Book-Writers

Dr Hudson

Now, I know this is stretching a point rather, but as this is a book blog I thought I might write about book-writers. Not the writers of books we read in English lessons, though; the book-writers I have in mind are writers less well-known than the other writers with whom they work, the writers of the music and the writers of the lyrics.

Yes, I’m talking about scripts for musicals, known as libretti to the cognoscenti and to the rest of us as the ‘books’.

You may know, for instance (although you may not) that the music and lyrics for Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street were written by the great Stephen Sondheim but did you know that the book for the former was written by James Lapine and the latter by Hugh Wheeler? And did you know that Sondheim regularly says in interview that first and foremost in the composition of a good show is the book?

Book of the Week

Havisham by Ronald Frame 
Reviewed by Dr J Hudson 

Have you read Great Expectations? If you haven’t, you should. In fact, I would go so far as to say, you must. A fellow English teacher who has since joined the priesthood once remarked to me that every boy deserves to read Great Expectations, and I agree.

Our culture is informed by Charles Dickens’s monumental work: the New-Zealand writer Lloyd Jones uses it significantly in his Mr Pip; Australian novelist Peter Carey writes about one of its characters; the poet laureate has a poem about another; there is at least one opera inspired by it. Indeed, this review is arguably more about that great book than it is about this back-story piece by prize-winning novelist and dramatist, Ronald Frame.

Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!

Next Monday, April 23rd, it will be 454 years since the birth of William Shakespeare.

Although we don't know for certain when Shakespeare was born, records of his baptism on 26th April, 1564 survive, and so a birth-date slightly earlier doesn't seem implausible, even if it may have originated in a clerical error which confused the writer's date of death - 23rd April - with his date of birth. The convenient coincidence that April 23rd is also St George's Day seems to have strengthened the tradition, so England can celebrate its greatest playwright and its patron saint simultaneously.

In today's blog post, Theo Mahon explains why he thinks Shakespeare is still an important writer for today's world.

Book of the Week

The Martian by Andy Weir 
Recommended by Aidan Lim

Becoming an astronaut is every child’s dream. In the future, NASA launch a mission to explore the mysteries of our neighbouring planet, Mars.

After months of intense testing, Mark Watney, a botanist from Chicago, is chosen as part of the Ares 3 expedition to explore possibilities of life upon Mars. Luck is not on his side, however, as he ends up stranded on the planet with no way of contacting Earth. He has limited supplies, fragile equipment and no way of letting everyone know he’s still alive.

This book is full of suspense and surprises, with danger and death at every turn. Rescuing a single man 55 million kilometres away has never happened before, and this book shows that strength and determination are key in achieving the impossible. I would recommend this book to fans of science fiction and those with an interest in the ‘red planet’. It is a gripping thriller, while also being emotional and extremely witty.