Tag: England

Book

“Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead,” by Barbara Comyns

Novel, 1954 A rather curious, totally compelling and wonderfully atmospheric novel about the spread of madness in an English village. The setting and tone, after an extraordinary opening flood scene, feel very genial, though the presence of death is at turns outrageous and quite shocking. Some strong, weak and driven characters sort themselves out in the first part of the book, and while the story’s … Continue reading “Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead,” by Barbara Comyns

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Book

“Tales of Muffled Oars,” by Magnus Mills

Novel, 2020 Familiar Mills territory, with groups of men meeting in pubs. In this book, they’re following history, with seemingly and mysteriously time travelling Macauley, Hogarth and Swift delivering talks in which England at peace is discussed, to the exclusion of any conflict or murder. This simple idea is backed with clear, simple writing, all of which covers and discusses some hefty questions about the … Continue reading “Tales of Muffled Oars,” by Magnus Mills

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Film

“Went The Day Well,” directed by Alberto Cavalcanti

Movie, 1942 Ealing film about the effects on and efforts of a plucky set of English villagers in their attempts to repel a German occupation in the Second World War. The usual nose thumbing and triumphant underdog which works so well in the studio’s comedies just about translates, but it’s a strain which – without a few decent performances – could have been in real … Continue reading “Went The Day Well,” directed by Alberto Cavalcanti

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Film

“The Dig,” directed by Simon Stone

Movie, 2021 Account of the excavation the the Sutton Hoo treasure in Suffolk, in 1939 and the relationship between the house owner, the excavator, the archaeologist and their assorted and assembled friends, families and colleagues. This film has a slow pace, initially focussing on the widowed land owner the renegade, deferential excavator, and slowly brings in other characters as interest in the treasure emerges. A … Continue reading “The Dig,” directed by Simon Stone

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Film

“The Entertainer,” directed by Tony Richardson

Movie, 1960 Film about hand-to-mouth seaside entertainer, wonderfully played by Laurence Olivier, whose entrapment takes down family members and potential backers for his insubstantial, gloomy looking future shows. The ups and downs of booze fuelled theatres and run down matinees are well portrayed in close up cinematography, trysts in caravans and determined money-chasing chorus girls. The effect is of a seedy, down-at-heel feel. The cast … Continue reading “The Entertainer,” directed by Tony Richardson

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“Lady Audley’s Secret,” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Novel, 1862 Melodrama of assumed identities, romance, arson, rags, riches and many points in between. What really stands out in this book are two strands and readings which make it feel modern – the technological advances shown in trains, telegrams and foreign travel and – particularly – the character of Lady Audley herself. Here is a woman who’s estranged from the narrative voice, but sits … Continue reading “Lady Audley’s Secret,” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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“The Mind of Mr Soames,” directed by Alan Cooke

Movie, 1970 Science-fiction in which a 30 year-old man is woken up from a coma he’s been in since being born. A film whose setting and themes of nature and nurture feel and are treated through the time of the film’s production, and which combine, at times, with the low budget to cut corners and make things feel a little under powered at times. There … Continue reading “The Mind of Mr Soames,” directed by Alan Cooke

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“Fugue for a Darkening Island”, by Christopher Priest

Novel, 1972 A hugely problematic book, where a story of survival and the destruction of the narrator’s family and way of life is set against a backdrop of racial unrest. This is a post-apocalyptic world in which cosy communities just don’t exist like they do in similar novels, and where Africans solely exist in barbaric, largely de-humanised militias, with a back story very quickly dropped … Continue reading “Fugue for a Darkening Island”, by Christopher Priest

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“Your Blue-Eyed Boy,” by Helen Dunmore

Novel, 1998 Hugely atmospheric and quite an unsettling book, with a protagonist and her family working through changes to their lives and situations and relocating from London to a marshy place on the coast. The arrival of a face from the past pushes numerous psychological buttons along the way, with the world built up by the first person narrator being chipped away. There’s unease and … Continue reading “Your Blue-Eyed Boy,” by Helen Dunmore

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“The Mayor of Casterbridge”, by Thomas Hardy

Novel, 1886 Epic family tale of love, loss and singular misfortunes of Henchard, one of the two mayors of Casterbridge featured in the book. There’s enough incident and plot for a few novels here, in a wonderfully vivid setting in which the machinery, old tools and cowardly police give notice to the emergence of a more modern world. The descriptions and omniscient analysis will be … Continue reading “The Mayor of Casterbridge”, by Thomas Hardy

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