Two novels, a duology though they can be read independently, I suppose, about Cecily Neville, mother to Edward IV, Richard III and Margaret of Burgundy. Cecily shows up in Wars of the Roses fiction usually as a supporting character - she's the very sympathetic and admirable matriarch in Sharon Penman's Sunne in Splendour and the priggish harridan ( Read more... )

At some point while watching, I thought: this is surely the cinematic equivalent of Any Two Guys slash fiction. Without, err, the slash. (Though the Hal/Falstaff subtext was certainly thick.)

What I mean is this: The King is fanfiction of fanfiction, if you like, i.e. it’s based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V plays rather than on the ( Read more... )

By sheer coincidence, both my official assignment and the treat I hadn’t planned on writing are historicals - of a sort, since they aren’t direct historical fiction but fanfiction of historical (pro) fiction, so to speak. They even overlap in time, place and setting, so to speak, while dealing with entirely different characters (and their ( Read more... )

Watching the Tennant Richard II and rewatching some Hollow Crown stuff put me in the mood for Shakespearean Histories fanfiction. Chances are all the stories listed below are already known to anyone interested, but just in case they aren't, or you'd like to do some rereading:

( Here is what I enjoyed reading most )

Via
( Read more... )

Today's meme post is about a DS9 subject and I'll probably ramble on at some length, but I also have two fanfic recs, hence the extra entry:

Breaking Bad:

The Cleaners
The first time and the last time Walt and Jesse clean up dead bodies together.Showcases the changes they went through from who they were at the start and who they were near the ( Read more... )

So the first reviews for Gregory Doran's production of Richard II, starring David Tennant, are in and they are glowing, both for the entire production and for DT in the title role, which makes me hope I'll manage to catch the performance when its broadcast to several cinemas, including one in Munich. One aspect in the reviews, however, made me sit ( Read more... )

The other day I came across a delightful poem: Anchises, by
( Read more... )

Now I already knew that the international BBC iplayer doesn't work in the US, but what I just found out via my ten days in Venice is that the tv shows and films said player shows in Germany are somewhat different than those it shows in Italy. (Basically: the Italians get Sherlock and Wallander, but only one season of New Tricks. In Germany we get ( Read more... )

Now the Hollow Crown is over, here's a personal summing up:

Best cinematography: Richard II is the uncontested winner. They really overcame any sense of theatre staticness by using those landscapes in a majorly fashion.

Best performance: Sorry, Hiddlestans. Jeremy Irons wins. Because Henry IV, as opposed to Hal/Henry V, isn't a main part, as ( Read more... )