tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post2651537315066809530..comments2023-10-09T04:28:16.384-07:00Comments on Writing about writing: Book Review: Fools and MortalsTCWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13053437802878060775noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-565959128301596412017-10-03T01:11:14.014-07:002017-10-03T01:11:14.014-07:00I probably will read the Cornwall as I taught Shak...I probably will read the Cornwall as I taught Shakespeare at A Leval and also taught History. I am glad my book The Woman in the Shadows contained a more believable protagonist and has immersed readers in the Tudor period without resorting to slight treatment but rather reproducing that world as well as anyone can really recreate an historical time. Great review , Tom.Carol McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11072696398820339640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-33371330444126271252017-09-29T07:46:10.315-07:002017-09-29T07:46:10.315-07:00Your general point is well made, but in this parti...Your general point is well made, but in this particular case the history behind the story (not the details of the 'exciting' plot with thefts and violence, but the general theatre stuff) seems well done. The very detailed historical note is certainly impressive. Perhaps Cornwell is aiming at an audience that has seen TV Tudors and is now trying to bring them to something more rooted in historical fact? TCWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053437802878060775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-86339294424844987412017-09-29T07:17:40.996-07:002017-09-29T07:17:40.996-07:00The question of who might want to read this book i...The question of who might want to read this book if they were ignorant of Shakespeare brings to mind several items on the American television schedule of late, but particularly "Will" - a sexy, action-adventure period piece theoretically centering on a character called William Shakespeare. It held no interest for me, but was quite heavily hyped on our side of the Pond not long ago ... though apparently it was canceled very quickly indeed.<br /><br />There's an awful lot of entertainment out there right now theoretically featuring historical figures/periods/politics, some actually under the pretense of presenting known events and people, some leaning a bit more Game of Thrones and leaping off of intriguing history into dragon territory. Most are disturbingly rape- and violence-centered, or at least feature much 21st-century flesh and hair design.<br /><br />So, I think The Tudors' success may play a part here. Hale as he was in his youth, at no point was Henry VIII Jonathan Rhys Meyers. And Reign is even more astonishing a portrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots.<br /><br />So the famous name (or the famous brother's name, perhaps) is less an indication of a movie's or book's actual subject anymore than a way to attract consumers.<br /><br />Hard not to wonder how differently the phrase "historical fiction" is heard, and may be in future, versus what you or I think of when we use the term. Hmm.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.com