From Screen to Page #3

Today I'm back with another From Screen to Page post! For any of you unfamiliar with these posts, From Screen to Page is a feature in which I recommend a piece of historical fiction I think people will like if they like whichever film I happen to be talking about. For example, in my very first post I recommended Maeve Haran's The Lady and the Poet to anyone who's a fan of Shakespeare in Love.

It's been a while since I last did one of these - check out #1 and #2! - and today I'm going to do something a little different: instead of recommending a book that's like a film, I'm going to recommend a book that's nothing like a film at all. Why? Because Grease is kind of awful.

*ducks*

... Is it safe to come out now?

Now when I say Grease is awful, I don't mean it's an awful musical. It's not my favourite - I like my musicals a bit more epic, like The Lion King and Les Mis - but there's no denying that it's a fun musical. People pop out of the womb already knowing all the words to pretty much every song, and because it's been a favourite for so many years, thanks to the 1978 film, it's the kind of story that entire families will sit down to watch together at Christmas. Kids love the songs, parents remember watching it when they were young, and grandparents can remember those unfortunate hairstyles.

There's actually a lot about the story that I like. I think Danny Zuko is quite a charming hero, struggling to maintain his reputation as the high school bad boy while also falling head over heels for a girl who doesn't quite fit into his circle of friends, and I love Rizzo who, in my opinion, is one of the most complex and interesting characters in the musical.

My biggest problem with the story is the way it treats Sandy. I'm all for coming of age stories, including coming of age stories set at high schools, but Sandy's story concludes with her being rewarded with her happy ending because she essentially changes everything about who she is. I'm not suggesting that because she smokes and puts on some leathers she's no longer the same kind, innocent girl, but there's something about a girl who changes that much for the sake of a boy that makes me sad. 

Grease is set in 1958, and Robin Talley's debut novel, Lies We Tell Ourselves, is set a year later in 1959, with a very, very different atmosphere.

While there are some similarities between Grease and Lies We Tell Ourselves in that they're both set at high school in the '50s, and both feature a love story between two people from very different social circles, they're not alike at all. Lies We Tell Ourselves tackles racism in the mid-20th century, and in particular how black students struggled when they were finally admitted to better, previously all-white schools.

It's one of those books that'll just hit you right where it hurts, because it's so difficult to think that human beings were treated in this way. It's even more difficult to think that many are still being treated in this way.

Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to be admitted to her previously all-white local high school, and the novel follows her as she battles racism on a daily basis and also tries to understand her sexuality. Everything becomes even more complicated when she meets and develops feelings for Linda Hairston, a white girl whose father is a huge bigot.

If you want to know my thoughts on the book then you can check out my review here. From what I've said I think you can gather that other than the '50s setting and vaguely Romeo and Juliet style romance there are practically no similarities between Grease and Lies We Tell Ourselves, but that's no bad thing. Lies We Tell Ourselves is the perfect story if you want to read a story set in the '50s that actually deals with issues from the '50s beyond who's taking who to the dance. It's a powerful debut from a much-needed voice in the world of YA, and one that challenges the fairly problematic way that Grease portrays the '50s, where's there's not a poc in sight and oh wasn't everything just smashing?

For me Lies We Tell Ourselves is like a version of Grease where Sandy falls in love with Rizzo, and the musical numbers are replaced by explorations of racism and sexuality. If that sounds more like the kind of story you want set in the '50s, then you need to pick up this book!

How do you feel about Grease?

From Screen to Page #2

I'm back today with another instalment of From Screen to Page! You can find the first post in this little series here.

In my experience, dramas with the BBC can be a bit of a hit or miss. The Tudors? Yes. The White Queen? No. The Crimson Field? Yes. Birdsong? No. You get the drift.

Thankfully, if you're into period or historical dramas, whether they're original scripts or an adaptation of a book, the BBC is one of the best places to turn to. I've lost count of the amount of books they've adapted at this point. This year alone they've adapted Poldark, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Partners in Crime, Lady Chatterley's Lover, The Go-Between, An Inspector Calls and Cider with Rosie, and will soon be broadcasting The Last Kingdom, an eight-part adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, and an adaptation of War and Peace this winter.

They're well-known for their 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and their 2008 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, and let's not forget their incredibly popular 2006 adaptation of Jane Eyre. On top of that there's all their original drama, like The Scandalous Lady W.

Basically, the BBC are no stranger to a period drama. In 2011, BBC Films produced The Awakening, an original British drama and ghost story. I love ghost stories, particularly haunted house stories, so I knew I was going to watch this. I didn't watch it straight away, I'll admit; I'm a bit of a wuss and, even though I love ghost stories, they do still give me the heebie jeebies, but then one summer it happened to be showing on the BBC, so I decided to sit down and watch it. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The film is set in 1921 and follows Florence Cathcart, an author whose fiancé was killed during the First World War and who now works with the police to expose supernatural hoaxes. She is visited by a teacher, Robert Mallory, who works at a boy's boarding school in Cumbria where a child has recently died. Everyone at the school believes that the building is haunted and that this haunting may have had something to do with the recent death, so Florence is hired to investigate.

If you haven't seen this film, I recommend checking it out. Perhaps I'm biased but I really enjoy British films and dramas, particularly ghost stories like this one, and it's an ideal watch for this time of year! I recommend curling up with a blanket and a hot chocolate. If you have seen this film and you'd like to experience more stories like this one, then there's a book you simply have to read.

The Little Stranger was first published in 2009 and is Sarah Waters' fifth novel. Sarah Waters is one of my favourite authors; she writes historical fiction set in the 19th and 20th centuries, and The Little Stranger is the only one of her six novels that doesn't have a queer female protagonist. Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, Fingersmith, The Night Watch and The Paying Guests all have LGBT* characters in the leading role.

You can check out my review of The Little Stranger here!

While The Awakening is a post-WW1 story, The Little Stranger is a post-WW2 story. Our protagonist is the middle-aged Dr Faraday, who finds himself becoming increasingly involved with Hundreds Hall, an old Edwardian house that is crumbling into ruin, and what remains of the aristocratic family who live there: the Ayreses.

Hundreds Hall is an eerie building, and the servants are convinced its haunted. What's wonderful about this story, though, is that it teases you - is there really a ghost, or are the Ayres family simply the unfortunate victims of mental illness and coincidence?

I adore this book. It's one of the best books I've read this year - I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I put it down - and if you enjoy atmospheric, 20th century ghost stories like The Awakening or The Others you simply have to check this one out. It'll creep under your skin and take root there, and with Halloween on the way could you really ask for anything more than that?

My Favourite Halloween Films!

Spooky season is upon us, that means it's time to cuddle up with a pumpkin latte and a cosy blanket and watch something spooky. Personally I'm a massive wuss; I've loved ghost stories since I was a little girl even though the good ones still give me the heebie jeebies, so I tend to stay away from the genuinely horrific films at Halloween. You'll never find me watching anything from the Saw franchise.

As a child who was raised on the Brothers Grimm, Tim Burton and Roald Dahl, though, there are a few films I just can't resist watching when October rolls around!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I watched this film religiously when I was younger, and with characters created by Tim Burton and direction from the glorious Henry Selick it's really no surprise. The great thing about this film is that it's as much a Christmas film as a Halloween film, which is perfect for someone like me who loves Christmas an extortionate amount, and it's so much fun. It has a lot of heart, too, and Jack Skellington remains probably Tim Burton's most famous creation. If you've never seen this film, what are you waiting for?

The Witches (1990)

And now for a film that scarred many of my childhood friends for life - I'm sorry to any of you who I invited home after school to watch this, because I remember it made one of my friends cry. Oops. I must have been a lot less of a wuss when I was younger than I am now because the witches in this film didn't bother me at all, though I did really hate the story of the girl who was trapped in the painting and aged and died there. This is another fun one, based on Roald Dahl's book, but unlike The Nightmare Before Christmas I wouldn't recommend watching this with any little children - they'll pee their pants.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Another film with witches, and another film I watched religiously; I can remember watching this with my sisters, which is funny considering there are three of us. Dun dun duuuuun... I'm so excited to watch Hocus Pocus this year because it's been quite a while since I last watched it, and I love it. It's funny and entertaining and such a perfect Halloween film. If you haven't watched it you're missing out on a fantastic performance from Bette Midler!

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

More Tim Burton, this time one of his many films with Johnny Depp. What would my formative years have been without these two? I would describe Sleepy Hollow as more of a gothic film than a horror film, but it's still the one film on this list I wouldn't recommend you watching with children unless said children are completely unfazed by spooky stories. It's not gratuitous in any way, but a lot of heads get lopped off throughout this film and there are a few jump scares, so younger children should probably stay away from this. I love Ichabod Crane in this movie, and Christina Ricci is a lovely Katrina van Tassel. This is a very fun film to watch with friends while you share some leftover Halloween sweets!

Coraline (2009)

Another book adaptation, and a pretty fantastic one at that! I'll be talking more about this film in a Book vs. Adaptation post this month, so look out for that. I love Coraline; it's another one of Henry Selick's films, so perhaps I was bound to love it, and the guy certainly knows how to make a good stop motion film. I'm hoping one day he might somehow realise my desire for a stop motion adaptation of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. This is another film that can be watched with children, but one that might creep some children out - the Other Mother is not a pleasant character!

I'll definitely be watching some of these this month! Which films do you like to watch as Halloween approaches?

Monthly Wrap-Up | March 2015

I'm trying out something a little different today! Since I started blogging I've pretty much always done reading wrap-ups at the end of each month to share what I read that month and what I thought of the things I read. I still want to do that, but then I thought I might broaden it out and just talk about my month in general in the hopes of making my wrap-ups a little more personal.

Not only that, but I took part in the blog hop What's Up Wednesday until last week when the lovely hosts Jaime and Erin decided it was time for them to wind it down. I enjoyed talking about my writing progress and other more personal stuff during that blog hop, and now that it's over I want to continue to talk about it and what better way to do that than in a big monthly wrap-up?

So now, as well as sharing with you what I read each month, I'm also going to talk about things I've watched, things I've done and anything else in between!

(I'm also going to choose a different colour each month, because there are so many pretty colours out there. I think March is a very green month.)

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (4.5 Stars)

Reviewed here!

The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin (4 Stars)

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (4.5 Stars)

The Great God Pan and Other Stories by Arthur Machen (3 Stars)

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (4 Stars)

Reviewed here!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (5 Stars)

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (5 Stars)

Reviewed here!

March ended up being a pretty good reading month for me. I'm glad that I've been able to consistently read, except for the odd couple of days, since my great reading start to the year in January. Signal to Noise was definitely the highlight of the month for me, and, alongside Rat Queens, has been my best read of the year so far. I absolutely loved it, and it's definitely earned itself a place on my favourite books list.

There are a few books I'm in the middle of I haven't gotten around to finishing yet, but I'm hoping to finish them in April!

Relic by Renee Collins

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

I'm much more likely to sit down and watch a film than I am to watch a TV show. There are some amazing TV shows out there, but I'm just really bad at watching TV; I have to work myself up to watching a new show because I really have to concentrate and I get bored very easily. If a show doesn't impress me within the first ten minutes then the likelihood is I'll turn it off. I'm very fussy.

I managed to watch quite a bit this month, though, including the entire first season of Penny Dreadful. Congratulations, Penny Dreadful, on keeping me interested for the entire season! I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with season 2. I think I'm a little bit in love with Ethan Chandler.

I also watched the first episode of 12 Monkeys and the first episode of Vikings, but neither of them left me feeling particularly interested. I'm much more likely to go back to Vikings, I've certainly heard amazing things about it as the series progresses, but I gave up on 12 Monkeys. I just thought it was rubbish.
Mockingjay: Part 1 is out on DVD! I treated myself to a copy and watched it for the first time since I saw it in the cinema, and I still like it. I know a lot of people really dislike Mockingjay, but I found the whole aspect of making propaganda and fighting a war with words - "moves and countermoves" - really interesting. I think Francis Lawrence is fantastic.

I also watched the film adaptation of If I Stay for the very time this month and really enjoyed it - I thought it was a really good adaptation. I didn't cry while reading the book, but the scene in the film between Mia and her grandfather in the hospital did make me tear up. Chloe Grace Moretz did a good job as Mia, too.

And on Sunday I went to see the new Cinderella film. I didn't love it - I didn't think it'd be possible for something to be too Disney, but this film was so twee I'm pretty sure I came out of it with diabetes. Or maybe that was just all the popcorn - but I did love the way it looked. The colours and the costumes were gorgeous; I want basically everything Cate Blanchett wore. Plus Richard Madden was a very adorable Prince; it was nice to see him fleshed out a little more, because so often the Prince in Cinderella is just a generic Prince Charming figure. Was he an entirely original character? No. Was he a cutie pie? Hell yes.

And it was nice to see him attend a wedding and live through it.

Saw some upcoming films that look pretty cool, too; there's one coming out about the Queen and her sister, the late Princess Margaret, in their youth who are allowed out for one night with a pair of chaperones. It looks like a lot of fun! There's also an upcoming adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd which looks lovely. I've never read it - I'm not the biggest fan of Thomas Hardy - but I would like to see that.

Pan also looks amazing, but I really don't want to see a film where Tiger Lily has been whitewashed.

Game of Thrones is back in April - I wonder who they're going to kill this time...

Work's starting to get a little busier - for any of you who don't know but are curious, I work at an independent publishers in Wales! - but I'd rather have plenty to do than nothing at all! I'm pretty much in charge of the blog now, and it's a lot of fun being able to write blog posts and get paid to do it, not to mention the fact that I'm also basically getting paid to use social media!

Last Friday I met up with a friend of mine who was on my MA course and who has recently moved down to South Wales. I've talked about this a little bit on my blog before - usually in my What's Up Wednesday posts - but I'm living back with my parents after finishing my MA in October until I'm more firmly on my feet. The only real problem is my parents live in South Wales, and all my friends live in the north of England. Needless to say, I've been pretty lonely since I moved back home, although I've met some great people through work.

I went round to her lovely new house and also met another friends of hers, who I'd actually already met, just not in person, because last year I did a little proofreading for her feminist Harry Potter magazine, Sonorus. Yes, this lady has a feminist Harry Potter magazine - and they're currently open for submissions!

We had a really fun evening involving pizza, dragons and Victorian lesbians. It was so nice to just be in the presence of one of my friends again, because I really miss them.

I may also be taking driving lessons again soon. I know what you're all probably thinking: 'you're 23 and you can't drive?' but the thought of getting behind the wheel of a car again terrifies me. I took lessons while I was in sixth form - I even took a driving test! - but unfortunately I failed, and then before I could take another one I was off to uni. Now I'm craving the independence that will come with being able to drive myself anywhere, but I'm still really scared. I have to stop letting fear hold me back, though.

Oh and, on a final note, my story 'Coffee Break' was published on Flash Fiction Magazine this month! Yay!

What did you get up to in March?

Announcing From Screen to Page!

Throughout the year I'm going to be continuing with my Classics & Contemporaries and Stories & Songs features, but 2015 is going to see the introduction of a new feature on my blog: From Screen to Page!

I know I mention it more than I probably need to, but those of you who've been following my blog for a while will know how much I love historical fiction. The thing is that love isn't limited to books; I love a good historical drama, too, whether it's a film or a TV drama.

In my experience people who don't like historical fiction will at least watch a historical drama, and a lot of those people will enjoy what they see. As a lover of historical fiction it's one of my aims to encourage more people to read it, especially people who feel intimidated by it or feel that they need to be a history expert to enjoy it, and that's exactly what From Screen to Page is for!

In each installment I'll pick a historical film or TV show and recommend a piece of historical fiction I think people who like that film/show would enjoy!

I'm really looking forward to adding this feature to my blog, and I hope you enjoy it whether you're a fan of historical fiction or not! 

Look out for the first installment of From Screen to Page next month!

Historical Film Recommendations!

On Monday I talked about some of my favourite historical/period dramas - you can find that post here! - so today I thought I'd recommend some of my favourite historical films.

There's a whole variety of films here, so whether you like serious dramas or something a little more adventurous there's something here for everyone!

The Mummy, dir. by Stephen Sommers (1999)

The Mummy is usually classed as an adventure film, or even a dark fantasy film, but given that the beginning of the film takes place in Ancient Egypt and the rest of the film takes place in the '20s it's also a historical film. I never get bored of this film, and I've watched it so many times that my disc is starting to skip because it's wearing out! It's fun and entertaining, and a great source of escapism. The 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns, is also a great film. We don't talk about the third one. Never.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, dir. by Gore Verbinski (2003)

Another fun one, and one that pretty much everyone in the world has seen. This, like The Mummy, is one of my all time favourite films and I love it. Jack Sparrow was my first ever character crush and he's held a special place in my heart ever since. This film put pirate stories back on the map.

Elizabeth, dir. by Shekhar Kapur (1998)

Here we have a more serious film, but it's well worth a watch. Elizabeth tells the story of the rise of Elizabeth I to the English monarchy and all the danger, lust and heartbreak that comes with it. Cate Blanchett is an enchanting Elizabeth. The 2007 sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, is worth checking out, too!

Braveheart, dir. by Mel Gibson (1995)

There are dozens and dozens of historical inaccuracies throughout Braveheart, so much so that one of the history professors at my university cringed at the mere mention of it, but it's still one of my favourite films of all time. It might not be a particularly accurate portrayal of William Wallace's life, but at its heart it's a story brimming with courage and empathy. And it doesn't hurt that I love every single costume Sophie Marceau wears.

Marie Antoinette, dir. by Sofia Coppola (2006)

I didn't actually get around to watching Marie Antoinette until the beginning of this year, and it's a shame I waited so long to watch it because I really enjoyed it! Like Pompeii, this film has a brilliant soundtrack for a completely different reason; the soundtrack is full of '80s new wave and post-punk music, but each song used, from Hong Kong Garden to I Want Candy, sums up Marie Antoinette perfectly. I recommend this film for sleepovers involving cake and face masks!

Which films do you love?