From Screen to Page #1

Welcome to the very first instalment of From Screen to Page! If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about you can find my announcement for this little series here. This series was supposed to start back in February, and then it just sort of... didn't. Oops!

When it comes to historical films most people who aren't big fans of history or historical fiction have usually seen Shakespeare In Love. In many ways it's a rom-com with costumes, and with a cast like that it's no surprise that so many people enjoy watching it.

For any of you who haven't seen the film, Shakespeare In Love tells the story of, you guessed it, Shakespeare and his fictional affair with a young woman named Viola de Lesseps who longs to be an actress in a time when women were not allowed to perform on the stage. In true Shakespearean fashion, she disguises herself as a man so that she can perform and becomes Shakespeare's most convincing Juliet, as well as the inspiration for Viola in Twelfth Night.

In terms of period films it's not one of my favourites - I'm not a big fan of any films or books in which Shakespeare himself is a character, I'm not entirely sure why - but it is a pretty good film. If you're a fan of the film, there's a book I think you just might like!



Maeve Haran's The Lady and the Poet isn't entirely unlike Shakespeare In Love. There are three big differences: firstly, the writer in question is John Donne, not Shakespeare; secondly, our leading lady, Anne More, was real as was her relationship with Donne; and thirdly, The Lady and the Poet is a little more serious than Shakespeare In Love.

At their heart, however, both of them tell the story of an Early Modern writer and his great love. Donne is most famous for his rather saucy poetry - his most famous poem is 'The Flea' - and he lived a very dramatic life. He was a Catholic during the reign of Elizabeth I, and while we might argue that the Catholics were safer under Elizabeth than the Protestants were under Mary, they were never really 'safe'.

He was appointed chief secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and subsequently fell in love with his niece, Anne. They married against the wishes of Egerton and Anne's father George More, who just so happened to be the lieutenant of the Tower. Oh dear...

The marriage ruined his career and landed him in Fleet Prison, but thankfully he was only there a short time when his marriage to Anne was proven valid. It was during this time he wrote the famous words: John Donne. Anne Donne. Un-done.

Clearly their marriage was a passionate one, as during sixteen years of marriage Anne bore John twelve children. Twelve. Anne died five days after the still-birth of their twelfth child, and John mourned her deeply, writing his 17th Holy Sonnet:

Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt
To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her soul early into heaven ravishèd,
Wholly on heavenly things my mind is set.
Here the admiring her my mind did whet
To seek thee, God; so streams do show the head;
But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed,
A holy thirsty dropsy melts me yet.
But why should I beg more love, whenas thou
Dost woo my soul, for hers offering all thine:
And dost not only fear lest I allow
My love to saints and angels, things divine,
But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt
Lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out.

Even if you're not inclined to read The Lady and the Poet, there's no denying that the true story that inspired it is just as romantic as anything penned by Shakespeare. Perhaps even more so.

So if you like Shakespeare In Love, why not check out The Lady and the Poet?

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!

Period/Historical Drama Recommendations!

It probably comes as no surprise that, considering I love historical fiction so much, I'm partial to a good old historical/period drama show, too. If you're in the mood for one such show, here are some of my recommendations!

Okay, now before those of you who love your historical accuracy flee in disgust, please hear me out! Like you I had no interest in watching The Tudors when it first came out. I love my Tudor history, but pretty much every adaptation of their lives (aside from the Elizabeth films starring the stunning Cate Blanchett) have been a huge disappointment. I turned on an episode of The Tudors when it was on TV and was immediately met with a sex scene in the woods, between who I would later discover were Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I decided then and there that I wasn't interested in watching a show that was just about bodice-ripping and hanky panky and turned it back off. Then one of my friends introduced it to me in university and convinced me to give it another try, and I'm so glad I did - now it's one of my favourite shows!

Now I'm not going to sit here and say that this is the most historically accurate show on TV - although in its defense it put a lot more effort into being historically accurate than most other Tudor adaptations I've seen! - but what The Tudors has done that I appreciate and adore is humanise Henry VIII and all six of his wives. All of his wives, from Katherine of Aragon to Catherine Parr, are given likable and dislikable qualities, and I love all of them, grow frustrated with all of them, for completely different reasons. The Tudors is one of the few shows I've watched that has made an effort to remind its audience that Henry and his wives were real people and not just portraits.

Yes there's a lot of hanky panky - but unlike shows like Game of Thrones all of the sex scenes, apart from one which isn't graphic and is included because it is an event that is believed to have happened, are consensual - and there are a lot of pretty dresses and shaven legs and gorgeous men, but I don't care! I really like this show, and I recommend it to any history lover out there who's been hesitant to give it a try!

I discovered The Bletchley Circle fairly recently, in fact I'm still in the middle of watching it, but as soon as I realised it was a show about a group of women who broke codes during the war and were now using their skills to fight crime and the patriarchy I knew I had to watch it. Then, luckily for me, it was showing on TV again!

The first series follows Susan Gray, a code breaker during the War, who is certain there is a pattern to the killings and that she can use it to catch the killer, if only the police and her husband would listen to her. Frustrated, she contacts three women with whom she worked at Bletchley Park, and the four of them work together to solve the murders.

It's so good. Just watch it.

If I say to you: Richard Armitage. Richard Armitage in 19th century clothes. Richard Armitage in a top hat. Surely that's all I need to say to get you to watch the BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South?

This show was introduced to me by the same friend who introduced me to The Tudors, so we can blame her for me wanting to marry Richard Armitage. North and South is a very simple story, and yet it's enthralling; it follows Margaret Hale who must move from the South of England to the North when her father decides to leave the clergy and takes up a position as a teacher. The cold, dark, industrial North is very different to the idyllic South that Margaret is accustomed to, and she can't stand John Thornton, the owner of a cotton mill and one of her father's pupils.

When the workers begin to strike Thornton shows his true colours as a man who wants what's best for his family and those who work for him, and Margaret begins to see him in a different light.

At its heart North and South is a love story, but even if love stories aren't to your taste I still recommend this little serial - it's gorgeous!

Earlier this year the BBC brought another brilliant drama to our TV screens in the form of The Crimson Field, a show which follows the lives of four voluntary nurses, and the rest of the military hospital, during The First World War.

Each of the six episodes of the series explores a number of themes, from the early treatment of shellshock to the punishment of deserters, and they do so in a respectful, touching way. Sadly the BBC has chosen not to renew the series which is incredibly frustrating, not only because it is a fantastic show that deserves screen time, but also because there are many questions that have been left unanswered.

That being said the first series doesn't end on a huge question mark, so even though the show has been discontinued the first series is still worth a watch!

The Borgias is much more similar to The Tudors - it's raunchier and more violent, and oddly addictive. When I first watched the show it took me a couple of episodes to get into it - the first episode in particular I think is a little boring; when I first watched it I was convinced I wasn't going to like the show - but by episode three I was hooked, and I marathoned the rest of the first series in the space of a few days.

What really gives this show its wow factor is the cast; I love Jeremy Irons, and he's a brilliant Roderigo, but the two actors who really sell the show to me are Holliday Grainger and François Arnaud, who play Lucrezia and Cesare respectively. Their scenes together are mesmerising, and I definitely recommend checking this show out if you haven't already!

What have you been watching recently?

Spring TV Wrap-Up!

Today I'm going to do something a little different and talk about some of the shows I've been watching recently. I don't consider myself a TV buff at all - I tend to read more books than watch shows, and I'm envious of people who can dedicate their time to so many different shows and keep on top of all the characters and plotlines.

What I tend to do when it comes to TV is wait until a series is finished - either entirely, so that I have a few/several seasons to watch, or just the first season so I can get a taste for it and see what I think - and then watch it, rather than watch it as soon as it comes out. I'm lazy when it comes to TV, and it's really easy for me to grow disinterested; a show has to be really good to keep me waiting for a new installment each week, so I prefer being able to marathon an entire season over the course of a few days.

So far this spring I've finished four shows: Channel 4's New Worlds; BBC's The Crimson Field; Hannibal Season Two and Orphan Black Season One.

Let's get the worst over with first, shall we?

I decided to watch New Worlds after I saw a trailer for it advertised at my campus cinema and realised it would be on TV when I went home for Easter in April. From the trailer it looked like it was going to be pretty epic.

As you might have guessed from my love of historical fiction, one of my favourite things to watch on TV is a good historical drama, and I particularly love anything set in the 16th or 17th centuries. New Worlds is set during the reign of Charles II and takes place both in England, where the English are growing tired of Charles's tyranny, and across the ocean in Massachusetts, where the colonisers are trying to break away from English rule while also fighting against the Natives for their land.

What I thought was going to be the first season of a long series turned out to be a Mills and Boon-esque four part mini-series, with terrible character development and a plot which fell flat despite having so much potential. This show was a real disappointment and I really wouldn't recommend checking it out.

Thankfully I had three other shows over Easter to keep me going: Hannibal, The Crimson Field and Game of Thrones - I won't be talking about Game of Thrones here because season four hasn't finished yet!

Luckily for me where Channel 4 failed the BBC stepped up. This year marks one hundred years since the start of WW1, so over Easter the BBC broadcast a six-part drama, The Crimson Field, which follows a group of women who travel to France to work as volunteer nurses.

I really enjoyed this show, so much so that I'm hoping there's going to be more of it in future! Despite only being six episodes long, it used those episodes wisely to include as many stories - from the early management of shell shock to the punishment of deserters - and as much character development as possible without making the show feel crowded. 

I'd definitely recommend it, whether you're a fan of historical dramas or not!

Last week saw the finale of the second season of Hannibal; a show that has become one of my all time favourite dramas on television since its premier last year. Following the first season's amazing finale, the second season follows Will Graham's pursuit for justice by any means necessary - even if that means teaming up with the very man who incriminated him in the first place...

My love for this show knows no bounds. Not only is it a brilliant reimagining of Thomas Harris's stories, with both male and female three-dimensional characters, it's also visually stunning. Even if you've never read the books or seen the films, everyone is aware of Hannibal Lecter, and despite the fact that the show deals with something as brutal as murder and cannibalism it's still a piece of art in its own right.

The end of the second season was just as shocking as the end of the first, and I can't wait for season three! If you haven't checked this show out then I highly, highly recommend it, though the second season in particular might not be an enjoyable watch for the squeamish.

Hannibal came to an end the same weekend in which there wasn't a new Game of Thrones episode, so to stop myself from pining too much I decided to pick up where I left off when I started watching Orphan Black some time last year.

I watched the first two episodes of the first season last year, and even though I liked what I watched I didn't love it enough to continue watching it. The past couple of weeks, however, I've been seeing it all over Tumblr, so I decided to give it a try and I ended up marathoning the rest of the first season - from episode three to episode ten - in the space of about three days!

The show follows Sarah Manning, a con artist whose life is turned upside down after she witnesses the suicide of a woman who looks exactly like her.

I enjoyed this show so much more the second time around; Tatiana Maslany is an amazing actress and I loved the story. I'm a big fan of stories which feature any form of science vs. religion, and as someone who's just starting to get into sci-fi this show was perfect for me. I'm not quite ready for alien races and spaceships, but a sci-fi thriller I can handle.

One day I'll be ready for space. One day.

I haven't started watching the second season of Orphan Black yet but I will be soon, and I'm hoping to continue watching American Horror Story: Coven, another show I watched the first two episodes of and have enjoyed so far. I'm rather picky when it comes to shows involving witches, somehow they always end up cheesier than I'd like, but so far AHS isn't shying away from the darker side of witchcraft, and I love that.

As far as other shows go I'm also planning on sating my lust for historical dramas by finally watching Vikings and Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Ever since I went to see Pompeii a couple of weeks ago I've been craving something else gladiatorial and I've heard great things about Spartacus - I love a good rebellion story.

I'll be back with another TV wrap-up in the summer!

What have you been watching recently?