If ever a film had a recipe for success it's Where the Crawdads Sing. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, starring Daisy Edgar Jones (fresh from her breakout role in Normal People) and produced by Reese Witherspoon. To steal a sports analogy, it should have been a home run. Despite the star … Continue reading Where the Crawdads Sing review
With filming costs ever increasing, studios are looking for sure-fire projects to invest in. Adaptations provide the perfect conditions due to a combination of ready to go material and built in audiences. Yet, history shows adaptations are never as sure as they appear on paper. A successful adaption wins overs its build in audience, while … Continue reading Adaptations: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
We all love a good murder mystery... an Agatha Christie, a Val McDermid, an Arthur Conan Doyle. We've all read them and we've played at being an armchair detective and worked out who the murderer is, feeling both frustrated and excited by the twists which change the game and throw us off track. But what … Continue reading Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
Ever since the Second World War ended, 75 years ago, historians and commentators have pulled apart the Bombing War, examining it in exacting detail and passing their knowledge onto the general public through books, documentaries and podcasts. It’s reached the point where you’d think nothing new could be added to the conversation. Yet ‘new’ is … Continue reading Lancaster: The Forging of a Very British Legend by John Nichol
Every reader will tell you that there are books they liked, books they loved and books they couldn't escape... stories which got under their skin and stayed with them long after they turned the final page.
Diane Setterfield's Once Upon a River is one of those books.
Acting as inspiration for the highly acclaimed 1953 film of the same name, The Cruel Sea doesn’t hold it’s punches, drawing on author Nicholas Monsarrat’s own wartime experiences in the R.N.V.R (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) to depict one the most intense and ferocious battles of the Second World War; the Battle of the Atlantic. This … Continue reading The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
As it nears its 60th Anniversary, The Cheltenham Literature Festival is an event to be celebrated as it continues to attract a diverse range of authors to speak on a variety of topics ranging from the political to the Gothic, providing emerging authors with the opportunity to reach a new audience. Despite being an avid … Continue reading Adventures – Cheltenham Literature Festival
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