A model of popular Shakespearean scholarship: engagingly accessible and contagiously enthusiastic.
Thirlwell (Into the Frame: The Four Loves of Ford Madox Brown, 2010, etc.) turns to a fictional subject in her charming appraisal of the gender-bending protagonist of As You Like It.
Though the author claims to be “writing Rosalind’s biography,” this delightfully rambling text is more properly described as a blend of literary criticism and theater history. Among its theatrical virtues are Thirlwell’s memories of great Rosalinds she has seen, beginning with Vanessa Redgrave in 1962; thoughtful reflections on the part from a number of gifted contemporary actors, including Juliet Rylance and Fiona Shaw; and a vivid recap of historic Rosalinds, from Dorothy Jordan’s erotically charged 18th-century performances to Charlotte Cushman’s butch version in the Victorian era to Edith Evans’ glittering 1936 incarnation. On the literary side, Thirlwell explores Shakespeare’s sources for As You Like It, the medieval Tale of Gamelyn and Thomas Lodge’s 1590 romance Rosalynde, making the interesting point that Lodge’s heroine is gentler and more feminine than Shakespeare’s powerfully androgynous Rosalind. A later chapter on “Rosalind’s Daughters” strains a bit to include every feisty female from Jo March to Yentl, but a number of surprising quotes reveal that writers as different as Virginia Woolf and Pat Barker have been inspired by Rosalind. Thirlwell devotes the bulk of the book to an exegesis of the text, focusing on Rosalind’s liberation through cross-dressing and her education of Orlando to be worthy of her love. These are fairly standard points, but the author makes them in lucid prose that sweeps up readers in her love for Shakespeare’s thoroughly modern woman. It’s also nice to see underappreciated Celia get her due for wit and wisdom that very nearly equal her cousin Rosalind’s, and Orlando—who can fade into the Forest of Arden in a bland performance—comes to life in Thirlwell’s sensitive appreciation as a romantic juvenile who grows into love between equals.
A model of popular Shakespearean scholarship: engagingly accessible and contagiously enthusiastic.Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68177-335-3
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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