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ClareR (5911 KP) rated The Lady of the Ravens in Books
Jan 7, 2020
The Lady of the Ravens is based on the real historical character of Joan Vaux. I find historical fiction fascinating, especially those books which have a foot firmly placed in what was the real world.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Sapphire and Steel in TV
Apr 2, 2020
It would be easy to mark Sapphire and Steel down just for being so obviously a low-budget, studio-bound TV show, but this would be to overlook just what a startlingly distinctive and uncompromising piece of... well, entertainment doesn't quite cover it, for the programme seemingly sets out to baffle the viewer as well as divert them. It is notionally a fantasy, but elements of SF and horror also appear. Stories mostly take place in out-of-the-way places like remote cottages, junk shops, the tops of tower blocks, disused railway stations and so on. The structure of time seems to be weaker in these places and when it breaks down or is interfered with, operatives such as Sapphire and Steel and their occasional colleagues appear to resolve the situation.
This is pretty much all we are told about the format of the series - who and what Sapphire and Steel are, what the limits of their powers are, and who they answer to, is never made clear (even the nature of their mission seems to change from story to story). The cryptic, often surreal nature of the series is one of its main attractions, along with the chemistry between the stars (occasional ally Silver, played by David Collings, is also a joy to watch).
The bleak and eerie atmosphere of the stories is consistently impressive, as is the clear understanding of visual style possessed by the makers: stories are filled with startling images and symbols, occasionally drawn from the visual arts (one adversary is basically a Magritte painting brought to life). Always memorable, and never more so than in its final episodes: the sheer unexpected bizarreness of Sapphire and Steel's fate makes it all the more shocking and downbeat. A unique and very distinctive series.
This is pretty much all we are told about the format of the series - who and what Sapphire and Steel are, what the limits of their powers are, and who they answer to, is never made clear (even the nature of their mission seems to change from story to story). The cryptic, often surreal nature of the series is one of its main attractions, along with the chemistry between the stars (occasional ally Silver, played by David Collings, is also a joy to watch).
The bleak and eerie atmosphere of the stories is consistently impressive, as is the clear understanding of visual style possessed by the makers: stories are filled with startling images and symbols, occasionally drawn from the visual arts (one adversary is basically a Magritte painting brought to life). Always memorable, and never more so than in its final episodes: the sheer unexpected bizarreness of Sapphire and Steel's fate makes it all the more shocking and downbeat. A unique and very distinctive series.
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Tower of London (1962) in Movies
Dec 20, 2020
Haunted Memories
Did you know that Vincent Price appeared in the 1939 version of "Tower of London" with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone. I thought that was intresting. Anyways this version adds the horror element to it mixed with historical drama and it does a good job. The drama added with the horror combines well.
The plot: In 15th-century England, Richard III (Vincent Price) desperately wants the throne, but his ailing brother, King Edward IV (Justice Watson), instead bestows it upon his other sibling, Clarence (Richard McCauly). This sends Richard into a homicidal rage, resulting in Clarence's murder and the deaths and torture of many others who could keep the crown from the crazed man. But as the mayhem continues, Richard's sanity slips, and the ghosts of the murdered men begin to haunt the beleaguered royal.
Aside from the historical setting, the movie is not connected to the 1939 film of the same name, starring Price, Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff.
The movie was meant to be the first of a three-picture contract between Corman and Small. Corman later called the movie:
"The most foolish thing I’ve ever filmed. Every night he [Small] would come to see me or call me. The script was changed, reworked without my consent. Lots of strange things were happening all the time, and finally I asked him to tear up our contract. He realized he wouldn’t get anything worthwhile out of me and tore it up. I have nothing against Eddie Small. He’s an old man who had lots of success during the thirties, and who doesn’t know that times have changed".
I thought it was a really good film.
The plot: In 15th-century England, Richard III (Vincent Price) desperately wants the throne, but his ailing brother, King Edward IV (Justice Watson), instead bestows it upon his other sibling, Clarence (Richard McCauly). This sends Richard into a homicidal rage, resulting in Clarence's murder and the deaths and torture of many others who could keep the crown from the crazed man. But as the mayhem continues, Richard's sanity slips, and the ghosts of the murdered men begin to haunt the beleaguered royal.
Aside from the historical setting, the movie is not connected to the 1939 film of the same name, starring Price, Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff.
The movie was meant to be the first of a three-picture contract between Corman and Small. Corman later called the movie:
"The most foolish thing I’ve ever filmed. Every night he [Small] would come to see me or call me. The script was changed, reworked without my consent. Lots of strange things were happening all the time, and finally I asked him to tear up our contract. He realized he wouldn’t get anything worthwhile out of me and tore it up. I have nothing against Eddie Small. He’s an old man who had lots of success during the thirties, and who doesn’t know that times have changed".
I thought it was a really good film.