Bleak Expectations: The Story So Far
Mark Evans, Full Cast and Anthony Head
Book
The epic Victorian comedy includes all of Pip Bin's remarkable adventures as he battles his evil...
Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups
Book
There are few more precious routines than that of the bedtime story. So why do we discard this...
Rum: A Global History
Book
What did Charles Dickens savour in punch, Thomas Jefferson eat in omelettes, Queen Victoria sip in...
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) in Movies
Jan 26, 2020
Dev Patel stars as Copperfield, the star and narrator of the story which charts his personal rise from rags to riches during Victorian England. We begin though with Copperfield as an adult, recounting his life story to a small theatre audience as he steps into a painted backdrop behind him on stage, transporting him, and us, to the location of his birth. He enters the family home and continues to narrate from within the scene as his mother struggles with labour. It’s just one of a variety of wonderfully inventive storytelling devices that the movie employs throughout.
While the chaos of childbirth plays out, the first in a long line of star-studded supporting characters arrives, David’s eccentric Aunt Betsey (Tilda Swinton), and we immediately get a glimpse of the kind of humour Iannucci has brought to the story as she sets about upsetting Peggotty, the family housekeeper, and declares that the baby will definitely be a girl.
From there, the storyline is fast paced, weaving between locations as David grows up - from an overturned boat house in Yarmouth, to the chaos of London and the difficulties of working in a bottle factory, and on to the Kent countryside. Along the way we meet yet more big names, including Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Laurie, Paul Whitehouse and Benedict Wong. Not to mention countless other recognisable faces.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is a real mixing pot of beautiful visuals, quirky humour and larger than life characters. Realism has been ditched in order to deliver a whimsical tale that is accessible to all ages. Unfortunately though, it just didn’t work for me. Aside from the opening scenes, and the occasional moment later on, the humour didn’t land at all. In fact, I got more laughs from the incredible movie Parasite that I saw just the night before seeing this.
Dev Patel, always impressive and enjoyable in everything he does, is charming as David Copperfield and is definitely the standout. Benedict Wong and Hugh Laurie were both enjoyable, but I felt the others all suffered from a script that just wasn’t strong enough. A beautifully shot movie, bold and bright and vibrant, but instantly forgettable.
The Canterville Ghost (Oscar Wilde) Immersive Book
Book, Education and Stickers
App
Reader, in your eager and clasping hands, you hold one of Oscar Wilde's most cherished works: The...
The Writer's Garden: How Gardens Inspired Our Best-Loved Authors
Book
Great things happen in gardens. No one can doubt the importance of the garden in Roald Dahl's life...
Blood on the Stage, 1800 to 1900: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem
Book
The history of theater is rife with tales of crime, suspense, and murder. The nineteenth century was...
ClareR (5721 KP) rated Afraid of the Christmas Lights in Books
Dec 1, 2020
Most of the stories are set around Christmas with only a couple of exceptions. That didn’t cause me to like them any less though. The real standouts for me (if I absolutely HAVE to choose!) were: Phoebe Morgan’s Unexpected Present - the gift wrapped so nicely in expensive M&S paper being the main protagonists husband; The Switch by James Delargy had a Stephen King vibe to it (and I should add that it wasn’t because of The Green Mile!); Fresh Meat by Elle Croft gives new meaning to a raw meat diet for your cat; and The Vigilante by Clare Empson was a sad story of a Charles Dickens look-a-like who tries to save victims of crime in the dead of night.
If you need an excuse to buy this, then the proceeds go to ESDAS and Rights of Women, both domestic abuse charities.
Many thanks to The PIgeonhole for serialising this book, and to the authors who joined in. As always, it was a great experience!!
Hamlet: Text of the Play, the Actors' Gallery, Contexts, Criticism, Afterlives, Resources
William Shakespeare and Robert S. Miola
8.0
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Book
This Norton Critical Edition of Hamlet features a newly edited text based on the Second Quarto...
Olivia Twist
6.0
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Book
Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving...