I was always interested in her career because I knew her from my days as a Beatle fan. In addition to acting, she has also been a kind of Martha Stewart personality, with cookbooks and suchlike published. One thing I admire her for especially is that of all the people associated with the Beatles, she is virtually the one who never wrote a memoir about those years. She doesn't speak of them in interviews so far as I know. There's something noble in her reticence.
The Greatness of British Actors/Actresses.
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I was always interested in her career because I knew her from my days as a Beatle fan. In addition to acting, she has also been a kind of Martha Stewart personality, with cookbooks and suchlike published. One thing I admire her for especially is that of all the people associated with the Beatles, she is virtually the one who never wrote a memoir about those years. She doesn't speak of them in interviews so far as I know. There's something noble in her reticence.
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Really? I had no idea of that about Rebecca. That is just so... cool. Yes, I agree, she is a wonderful character.
The funny thing is that Scott himself was quite scathing about his own heroes,; I forget what he said exactly, but I remember that included something along the lines of "insipid young men".
Really? I had no idea of that about Rebecca. That is just so... cool. Yes, I agree, she is a wonderful character.
The funny thing is that Scott himself was quite scathing about his own heroes,; I forget what he said exactly, but I remember that included something along the lines of "insipid young men".
Her name was Rebecca Gratz. She came from a well-to-do Jewish family in Philadelphia. She was a philanthropist who founded an orphan asylum, among other institutions. She apparently fell in love with a Gentile, but in those days inter-religious marriages were very difficult for both sides, and so she decided not to marry him. In fact, she never married but lived a life of service to others. The story goes that Washington Irving was a friend of the family and supposedly told Scott about her, and that Scott was inspired enough to use her as the basis for the character of Rebecca of York.
Yeah, Ivanhoe was almost the least interesting character in the book. He's even laid up for most of the book after getting wounded, so he's known to us mostly by reputation due to his past deeds. Scott thus violates the author's rule of "show, don't tell." We don't see Ivanhoe's prowess in battle until near the end of the book.
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Well, I must confess I'm a bit allergic to "show, don't tell" - and I'd argue that it is a "guideline" not "rule" anyway... Plus I don't know why he should be accused of breaking a rule - or guideline - not yet invented.
I saw an Amazon review ciritcising Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the Ninth" for not being "show, don't tell" and as a result obviously couldn't be any good. That was probably the nail in the coffin for me. I've decided that I don't care.
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Thanks to LRK and the BBC adaptation of Barchester Chronicles fo reminding me one of the best actor Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, and one of the best British (world) sitcom in the history of television:
Yes Minister, and also the sequel Yes, Prime Minister.
One of the most intelligent and funny sitcom I have ever seen. Pure genius, and Sir Nigel is absolutely PERFECT!
Yes Minister, and also the sequel Yes, Prime Minister.
One of the most intelligent and funny sitcom I have ever seen. Pure genius, and Sir Nigel is absolutely PERFECT!
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- Nov 13, 2012
Thanks to LRK and the BBC adaptation of Barchester Chronicles fo reminding me one of the best actor Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, and one of the best British (world) sitcom in the history of television:
Yes Minister, and also the sequel Yes, Prime Minister.
One of the most intelligent and funny sitcom I have ever seen. Pure genious, and Sir Nigel is absolutely PERFECT!
Oh, absolutely! I just adore it! It's so witty and clever... pure genius, just like you said.
Oh, and Nigel Hawthorne was also great in The Madness of King George - has anyone else here seen it? Brilliant.
Well, I must confess I'm a bit allergic to "show, don't tell" - and I'd argue that it is a "guideline" not "rule" anyway... Plus I don't know why he should be accused of breaking a rule - or guideline - not yet invented.
I saw an Amazon review ciritcising Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the Ninth" for not being "show, don't tell" and as a result obviously couldn't be any good. That was probably the nail in the coffin for me. I've decided that I don't care.
Yipes, really? Eagle of the Ninth? How can anyone find that book wanting, for any reason whatsoever? That is one gorgeous work, possibly my favorite Sutcliff. And she's one of my favorite authors to this day.
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I know. It was the first one of her's I read too - so it has a special place in my heart for that reason alone... It's so atmospheric, and I love the characters... it's just so alive, isn't it?
Tonight on a cable channel they showed a movie I always enjoy, Secondhand Lions, which costars Michael Caine, along with Robert Duvall and Haley Joel Osment (the boy from The Sixth Sense). This is a small-scale movie that casts a lovely spell every time I watch it. I suppose it's a coming-of-age story. A boy is dropped (by his negligent mother) on the doorstep of his two great-uncles, and they take him in. It's leisurely and low-key and eccentric, full of humorous, imaginative little touches. It's not sophisticated, but it's nicely knitted together and well paced. Like many Brits, Caine has a wonderful ear for American accents.
I love the movie, Duvall especially. His role is less significant than Caine but he made the character lovable.
Did we have Malcolm McDowell on our list yet? I found Clockwork Orange tonight while waiting for the World Cup game. He is so talented but creepy at the same time. Haven't seen it for more than a decade but it still gave me an unsettle feeling after for some reasons.
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2 others I've been wanting to mention: Richard Briers and Susan Hampshire, who were wonderful as Hector & Molly MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen. In the same series, Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame is also a hoot and a half as the MacDonalds' neighbor, Lord Kilwillie.
Oh, and also in MOTG, Alexander Morton as Gillie!
Oh, and also in MOTG, Alexander Morton as Gillie!
They just showed Shakespeare in Love on a cable channel. We talked about it earlier in this thread, and I was pleased to see that it holds up. It remains a wonderful "backstage" movie, full of the love of theater and of the creative process. I can see why it made such a splash when it came out, because it's got such a distinctive personality. I liked Joseph Fiennes as Will, and Rupert Everett even more as Marlowe. Gwyneth Paltrow was splendid. I know it's easy to laugh at her now; she seems pretentious and completely cushioned from the rest of humanity. But in this she was radiant, subtle, warm, everything that was needed. Her speaking voice is lovely, and her English accent is just right--not enough to sound affected but enough to make us believe. The ending, in which her journey with her new husband morphs into Viola's shipwreck at the start of Twelfth Night, is enchanted by the music. And the costumes! You could get lost in the silk and the brocade.
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I mentioned it... but not in a complimentary fashion. I'm afraid this is one point on which we are in disagreement, Olympia
- well, except for the costuming. Nice dresses. I mentioned it... but not in a complimentary fashion. I'm afraid this is one point on which we are in disagreement, Olympia
No worries! We will enjoy our shared regard for Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth and agree to disagree about this movie. By the way, have you read Sutcliff's Dawn Wind and Outcast?
ETA: And The Lantern Bearers. How could I forget that one!
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We enjoy a shared regard for a lot of things - so it is almost worthy of remark when we don't.
Oh, yes, read those! "Dawn Wind", "Outcast", "The Lantern Bearers"... Brilliant books. A few others as well - have you read "Warrior Scarlet"?
"The Armourer's House" is something as unusual - for her - as a book set in Tudor times - I've got it on my reading list (though rather far down, unfortunately... ), and that's one I'm quite curious about. Though she did "branch out" in historical periods on occasion. I've read "Simon" that was set in the English Civil War - I got that on interlibrary loan. It's sad that many of her books seem to be so hard to come by...
We enjoy a shared regard for a lot of things - so it is almost worthy of remark when we don't.
Oh, yes, read those! "Dawn Wind", "Outcast", "The Lantern Bearers"... Brilliant books. A few others as well - have you read "Warrior Scarlet"?
"The Armourer's House" is something as unusual - for her - as a book set in Tudor times - I've got it on my reading list (though rather far down, unfortunately... ), and that's one I'm quite curious about. Though she did "branch out" in historical periods on occasion. I've read "Simon" that was set in the English Civil War - I got that on interlibrary loan. It's sad that many of her books seem to be so hard to come by...
I haven't read Simon or The Armourer's House but did read Knight's Fee, which was set during the reign of I think William II (about 1120 or so?) She has said she didn't really feel comfortable in the later Medieval settings, but I found that book splendid. And yes, I loved Warrior Scarlet. I've read one of her adult books, Sword at Sunset, because I love Arthurian novels and besides, it's a continuation of The Lantern Bearers, which I love. However, I haven't read The Flowers of Adonis, which is set in ancient Greece and is about Alcibiades. Her writing is so rich and full of imagery, and her characters so compelling. Despite the fact that most of her books are supposedly for older children (what we call YA or Young Adult books in the U.S.), I'd give them to any adult reader in preference to a lot of the historical novels intended for the adult market. The writing quality and the sense of time and place are so superior, aren't they?
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