Hamnet

The works of the playwright, William Shakespeare, have played an important part in English literature since the sixteenth century. Increasingly other works have been written based on his plays and poetry and also about his life - though little information about his life actually exists. There have also been numerous television programs, such as Upstart Crow, based on Shespeare as playwright and relations with his family. A recent film, All is True, also looked at the latter years of Shakepeare's life.

In this work of historical fiction, Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell tells the story of Shakespeare's family in Stratford-upon-Avon. The main character is Agnes (Anne) who marries the future bard when he is helping his father with his glovemaking business and teaching Latin to village school boys. It is obvious that William's mind is not on either of these jobs. When William and Agnes marry they live in a small building attached to his parents' house. Their lives are therefore intertwined with ther members of William's family, particularly his father who is definitely not easy to live with.

Eventually William goes to London to find suppliers for selling his father's gloves but while there becomes involved with the theatre as an actor and a writer and producer of plays. Meanwhile, back in Stratford-upon-Avon, Agnes looks after the three children - Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Judith was born a sickly child and Agnes did not want to risk taking her to London to live. From time to time the father visits his family but he is needed in London to supervise the productions that he has written. 

In 1596 the plague returns to London and the theatres are closed. The theatre companies therefore take the opportunity to tour their plays in nearby counties. Meanwhile the plague also comes to Shakespeare's house with tragic consequences. The rest of the novel explores the reactions of family members, particularly the parents, to the loss of a child.

This is a moving novel which provides interesting background as to what life may have been like at the end of sixteenth century England. The novel has now become the basis of a play performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Safe House

Emily Proudman's life was a mess. The London out-of-work actress had been filling in time temping but then she lost that job too. She had no spare money and is about to be homeless unless she can convince her parents to allow her to return home - just for a little while. Then her former boss, Scott Denny, offers her a job acting as housekeeper and odd-job person at his luxury estate in the south of France where she would be assisting his wife, Nina, and his daughter Aurelia.

Eventually Emily decides that she has no choice but to accept Scott's offer and finds herself living in a beautiful secluded property near the beach. She has her own living quarters and there is a pool. After meeting Scott's wife and daughter Emily feels that the arrangement might work - at least she will give it a try. Then Emily begins to notice things that she cannot explain and gradually becomes uneasy about her new environment, especially her relationship with Nina.

The story is told from the point of view of Emily and Scott and we gradually learn part of the back story as told by a third voice. Emily becomes aware that something sinister has occurred and that she must escape to save her life. At times during the book we learn a little about events that occurred when Emily and Nina were younger that may impact on current actions and relationships.

The author, Anna Downes, is English but now lives with her family in Australia. This is her first novel.

Fair Warning

Jack McEvoy is a journalist, working on the digital publication, Fair Warning. Returning home one evening he is approached by police who inform him that someone he once met has been murdered. They request his DNA. Needless to say Jack decides to investigate the story and discovers that this is not an isolated murder. He also discovers the link between all the murder victims - they have all had DNA tests with the firm GT23.

In this crime novel, Michael Connelly focuses on the challenges of investigative reporting in the twenty-first century and questions the possible misuse of DNA information if it falls into the wrong hands. He also delves into the dark web. As McEvoy attempts to write his story and solve the crime he is assisted by Emily Atwater, a fellow journalist, and Rachel Walling, a former member of the police force with whom he has worked on other cases.

Fair Warning is a tightly written, exciting  crime novel that I really enjoyed reading. I will now need to look for other works by Connelly, particularly The Poet and The Scarecrow which also feature Jack McEnvoy.

A Room Made of Leaves

This novel by Kate Grenville is based on the life of Elizabeth Macarthur who arrived in Australia with her husband in 1790. She was the first free woman to settle in this remote colony on the other side of the world from her home in Devon, England. 

We know a lot about John Macarthur but not a great deal is known about his wife although she played an important part in the history of the new settlement. 

Elizabeth wrote a partial record of the trip to Australia and some correspondence sent home to family and friends has also survived. But does this provide a true picture of Elizabeth's life in Australia, especially as she knew that whatever she wrote would be read by her husband and circulated among family members and their friends? This could make it difficult to express her true feelings.

Kate Grenville has created the device that before she died Elizabeth wrote a full record of her life, telling the story as it really was. The record was lost but recently discovered by the author and presented in this book. However in the novel Elizabeth warns the reader - Do not believe too quickly! Quotations from Elizabeth's actual letters are provided in the book, often accompanied by comments from the fictional Elizabeth expressing the hope that the content of the letters should not be taken at face value.

The novel covers Elizabeth's early life, the event that led to her marrying John Macarthur and the decision to travel to Australia to improve his prospects and to make his fortune. It then recounts events that may have occurred during their first thirteen years in the colony. No secret is made of the fact that John Macarthur was not a pleasant man but, having married him, Elizabeth makes the best of a bad situation. It is when they obtain land for a farm that she has the opportunity to do something that she really enjoys, overseeing the development of the family's flock of sheep.

The novel creates a picture of what life in the colony may have been like for a woman like Elizabeth, the challenges faced with a young family and the loneliness. There was also the issue of having to try and pacify a husband who was prone to cause fights with his aquaintances.

The relationship between the indigenous population and the new settlers is also a feature of the novel.

Kate Grenville has written a number of novels set in the colony of New South Wales and, as well as providing a good story, they help provide a picture of what it may have been like living in the colony during that time. Readers may also like to investigate some of the actual events featuring in the novel.

I also had a family history interest in reading this novel. The historical record shows that after the period covered in this book there were a number of instances where John Macarthur expressed his view about one of my ancestors, an emancipist who had become successful in the colony.

Winner of the 2021 Christina Stead Prize for fiction in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards

Elizabeth Macarthur - Australian Dictionary of Biography

John Macarthur - Australian Dictionary of Biography

COVID-19 Musings - Special occasions

Special occasions is the eighth prompt in the State Library of Victoria #SLVMemoryBank project. Since March our family has had to be inventive in order to celebrate special occasions.

The last family gathering when we were all able to meet together was the day before lockdown officially started when our three children with their families met at our home for afternoon tea to celebrate my husband's birthday.

From the following day family visits were not allowed.

There are seven family birthdays in April and five in July so celebrating these occasions in 2020 has been a little different from in previous years. For some birthdays sending a message via Facebook served the purpose and let people know that we had not forgotten them. For other birthdays for members of immediate family we had to be a little more inventive.

Three grandchildren had birthdays in April so a time was organised for family members to connect at a specified time via computer. This at least provided the opportunity for all the family to sing happy birthday and to watch the birthday girl or boy blow out candles on their cake. The children also enjoyed interacting with each other online.

The major event that we missed in April was my mother's birthday. As her birthday is on Anzac Day members of the immediate family always remember the occasion and we try to spend time with Mum on that day. This year, however, it was not possible but Mum received lots of cards plus telephone calls from family members wishing her a happy birthday. Staff at the home where she lives signed a card for her and there was a special cake for her birthday. A photo was taken and circulated to family members.

Restrictions were again in place in July so once again we had to rely on the computer to convey messages. On my birthday I also received a number of cards in the mail from family and friends including cards made by two of my grandchildren.

Although first preference would have been for family members to be together to celebrate birthdays, in 2020 it has still been possible to celebrate these days, but in a different way.

The Jane Austen Society

In her book, Why Women Read Fiction, Helen Taylor includes a chapter about two books - Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre - that constantly appear as favourute books when women are quizzed about their reading. In the chapter she discusses the legacy of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, the enduring appeal of their work, reinterpretations and sequels of the novels, adaptions in other media plus the drawing power of locations associated with the authors.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner is one of the many novels that involve a connection to the work of English author, Jane Austen, as a key focus of the plot. This novel begins before the Second World War but mainly concentrates on the years immediately after the war.

The village of Chawton is the location for the book and the story concerns a group of residents who band together to try and protect the cottage which was once the home of the author. Love of the novels of Jane Austen is the link that brings together the initial eight members of the Jane Austen Society.  As the story develops we learn of the private problems and challenges individually faced by the characters but the friendships developed as they pursue their goal help them to readjust to life after the war.

There are frequent discussions about Jane Austen's novels including drawing parallels as to how the characters in the books might react to situations faced by the characters in the story. Discussions about favourite books and characters made me want to reread the Jane Austen novels. This book provides an enjoyable reading experience for the many people who enjoy reading the novels of Jane Austen.

This is a work of fiction and notes at the end of the book provide information about the actual establishment of the Jane Austen Society.

Jane Austen Society of the United Kingdom

There are Jane Austen Societies throughout the world including The Jane Austen Society of Australia and The Jane Austen Society of Melbourne.

Girl

Irish author, Edna O'Brien, has been witing for more than sixty years. Her latest novel, Girl, has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black award for a book published in 2019.

This is the story of Maryam, a young girl who with her classmates is abducted from the village school by members of the Boko Haram. The men had been looking for boys to turn into soldiers but when they only found girls the plans changed and the young students were taken as sex slaves.

Graphic descriptions are provided of the life of these young girls who were regularly raped and mistreated. Then Maryam married one of the soldiers and had a child. When the village was attacked one night Maryam escaped with the baby but her challenges were only beginning. She and another student, Buki, struggled to remain alive as they sought safety, but who can they trust? When Mayam was eventually reunited with her family she discovered that her problems were not over.

This is a moving story of the plight of many young women in Nigeria, persecuted because of religious rivalries and the strict structures in society which females are expected to adhere to. It is a story that needed to be told and is told well.

The novel was inspired after the abduction of a group of school girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram in 2014. In notes at the end of the book, the author writes briefly of research undertaken before writing the novel.

Girl by Edna O'Brien review - a masterclass of storytelling -  The Guardian 6 September 2019

276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram six years ago - where are they now? - National Geographic March 2020.

Travellers

Travellers by American author, Helon Habila, has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black prize awarded for a book published in 2019.

The novel recounts experiences of those attempting to migrate to Europe from Africa.

The unnamed male protagonist, originally from Nigeria, spends time in Berlin while his African American wife completes an art asignment. He is meant to be completing his thesis but increasingly becomes involved in meeting and listening to the stories of other Africans attempting to make a new life in Europe.

We therefore learn not only of the danger and challenges of making the trip from Africa to Europe plus the struggle of trying to make a new life in a new country very different from the one left behind, but also of the experiences in the home country causing the new arrivals to make the decision to leave.

The author provides the reader with a greater understanding of lives of new migrants and asylum seekers as they attempt to create a new existence in a strange land. The book is divided into six sections with each section telling a different story. There are often connections between the stories, usually provided by the narrator.

 

The characters in his novel are individuals coming from different parts of Africa and encountering different experiences. They also have different levels of command of English or other Europen languages. The book also illustrates horrific situations occurring in some countries forcing people to flee their homeland. 

 

It would be hard for a reader not to be moved by the experiences faced by the characters in this book as it encourages them to reconsider their ideas about asylum seekers.