deadlock, Mr Tulkinghorn, Mr Jarvis, Clara and Hester, among others. But if you haven’t, no problem. You’ll be able to fully enjoy Lynn Shepherd’s new murder mystery, as an awesome detective story set in Victorian London with all its old-fashioned, dark fascination.

Watch this video featuring author Lynn Shepherd. It's an interesting presentation of Tom All Alone's in the places the story takes place, with some excerpts from the novel read by Colin Day.

Thanks to Lynn Shepherd and her UK publisher, Corsair, for granting me a review copy of the novel

Tom All Alone's in Charles Dickens's Bleak House - Chapter XVI

Visit Lynn Shepherd's Official Site

Tom-All-Alone's at Amazon.co.UK

The Solitary House (e-book) at Amazon.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T11:23:00.000+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May 2012 be full of good books, exciting meetings, great films, shows, series, art exhibitions, trips and journeys ... but could we enjoy all that without health, peace, love and friendship? That's what I wish for us all. MG

LAST SEEN: BBC GREAT EXPECTATIONS - WHAT A GREAT BELATED CHRISTMAS GIFT!

2011-12-30T11:54:00.002+01:00

Estella : "I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape." (from the book)

Let's start from the end. Yes, right from the end. I'm afraid this will be a major spoiler if you haven't read Dickens's novel yet. So, you are warned. I've just finished watching this beautiful new BBC adaptation of Great Expectations and I'm delighted they've chosen Dickens's revised ending, unlikely the previous BBC version. This time Pip and Estella meet again at Satis House ...

"We are friends," said I, rising and bending over her, as she rose from the bench. "And will continue friends apart," said Estella. I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her". (from the novel)

Looking rightly into Estella's eyes and wrapping her hand into his, Pip is sure they will never be parted again. Actually, I didn't mind the sad epilogue Dickens had chosen to write at first (it is the end I've got in my printed edition) and I always thought it was perfect, very sad but perfect. On the other hand, I'm now happy BBC has chosen to enlighten the darkness in this story with a romantic happy ending. And now ... we can go back to the start!

The story (from BBC Press Pack). Eleven-year-old orphan, Pip, runs into an escaped convict on the marshes near his home. The convict, Magwitch, orders the boy to steal a file from his Uncle Joe's forge to remove his shackles. The terrified Pip returns with the file and some food – and this innocent act of kindness is set to have far reaching consequences for them both.

Meanwhile, Miss Havisham the reclusive owner of grand Satis House, has requested a boy be sent to her; Pip is to be a playmate to her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham encourages Pip to believe that he might be destined for a future beyond the marshes, a future linked to that of beautiful Estella. Pip's hopes are dashed, though, when Miss Havisham pays for him to be apprenticed to Joe as a blacksmith; it seems his dreams of greater things were unfounded.

At first Pip struggles to come to terms with a life in the forge but eventually he accepts this as his fate. However, everything changes when a lawyer from London, Jaggers, makes a surprise visit. He informs the now adult Pip (Douglas Booth) that he is a young man of great expectations and will inherit a fortune when he becomes twenty-one. There is one condition. Pip must not enquire into the identity of his benefactor; this will remain secret until that person chooses to reveal themselves. In the meantime Jaggers is his guardian. Pip sets out for London leaving all he knows behind to pursue his new life, with his heart set on seeing Estella again.

This new three- part BBC series is very beautifully filmed tense, noir drama and it got directly to my heart. I find it succeeds more than other versions - which tried to soften these features instead - in visually rendering all the sadness, the tragicality, the gloom, even the violence Dickens wanted to convey in his briefest but, according to many, best- written novel.

Douglas Booth, 19, is Pip and I've read that he has immediately won a legion of admirers.Well, he's stunningly beautiful and his Pip is so incredibly sweet. This teenager's features, his eyes and his rare, sudden smile pierced the screen and the Victorian elegant attire suited him perfectly (he was a model for Burberry). Pip is incredibly good, incredibly naive and his journey through the story is full of suffering and tragic revelations. Like Oliver Twist or David Copperfield he often doesn't understand or doesn't realize how wicked adults actually are.
Gillian Henderson was brilliant as ghastly Miss Havisham, characterizing her with her childish voice, death-like paleness, staring eyes, wicked eerie appearance , festering skin, and claustrophobic self - imprisonment in her decaying, spectral home - where she awkwardly welcomes Pip - Satis House. She is psychotically manipulative and psychologically damages both Pip and Estella as children.

In the cast, lots of well-known , familiar faces from British TV (follow the links and discover where you've already seen them):
Estella, the poor orphan brought up by Miss Havisham and trained to deny love and to believe she doesn't own a heart, is Vanessa Kirby. Herbert Pocket, Pip's loyal friend in London, is Harry Lloyd; Magwitch, the convict Pip's helps as a child and who will change his life, is Ray Winstone; Jaggers, the formidable lawyer who's Pip's guardian in London, is David Suchet; Joe Gargery, Pip's brother-in-law, the village blacksmith who brought him up with his overbearing wife, is Shaun Dooley; Drummle, Pip's model as a gentleman, then rival in his love for Estella is Tom Burke.

The Book

As it usually happens, there are several changes or cuts respect to the original novel, but they are not relevant. At least, I didn't mind them at all.
Great Expectations is the latest of Charles Dickens's novels I read and it has become my favourite so far. Dickens has the power of making me smile, laugh, reflect on serious matters, be astonished at his skillfullness as a story-teller, be moved to tears and all in one story. I read it 5 or 6 years ago in summer and it got me so involved I went on reading at night to know what was going to happen to poor Pip.

Though not considered as autobiographical as David Copperfield, which he had published some ten years earlier, the character of Pip represented a Dickens who had learned some hard lessons in his later life. Especially strong throughout the novel are the concepts of fraternal and romantic love, how society thwarts them, how a man should find them. Dickens had left his wife at that time and there were rumours of an affair with a young actress, Ellen Ternan.

For financial reasons, Dickens had to shorten the novel, making it one of his tighter and better written stories. It was published in serial form, as were all of his novels, and the reader can still see the rhythm of suspense and resolution every couple of chapters that kept all of England waiting for the next issue, and me , as I told you, awake at night.

All in all, Great Expectations is considered the best balanced of all of Dickens' novels, though a controversy still persists over the ending. Dickens had originally written an ending where Pip and Estella never get back together. Many critics, including George Bernard Shaw, believe that this rather depressing ending was more consistent with the overall theme and tone of the novel, which began, continued, and perhaps should have finished with a serious, unhappy note. Nevertheless, Dickens published the ending where all is forgiven and Estella and Pip walk out of the Satis House garden together.

Previous and upcoming adaptations

I have already seen Great Expectations adapted in a couple of versions: the previous BBC adaptation of this novel, which dates back to 1999 , and an American movie (1998), loosely based on the novel, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft and Robert De Niro, which transferred the story to nowadays and to the USA.

Now I'm eagerly waiting to see the 2012 film adaptation directed by Mike Newell and starring Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch, Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, Holliday Grainger as Estella and Jeremy Irvine as Pip.

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havinsham in the upcoming movie

There's a lot of Dickens coming out in 2012 since it is the year marking the Bicentenary of his birth! (see Dickens on the BBC and Dickens's Bicentenary Official Site)

RICHARD III : USURPER OR RIGHTFUL KING? GUESTPOST BY BARBARA GASKELL DENVIL

2011-12-27T00:21:00.002+01:00

My quest in search for Richard III goes on thanks to another fortuitous meeting online. I was reading about a novel set in the years of the War of the Roses, "Satin Cinnabar" and it sounded so interesting that I immediately added it to my TBR list and tried to get in contact with its author, Barbara Gaskell Denvil. She kindly accepted to be my guest here on FLY HIGH and to share with us the results of her research on Richard III and the events of the War of the Roses. Here's her article. Read and enjoy.

USURPER OR RIGHTFUL KING? That question could apply to many of history’s monarchs. After all, primogeniture was not, as is often supposed, always or exclusively the road to the throne. Indeed, sometimes who inherited the crown could simply depend on who had tempted who into bed, what lies and trickery were used, and who then found out about it.

Researching the life and times of a historical figure as intriguing as England’s King Richard III, is not too difficult to start off with. The hard work has been done for us. Historians and Ricardians have been delving the archives since before I was born. However, a surprising number of mysteries remain, largely due to the heavy hand of Henry VII who set out to eliminate all traces of the truth concerning his predecessor. Richard’s character has been buried beneath an ominous heap of accusations and slanders. Even actually proving him the villain would now be hard work, since the villainous reputation which survives is too inhuman to believe. Tudor propaganda always tended towards theatrical exaggeration. As such, I find it amazing that much of the world is still inclined to believe it.

After a decade of researching both the man and his times, I have become increasingly absorbed by the gloriously bedevilled intricacies of late medieval life, and my continuing research has become a passion. Indeed I have recently published my novel SATIN CINNABAR by BARBARA GASKELL DENVIL set in London 1485, which starts on the battlefield shortly after King Richard’s death. The book follows the first unpopular breaths of the new Tudor dynasty, but my story is principally fiction. The politics, the backgrounds, the whole flavour of the times is accurate, but the plot is adventure, crime, mystery and romance. SATIN CINNABAR is published online for download to Kindle, ipad, Barnes & Noble and all other e.book formats. My second medieval novel will be published next year.

I had no bias either way regarding Richard III when I began researching. It was the study itself which quickly determined the truth for me. This was a man who respected religion and dreamed of serving God. A man who held loyalty higher than other virtues, and who lived according to those standards. His behaviour towards his brother, King Edward IV proved this over and over again throughout his life. There is no record of his philandering once married, and he was unusually attentive to his wife. Whether or not they married for love or expediency (an argument popular between Ricardians and their opponents) there is documented evidence that they spent far more time together, both in private and during formal duties, than other monarchs, or the nobility of the time, were apt to do. Once again the words are respect and loyalty. Richard also proved his duty of care to the extended members of his family and took pains to protect the Plantaganet bloodline. Even when ordering punishment, Richard invariably pardoned wives, overturned attainders and forgave those who had fought against him. Presumably the man also had faults. However, it is important to remember that the acquisition of wealth, land and supporters was the duty of any lord at that time, and to neglect this duty would have been considered utterly irresponsible. Richard was born into a powerful family and he acquired more, but within his province in the north his reputation for honesty and the proper apportioning of justice was paramount.

Yet we are then asked to believe that quite suddenly on his brother’s death, this careful man of stable and mature responsibility turned almost overnight into a demon of ruthless ambition, ready to slaughter anyone who stood in his way. The accusations begin with Richard’s supposed usurpation of the throne, calling his brother’s marriage bigamous, relegating his nephews to bastardy and therefore excluding them from inheriting the throne, and finally stealing the crown for himself. This, of course, is the Tudor tale. King Henry VII had a very good reason for trying to defame his predecessor, but that is another long story.

Let us begin with medieval marriages. English law was quite different in those days and a calling of the banns followed by a legally binding and fully witnessed ceremony was not obligatory. In fact, a simple agreement between a man and a woman to wed, followed by the normal act of cohabitation, was sufficient to constitute a legal marriage contract. No witness was required although many couples insured the recognition of their agreement by having one or two, and sometimes a handy priest made the best witness. It was not until the mid 18^th century that such a casual form of marriage was outlawed and regulatory legislation was brought in.

Elizabeth Woodville

Hand-fasting – as the private wedding arrangement described above was often called – could be easily abused and there were many cases of women taking their erstwhile partners to court for having abandoned them after the love-making was accomplished, the husband later denying that any arrangement of marriage ever took place. Certainly many folk, especially the nobility, preferred something more public, more festive, and more religiously sanctioned. The king in particular was well advised to conduct his marriage ceremony in public, calling the banns with the whole country as witness to the authenticity of his honesty and rights. But King Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464 was entirely clandestine, and of the hand-fasting variety. It is generally rumoured to have originally been just a ruse to get the lady into bed. The king did not even announce his new marital state publicly for several months afterwards, and during the period of secrecy his behaviour in some respects showed quite clearly that he had not taken the arrangement seriously.

Having entered into one clandestine marriage with the probable intention of little more than seduction in mind, it is certainly possible that this had happened before. But whether or not Edward chose to confess any prior private wedding, if any in fact took place, it would still have been unavoidably valid. So, after Edward’s death when Richard III announced his brother’s pre-contract, thus claiming that his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was bigamous and the children of that union illegitimate, the revelation was assuredly not unique. It had been happening amongst less important citizens for years. (The pre-contract, by the way, refers to a previous marriage, and not simply to an engagement or promise to marry as has sometimes been suggested. The wording is clear.)

Whether or not any proof existed at that time, we cannot now be sure. But a great meeting of politicians, nobility and clergy was called to discuss the situation, and it is more than possible that proof (later lost or destroyed by Henry VII) was presented at that time. Edward’s precontract (to the Lady Eleanor Butler) being still valid at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, his later bigamy was certainly recognised. Parliament branded the children of the bigamous marriage bastards, and both houses of parliament offered the crown to Richard as the next heir apparent. Titulus Regius was created, (later all but one copy was destroyed by Henry Tudor) thereby officially recognising Richard’s legal entitlement to the crown, and there appear to have been no public objections.

Knowing something of how politics and business was conducted in those days, it seems to me most unlikely that this situation could have occurred without actual absolute proof of some kind being presented first. The Lady Eleanor Butler being deceased by then, we cannot now be sure. But this is hardly the sort of momentous decision to take lightly and the people of that time were certainly not dupes or idiots. I find it particularly interesting that the Lady Elizabeth Woodville, the ousted queen whose children had all been relegated to bastardy, made no demur herself. She could have raised no end of objections. She could have appealed to an ecclesiastical court. She could have shouted injustice to the rooftops. She did not. She kept quiet and made no disavowal of the facts. Nor did any of her now powerful family, even her brother who was, by then, a bishop. Certainly they secretly plotted and schemed against the new regime, but made no public outcry and attempted no legal inquiry. This, to me, is as close as possible to proof that the documentation against the legality of her marriage existed in plain fact, and as queen she had probably privately known about it for years.

This is a vast subject, and the probabilities go deep. Far more could be presented on the subject, but these are the salient facts. They stand in simple contrast to the public assumption that Richard III was a usurper. He was not, since he was (rightly or wrongly) officially offered the throne on an orderly and legal basis. One authentic copy of Titulus Regius still exists and this presents the simple truth. Richard III was virtually ‘elected’ – as far as such a thing was possible in those days – all notable levels of society having officially asked him to be king.

Shakespeare is a hero of mine and was undoubtedly a genius, but had he known that his theatrical presentation of the evil King Richard would continue to convince the public of its historical accuracy for the next 500 years, I imagine he would have laughed uproariously. His time lines were hopelessly wrong, his facts manipulated for dramatic effect, and poetic license was put to excellent value. What is more he lived under a Tudor regime. Let us finally accept that this presentation of the wildly wicked sociopath was great theatre, but never truth.

On the other hand, what glorious scope medieval marriages offered, and what dreadful license for abuse and intrigue. For hundreds of years men were openly gifted the opportunity to seduce all the virtuous ladies of their desire, and then run – denying that any agreement had ever taken place. No doubt the opportunity for false accusations by females was also taken up but there is no surviving record of that. So rather than the endless vilification of King Richard III, I wonder why there has been so little outcry against King Edward IV’s behaviour? He might also have been accused of usurping the throne (depending on whether you supported the rights of York or Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses), and like his grandson Henry VIII, he proved himself a notorious womaniser, an irresponsible monarch at least as far as his marital affairs were concerned, and who, it was evidently suggested at the time, was capable of rape as well as trickery and seduction. He was certainly a greedy over-indulgent character himself, and was enormously indulgent towards his Woodville in-laws, encouraging their own greed and showering them with wealth and titles which should surely have gone to more worthy proponents. Edward’s specific virtues as a man are somewhat harder to pin down, although in his younger years he was a great military general and that endeared him to many, but his irresponsibility towards his marriage vows, conducting at least one, almost certainly two, and possibly even more clandestine marriages, left the inheritance of the throne in desperate confusion. Indeed, there is some indication that Henry VIII’s later obsession with providing a legitimate male heir by a lady of unassailable virtue, was actually inspired by the disastrous mistakes of his grandfather.

But, inspite of many military and political problems, Edward IV ruled over England during a period of prosperity and growth. Thus he got away with – well, not murder precisely – but a good deal else. Above all he was lucky, since after his death his reputation was not then subject to the ravages of Henry VII’s propaganda machine.

BARBARA GASKELL DENVIL, the author of FAIR WEATHER (Available Amazon Kindle and smashwords.com at $2.99) and SATIN CINNABAR (also $2.99, generally available online for Amazon and all other devices) has been a writer all her life. Born in Gloucestershire, England, she soon moved to London and in addition to working as a literary reviewer and critic for BOOKS & BOOKMEN, quickly built up a career publishing numerous short stories and articles.

She then spent many hot and colourful years sailing the Mediterranean on a yacht and living in various different countries throughout the region.

When her partner died, she moved to rural Australia where she still lives amongst the parrots and wallabies, writing full time before contemplating a possible return to England.

Her first finished novel, FAIR WEATHER, is an intense and atmospheric fantasy set in England in the 1200s. The storyline is based on considerable historical content, but the plot is sheer fantasy.

This has been published to considerable success online – now followed by her second book – SATIN CINNABAR, which commences on the battlefield at Bosworth and covers the fist few difficult months of the emerging Tudor dynasty. Barbara’s love of late medieval history and many years of research have enabled her to bring the period vividly to life. No fantasy this time, the story is an adventure including all the mystery and romance for which she is becoming well known.

I'VE SEEN DOWNTON ABBEY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

2011-12-26T00:46:00.001+01:00

Downton Abbey - Christmas Special

No spoilers, I'll resist the strong temptation to tell you everything. And to do it, I won't write much, don't worry. I really don't want to spoil the pleasure for you to discover how this second season of Downton Abbey will end. It was a very good episode, full of emotions and great moments. I liked it very much. Brilliant finale! You will laugh, be moved and ... caught in the snowy, magical, festive atmosphere at Downton. A wonderful Christmas gift! If you loved the first two series you won't be disappointed by this Christmas special. May I say just one little, little thing? No major spoiler promise: I missed the newly married couple. I hoped they were joining the family at least at the end of the episode.

However, get ready to more scathing lines from Dame Maggie Smith, to be on the edge of your seat for Mr Bates facing trial for murder, to see an incredible Servants' Ball, to smile at Matthew dancing with Miss O'Brien and Mrs Patmore, to admire Lord Grantham more and more, to see someone throw a punch on someone else's face, to enjoy a dreamy finale under the snow.

Matthew and Mary's fate, you ask? I promise no spoilers, do you remember? Mr Bates and Ann? Wait and see. There's a third series coming, you know?

They'll start shooting it in February. Until next year then, for series 3! And , by the way, at the end of the episode, they presented the trailer of the new costume drama written by Julian Fellowes coming soon (in spring, they said) on ITV: Titanic. Are you going to watch it?

FATHER CHRISTMAS IS EXHAUSTED! I'VE ASKED FOR TOO MUCH ...

2011-12-24T10:49:00.001+01:00

Poor Father Christmas. Look at him! I've really asked for too much this year. But have a look all around him: he granted all my wishes. I've had a very satisfying, rewarding, thrilling year full of beautiful news, books, films and series, art and theatrical shows, experiences and journeys I could share with all of you. But, mainly, I've had the chance to meet and make the acquaintance of so many extraordinary people all over the world. An incredible, extraordinary, enthusiastic community of friendly people. They made me a better person in many ways and I'm so grateful to my little corner in the blogosphere which made all this possible!

To all of you, in every corner of the world, who visit FLY HIGH & My Jane Austen Book Club every day or just from time to time, to you who contributed to their success with interviews, guestposts or articles, to all of you who write me lovely supporting e-mails and messages, I wish the best of Christmas Time. May it be serene and full of joy, love, peace, sympathy, friendliness, gifts, generosity, forgiveness, goodwill and ... smiles.

With gratitude and friendship

Maria Grazia

P.S. Many thanks to my hubby, Antonio, for helping me realize the collage above and for bearing with immense patience and generosity all my passions, especially ONE.

AT THE CINEMA: SHERLOCK HOLMES 2 - A GAME OF SHADOWS

2011-12-23T11:18:00.003+01:00

What did you do last weekend? Christmas shopping? I hope you had as much fun as I did . I went to Rome with my husband and we had a pleasant evening, only we were more trying to avoid the Christmas shopping crowd than joining them. So, we hid inside a ...cinema!

Avoiding the shopping crowd was not our only aim. We had seen the first Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes 2009 film (my review) - we had liked it a lot - so we didn't want to miss the second one: Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows.

The worst of Victorian London is on screen from the first moments: its smell of dirt and alcohol, the misty nights and the fights. If you've seen Holmes/ Downey Jr in the first film, you know he is not a bit the dusty, stiff, prim detective of the tradition, wearing a deerstalker and a trench coat, but a cool action hero, a smart dandy, free and easy, irresistible and unbeatable. Either you love him or you hate him but seen the figures of the success of the first installment, it seems very difficult to resist him!

Think of Watson! How hard he tries to avoid Sherlock and the dangerous life he represents? How stubbornly he rejects his asking for favours and tries instead to focus on his imminent wedding with Mary? But can he resist his friend's call? No, not at all. So, after an adventurous bachelor party spent with Holmes (investigating more than celebrating his friend) in a dubious local, he gets to the church on his wedding day like Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew: dirty, scratched, with a torn suit and completely drunk.
In this second movie Robert Downey Jr. has been joined again by Jude Law as Watson (how good he is since he left the role of the hansome bloke! not that he has become ugly but ... ok, you know what I mean), Kelly Reilly as romantic Mary Morstan , Watson's betrothed ( I can't remove her snobbish smirk in her previous roles from my memory and simply see her as the sweet heroine she should be here) , and Rachel MacAdams, as tough Irene Adler (in a very reduced role, this time). But there are great new names and characters like an always brilliant Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother (great humour and ...an elegant nearly-full-frontal naked scene! Poor Mary was shocked and he was impassible), or Noomi Rapace, as the gipsy sexy beauty Sim.

Intrigue, adventure and mystery grow in "A Game of Shadow" with the arrival of Holmes's super nemesis, his dark alter ego: Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris).
Sherlock suspects Moriarty of killing the Austrian Prince: Moriarty's ambition is to make the world need his new mass production of weapons and plots to lead the world on the brink of a new war. To stop him, Sherlock is ready to risk his life, but not those of his friends. So, to defend Watson and his newly married wife, Mary, he even disguises himself as a woman, throws his friend's wife into a river from a moving train and much, much more.

Comedy, action, rhythm, irony, beautiful costumes and excellent photography, CGI and special effects made this classic adventure appealing to a vast contemporary audience: from teenagers and young people whose tastes have been spoilt by videogames, digital images and action-movie superheroes to more mature fans of the smart, cerebral detective.
I love this new Sherlock, who is great at kung fu, climbs, jumps, dives like a Marvel superhero, who is almost moved to tears on his best friend's wedding day, who practises mimicing his surroundings but who, even in scratches, dirt and blood never loses his English aplomb. I joined the rest of the audience clapping their hands when the final twist made all of us enthusiastic!

By the way, I'm revising BBC Sherlock series 1 on Italian TV (every Thursday, 9 p.m. on Italia 1) before watching the new series starting on BBC1 on January 1, 2012. I like the new TV Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his Mr Watson (Martin Freeman) , too.

RA-NDOM THOUGHTS : ... AND THE LEADER OF OUR COMPANY, THORIN OAKENSHIELD.

2011-12-21T23:42:00.007+01:00

I haven't written much about "The Hobbit" on Fly High!, have I? I haven't written much about Richard Armitage recently, either. Who knows me pretty well also knows nothing has changed in my interests and Mr Armitage can still count on my complete, loyal support for what it counts. As I promised, to myself more than to others, I only wanted to write about "my one weakness" when I actually had something to say. So here I am, at last. And on a very special day. His Thorin Oakenshield has been introduced to the world, in action and in an official presentation of the movie: the first trailer of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has been released today.

I've read a great deal of enthusiastic comments all over the Net, facebook is overcrowded with links to the Utube video, and twitter has gone trending #hobbittrailer all day long. Many Hobbit fans - and lots of RA fans among them- woke up in the middle of the night to wait and see the longed-for Christmas gift from Peter Jackson as soon as it was online. What I want to contribute is only my personal reaction to today's news. Nothing special, I mean.

When yesterday I read it would be 4 a.m. in Italy by the time the trailer was up, I decided I would "have it for breakfast". I usually get up at 6.30 to have a shower, breakfast and some time to answer mail before being at school at 8.00 ready for my first lesson at 8.10. But this morning something strange and unexpected - like the hobbit's and his company of dwarves' journey - happened to me (someone must be plotting against my interest for "The Hobbit" ... Gollum?): my alarm-clock didn't go off.

OMG! I woke up just half an hour before my first lesson started !!! Can you imagine? As funny as Bilbo Baggins hurrying all over, I tried to have a shower and get dressed in record time. No breakfast, of course. Nor the dreamt for trailer, nor my usual cappuccino.

Did I get to school in time? Perfectly on time, actually, thanks for your concern, but ... I don't know why I was really distracted most of the time. I saw dwarves everywhere: while reading Gaskell's "Mary Barton" in one class, introducing the Victorian Compromise and British Imperialism in another one, teaching conditionals in the last one. Mmm ... I don't particularly like dwarves and fantasy stories, but my curiosity to see a certain dwarf leader in action was growing minute by minute. I'm sure my students noticed a certain anxiety and absent - mindedness this morning 'cause they were particularly distracted themselves. Or was it the almost-Christmas atmosphere in the air?

Fact is, I had a hard time to get to the end, but held on and made it. Last working day before the holidays: "Good-bye! Enjoy your holidays! Hugs and kisses. Yes, I'm a bit in a hurry and ..."

At last, I was at home and I could turn on my lap ... look for the trailer ... and ... "have it for lunch"!

Favourite moments

1. Gandalf introduces the company of dwarves to Bilbo : " ... and this is our leader, Thorin Oakenshield".

2. Thorin sings with an intense expression, a melancholic look and a hypnotizing voice : "Far over the misty mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old" . All the dwarves join him in the chant...

3. Thorin whispers to Gandalf in a vibrating voice: "I cannot guarantee his safety..."

Gandalf answers: "Understood"

Thorin goes on: "... nor will I be responsible for his fate"

Sharing the joy

I swear I tried to, but I wasn't that successful. I started with my elder son, who is fond of The Lord of the Rings films, so I wanted to surprise him with this trailer.

"Too late, Mum. Already seen it on facebook". He almost shouts, nodding at the rhythm of the music he goes on listening in his headphones. Has he really understood what I said? How could he hear me?

My husband, my only hope. He always asks me: "What news?" when he is back home from work and usually listens to anything I've got to say.

This evening he did the same, while we worked together in the kitchen to make dinner ready for the four of us. I was particularly proud to announce him the release of the Hobbit trailer. He tried to show some genuine interest - actually, I don't think he pretended, he must have been really curious - and asked me to show it to him.

He watched carefully and silently till RA/Thorin makes his appearance: Then he starts shaking his head.

"What?" , I ask, "What's the matter?"

And he: "His make-up"

And I: "Thorin's make-up"?

And he: "Yes, Richard's"

And I, expecting a joke, "Go on. Say it!"

And he: "He's got the worst make-up among the dwarves"

And I: "But why?"

And he, seriously, "He is still too handsome!"

Well, maybe he is right.

Watch the trailer

The pictures in this post are my caps from the Trailer

A SUMMER IN EUROPE BY MARILYN BRANT - GIVEAWAY WINNER

2011-12-21T18:02:00.000+01:00

A Summer in Europe is Marilyn Brant's latest release. If you've liked her According To Jane (2009) or Friday Mornings At Nine (2010), you will surely love her new book!

One of the commenters of Marilyn's last week's guestpost here on FLY HIGH! is going to get a signed copy directly from the author and I'm here to announce her name:

Congratulations to ... KELDA!!!

N.B: Please, Kelda, you should contact me at learnonline.mgs@gmail.com in order to receive your prize.

Thanks a lot to Marilyn Brant for stopping by at Fly High on her blog tour and for granting a copy of her latest release.

AT THE THEATRE - SHAKESPEARE, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

2011-12-19T00:59:00.002+01:00

As usual once a year we organize a school trip to Rome for our fourth year students to see one of Shakespeare’s plays at the theatre (they have 16th /18th century literature in their syllabus). Each year we see a different play and this time I found out (my colleagues in the Trips , Exhibitions & Shows Committee) that they had chosen one of my least favourite plays: “The Taming of the Shrew”.

However, I didn’t mind the choice: it might actually come out as an occasion to re-read and re-evaluate this comedy which I had last seen on stage 5 years ago in an awkward, but not completely convincing, experiment of an all male company.

This time it was different: mixed experienced cast, sparkling and vivacious staging, very good performances and brilliant direction (Armando Pugliese) plus excellent music (Goran Bregovic).

The play

In "The Taming of the Shrew", once again , Shakespeare chooses a
fictional Italian setting, Italy which he completely reinvents and could well be any place in the world if not England itself. But the scene is actually set in a gypsy camp in Pugliese's version. However, in Padua, swashbuckler Petruchio carries out his brawny courtship of Katherine, the elder daughter of wealthy Baptista Minola, who is certainly very beautiful but also rough, rude and vulgar, the “shrew” of the title. Petruchio longs for her father’s money and is also stimulated by the challenge Katherine sets to his manhood: he must tame and marry her.

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, and it shares many essential characteristics with his other romantic comedies, such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These elements include lighthearted humour, disguise and deception, and a happy ending in which most of the characters come out satisfied. The lightheartedness of these romantic comedies contrasts sharply with the darker humour and deeper characterization of Shakespeare’s later plays, both comic and tragic.

A play focusing on the concerns of married life would have seemed particularly relevant to English audiences of the Renaissance period. Theirs was a society concerned with marriage in general, thanks in part to Henry VIII’s separation of England from the Catholic Church in 1534 in order to secure a divorce that the pope had refused to grant him. Henry’s troubles highlight one important aspect of Elizabethan marriages among the upper class: they were most often arranged for money, land, or power, rather than for love. Furthermore, unless you were the king of England, the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries offered few ways out of an unhappy marriage. So, the resolution of marital disputes became an important topic in the popular literature of the era.

By modern readers and audiences, The Taming of the Shrew has always been seen as a controversial play, especially for its idea of the domestication of the woman as the taming of a wild animal. This idea has been considered unacceptable and offensive and Shakespeare, depicting the victory of a chauvinistic and overbearing man over a woman rebelling and fighting for her freedom, has been labeled as a chauvinist himself.
I particularly liked the fact that director Armando Pugliese tried to give this comedy a different approach. First of all he doesn’t cut off, as it often happens, the frame story introducing Christopher Sly, the poor drunk tinker tricked by a group of lords who make him believe he’s extremely rich and make him watch the staging of “The Taming of the Shrew” as a gift or a trick.

The frame story hasn’t got an explanation or an end in Shakespeare - where there is no epilogue after Katherine's surrender - but it has in Pugliese’s staging. The story has , in fact, been slightly changed. Dressed in fine clothes, Sly falls asleep in the elegant residence he believes his own, while waiting for the company of actors to perform a play for him. He sleeps and in his dreams he is Petruchio and “The Taming of the Shrew” is ... what happens in his dream.

When he wakes up, at the end of the play, while Kate and Petruchio finally get to their marital bed, he is welcome back by his strong, harsh wife who reminds him who he really is , ridicules him as the poor drunkard he has always been, and pushes him around. Petruchio has only dreamt of taming Katherine!

Another main change is in the tone with which Vanessa Gravina interprets Katherine’s final monologue, the long soliloquy marking the "shrew" ’s surrender to the superiority of her husband, her acceptance of the given roles. It is conveyed that Katherine accepts to give in but meditates her vengeance at the same time, she bends to react: there’s so much in the trembling irony of her tone while pronouncing those well-known words: she is only pretending obedience.

Another interesting change: Bianca the sweet, romantic, obedient younger sister who marries Lucentio, not only betrays her father’s trust eloping with her lover or disobey her newly married husband , she even tranforms herself into a rough, rude, vulgar girl, a copy of her sister before marriage.

Shakespeare (not only in this staging) doesn’t seem to trust women very much. They are smart subtle pretenders. They are good at disguise and playing tricks, and their ability at using make-up is the sign of their skills. Never believe in appearances!

We saw The Taming of the Shrew at Teatro Quirino, Rome, on Thursday afternoon, December 15.

See the official site

The cast: Vanessa Gravina (Caterina), Edoardo Siravo (Christopher Sly, Petruccio), Giulio Farnese (Battista), Carlo di Maio ( Gremio, il sartore) , Vito Facciolla (primo servo, Grumio) , Gianluca Enria (capocomico, Nicola, pedante, Vincenzo), Elisabetta Alma (ostessa, Curzia), Emanuela Trovato (Bianca), Alberto Caramel (Ortensio), Stefano Vona Bianchini (Tranio, Giuseppe) , Maurizio Tomacello (Lucensio, terzo servo, Filippo), Valentina D'Andrea ( secondo servo, Pandora, la vedova).

Before watching the play at the theatre, we had some interesting lessons reading from the play and about the play, seeing scenes from Zeffirelli's film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1967) and from BBC Shakespeare Re-told, The Taming of the Shrew (2005), with Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell. Tomorrow we'll have a final discussion on some of the themes and motifs.