Angieville

I'm still struggling to believe this moment is actually here. It was almost exactly three years ago that I read and reviewed Madeline Miller 's stunning The Song of Achilles and essentially dissolved into a puddle of shock and awe. It was difficult to summon the will to move on in the wake of such a book. The crafting of it felt almost too good for this world, as though it had been created slightly above mortal ground and continued to hover there, just above us, in its natural state. So when I got wind that Ms. Miller was working on a new novel—that not only was she shifting from The Iliad to  The Odyssey, but that she was focusing the tale on Circe—it was difficult not to will Chronos to speed up time so that I could have that book in my hands. To say that it was one of—if not the —most anticipated novel of the year for me is not any kind of exaggeration. When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother an...

I'm a bit giddy just typing this. Emily Wilson—a professor of Classical Studies and Chair of the Program in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Pennsylvania—has become the first woman to translate Homer's  The Odyssey into English, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy. This article in The New York Times is well worth a read, if you (like me) are interested in all things Penelope, Odysseus, and grey-eyed Athena. Just take a look at the opening lines of Wilson's translation: Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, and where he went, and who he met, the pain he suffered in the storms at sea, and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home. He failed to keep them safe; poor fools, they ate the Sun God's cattle, and the god kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus, tell the old story for our modern times. Find the beginn...

And so the time has come for the second installment in our Georgette Heyer series this year. I moved almost immediately from The Convenient Marriage to The Nonesuch , which I borrowed from my trusty Beth's extensive Heyer shelf. I knew next to nothing about it, but loved the title and hoped (rather shallowly) that the titular character proved somewhat more lively than the man on the cover. Spoiler: he does, albeit in a somewhat restrained manner. As befits a paragon of his stature. Truly, the way the entire countryside rhapsodizes over this man. It's endlessly amusing. It's also a good thing he takes it all with a humongous grain of salt. And that Ancilla gives as good as she gets.  The banter between the Nonesuch and Miss Trent (I categorically refuse to call him Waldo) is the unrivaled highlight of the novel. I was gratified we got a good deal more than we did in The Convenient Marriage . Although, Heyer's dialogue is so perfect, I will always wish for more. And ...

So. As much as I adore retellings, I recently realized I'd never actually read an Alice in Wonderland retelling. And what with the absolute rash of them inundating the publishing world these days, I figured it was high time. I've always loved the original classic and the Disney film, but I've never seen any of the more recent film adaptations. When Ace contacted me about reviewing Christina Henry 's Alice in anticipation of the sequel's release, it felt like the perfect entry point. Funnily enough, I actually read the first book in Henry's Black Wings urban fantasy series ages ago. We didn't particularly hit it off, but I found myself massively intrigued to find out what she might do with a grown-up Alice. Also, the cover. It sends chills down my spine every time I glance over at the copy sitting on my nightstand. Having now read the words behind that cover, I can verify that the chills only increase after you make the acquaintance of Henry's White Ra...

On the heels of my search for the perfect The   Tenant of Wildfell Hall , I bring you my longtime search for the perfect O Pioneers! This book. This book is my very favorite Willa Cather. And that is saying something, as I consider her to be the actual Great American Novelist. I am so very grateful we made our way around to her in my tenth grade American literature class. I was so, so ready for a woman author and stories that felt like they represented the land I knew and loved, even if they hailed from time periods and life experiences entirely separate from my own. To this day, I count the first time I read O Pioneers! as one of the highlights of my life. I currently own a somewhat battered mass market copy (I believe it's a Signet Classic) with rows and rows of hay bales on it. Which is fine. But it doesn't sing the way the cover of this beautiful book should. And so I bring you the three editions I like best and ask your humble opinion. For a long time, I've lea...

I've mentioned before that I wrote my masters thesis on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall . What that means is this book is extremely dear to me. I first read it while on study abroad in London, and I fell madly in love with Anne's fierce introduction to the second edition and with Helen Graham and the way she slammed her bedroom door—her heart too thoroughly dried to be broken in a hurry, absolutely determined to live as long as she could. I own a rather limp Wordsworth Classics edition that I believe I picked up for a pound in a charity bookshop. It will always be my first. But I admit to having been on the lookout for a lovelier one for some time now. Which brings us to these three pretties. All available in fairly affordable copies from The Book Depository . Each eye-catching in its own way. I have to say, it will be difficult for me to resist the overturned glass of wine for the chills is sends down my spine (not the good ones, but if you've read the book you know ...

So the lovely Tundra Books recently issued these utterly swoonworthy paperback editions of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, and I literally cannot look away. This is a series that is very near and dear to my heart as my mother read them all aloud to me as a girl, but which strangely I've never really set about collecting pretty editions of (or even matching ones). I know. I shock myself. And it seems they may only be available in Canada at present. But these? These are the ones, guys.

I can make kind of a lovely story about why there's been so much radio silence around these parts lately. But the truth of the matter is my blogging time as been sucked away by the San Francisco Giants, who were not supposed to get into the playoffs but who did and so I am a very happy (but very nonblogging) girl. To make up for this, I'm happy to host a giveaway today, and a Halloween one at that!  Thanks to Penguin Books, we're giving away one copy of the new Penguin Classics edition of Washington Irving's classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories .   This new collection of larger-than-life tales contains Washington Irving’s best-known literary inventions—Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle—and features a new introduction and notes by Elizabeth L. Bradley, author of  Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York  and literary consultant to Historic Hudson Valley, the caretakers of Irving’s Tarrytown, New York home. And here's th...

So tell me. Which are your favorite Great Expectations adaptations? I've really only watched the Jean Simmons/Anthony Hopkins one with any regularity. I do love the book (it was my first Dickens). And I'd be interested in falling in love with a film adaptation of it if you'd be so kind as to share your favorites. What do you think of this upcoming one due out next month?

So last month's Austen redux naturally set me brooding on my favorite Bront ë  retellings/adaptations and how I feel differently about them. Which is to say that, for some reason, I'm more . . . open to them? I'm more often up for them? I'm not sure. I've certainly had my fair share of abysmal failures and, in fact, there are fewer total items on this list than on my Austen one. But. The ones that are  on this list are so well done they just resonate with me on a deep enough level that they are never far from my thoughts. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that for a long time I remained by and large unsatisfied with onscreen renditions of Mr. Rochester. Until Michael Fassbender came along (not perfect, mind you, but awfully  good). And before you ask, yes, yes, I adore Toby Stephens (see The Tenant of Wildfell Hall below), but he just wasn't quite dark enough for me as Rochester. Whereas on the Pride and Prejudice side of things, Colin Firth did suc...

Melissa over at Dear Mr. Dickens created this little gem of an infographic, and I simply had to share. Anyone who's ever read or loved a Dickens novel will understand. Bleak House is bleak, man. Thanks to Leila for the heads up.

Yesterday, Diana Peterfreund linked to a Barnes & Noble blog post highlighting their favorite Jane Austen updates, retellings, adaptations, what have you. Happily, Peterfreund's own For Darkness Shows the Stars was on the list. It set me to thinking about my own favorite Austen reducia. Interestingly, I seem to struggle with Austen updates in book form. I'm not exactly sure why that is. There are an intimidatingly large quantity of them out there, and I know many of them are quite popular. Of those I have read, I notice I tend to fare better with the ones that feature large changes, such as setting them in a fantasy or post-apocalyptic world or removing them so much from their original story lines that it's more an "inspired by" sort of thing than a true dedicated retelling. After scouring my mind, I came up with the following short list of favorites: Novels Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman - a short and sweet contemporary YA loosely connected to  Pride ...

It's trailerlicious around these parts. So another Romeo & Juliet adaptation, yes. But this one has Damian Lewis as Lord Capulet and Paul Giamatti as Friar Laurence, so I am very much going to be seeing it. Is it just me or is the actor who plays Romeo really sort of channeling Leonard Whiting from the Zeffirelli version? Not a bad thing, my friends. Not a bad thing at all. Due out October 13th, will you be seeing it?

Pure unadulterated awesome headed to a theater near you come June 7th. I love the Emma Thompson/Kenneth Branagh version so much that I haven't ever found myself longing for another. But, come on! Nothing will keep me from seeing this one. How about you?

I put off watching this modern web series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for a long time. I think they had already aired around 70 or so episodes when I finally caved and watched the first one. At a scant three minutes and twenty seconds, it wasn't enough to hook me per se. But it was enough to whet my appetite. And so I pressed on and met impossibly adorbs Jane, too legit to quit Lydia, sweet as apple pie Bing, slick as a whistle Wicks, and, yes--some 50 odd episodes down the line--Darcy himself. And I have to say . . . I'm rather fond of the lot of them. I may be wildly a teensy bit partial to Lydia (who completely steals the show) and yeah, okay, to Darcy (who is just beautifully awkward). The series actually branches out across several social media forums and includes the abbreviated, but fabulous spin-offs The Lydia Bennet and Pemberly Digital , thereby highlighting the real genius of the adaptation. All signs point to the entire series wrapping up at an even 100 ...

This is both my first Jodi Lynn Anderson book and my first Peter Pan retelling! I know there are quite a few out there, but for whatever reason I just haven't dipped into that pool yet. I've seen and enjoyed multiple screen adaptations, but this was my first outing with a retelling on the page. The thing about Peter Pan is that I read it a couple of years ago with my oldest boy and it was . . . rather devastating, actually. In the very best way, of course. But the emotions were real and they cut deep. So I probably should have expected to be a bit wrung out upon finishing Tiger Lily . Because even though it's all about Tiger Lily (and is told from Tinker Bell's perspective), it's about Peter, too. And Neverland. And the Lost Boys. And Hook. And every other excruciating bit of that original story that so embodies the sense of wonder and loss endemic to childhood and growing up. All of which is to say that beyond this point there be emotions . Proceed with caution....

Because I never run out of things to say when it comes to retellings, I accepted Melissa's gracious offer to contribute a guest post for her wonderful Retell Me a Story Week over @ One Librarian's Book Reviews . This time I'm talking purely classics. So if you're looking for a good retelling of anything from Hamlet to Holmes, take a minute to stop by and check it out. I'll be there !

You're welcome.

 Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here @ Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Like most everyone else, my mother read The Secret Garden to me as a kid. I remember lying on my back on my bed at night staring up at the ceiling and out the open window to the fireflies outside as she read about Mary Lennox and Dickon and a sick little boy named Colin no one wanted to remember. Beyond that, however, my memories had faded quite a bit in the intervening years. I've seen a couple of film adaptations. In fact, the Hallmark one was a fixture in our home growing up and I still start humming Chopin's Nocturne in E Minor whenever I run across a Secret Garden reference or think of one of the characters. And I made the acquaintance of the musical in college and fell in love with that adaptati...

You've likely already seen this, but it's quite beyond me not to post it here. I have very little to say except that, what with this one and The Hobbit , it's going to be a lovely Christmas.