Terry Jones: Chaucer Scholar

Not many of his fans know it, perhaps, but Terry Jones is a medievalist.  In my Medieval Literature course in college, my professor told my class he had actually written a fairly interesting argument that Chaucer’s fabled knight was probably a mercenary.  If you enjoy history, perhaps you managed to catch an episode of Medieval Lives or Crusades on the History Channel (or its International cousin).

My next book is Terry Jones’ Who Murdered Chaucer: A Medieval Mystery.  Was Chaucer really murdered?  Well, he did sort of vanish from the historical record.  I am hoping that Jones explores even this weighty topic with his usual sense of humor and interest in the trivial (but) fascinating details of the subject.  Perhaps I can finish the book before I begin teaching Chaucer this year and have some interesting tidbits for my students.

I just thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Of all the books I’ve read, it’s the Harry Potter series that I return to time and again and always glean something new from each time.  These books have enriched my life in so many ways, and I will always be grateful I had them during what was otherwise not a very happy time in my life.

Brunonia Barry’s The Lace Reader

I heard about Brunonia Barry’s novel The Lace Reader yesterday via Book Club Girl’s blog.  Book Club Girl has an interview with Barry that really intrigued me, and you ought to give it a listen if my description of the novel intrigues you.  I was lucky to be one of the first ten commenters, which means Book Club Girl will be sending me a free advance reader edition of The Lace Reader.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the novel is how it came to be published.  Trying to get a book published is hard, trying, and often disheartening work.  Rather than spend years trying to find a publisher, Barry published her book herself.  The book became popular with readers and book clubs, and it attracted the attention of publishers who then had to bid for her book.  I love that part of the story.  Barry was able to score a $2 million book deal; the novel will be published by William Morrow and has already generated film industry buzz.

The novel is the story of Towner Whitney, a native of Salem, MA who can read the future in patterns of Ipswich lace.  She returns to her hometown after the murder of two women.  Barry says that her inspiration for the story was Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth, around which I built a senior English elective at my school.  Needless to say, a new book deliberately written with the Hero’s Journey in mind intrigued me.  Barry explains that “Most stories that follow this pattern have a decidedly male orientation: a lone individual acts heroically and saves the day. I wondered if there might be an alternate form, a feminine Hero’s Journey.”  Barry is right.  Of the books I chose, all of them had a male protagonist, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to find a book that had a female protagonist — I couldn’t.  I chose books like The Iliad, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte D’Arthur, The Ramayana, The Hobbit, Star Wars, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which was nixed by my principal), among a few other selected texts.  In part I am intrigued by this book for possible inclusion in my course.

I am about one-quarter into Northanger Abbey, and it’s been a delight.  I love the “heroine” Catherine, and I am looking forward to discovering what the Editrix of Austen Blog loves about Mr. Tilney (I’ve only seen him twice so far).  Austen, as always, has a pitch-perfect ear for conversation, and I was completely charmed by chapter six, in which she recounts a dialogue between Catherine and Isabella Thorpe (whom I also adore).  I should be finishing Emma this weekend, so please look for a review some time on Sunday.  I have decided I will read Charles Dickens next on DailyLit, but I am having trouble choosing a book.  I have narrowed down the list to three selections, and if you have thoughts about which one I should choose, please leave me a comment.

David Copperfield would take me more than a year in 447 daily installments, but A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations are broken into 170 and 231 parts respectively.  When selecting novels for DailyLit, I try to choose books that I think I would otherwise not read, and all three books fit that description, so if you don’t help me, I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on eenie, meenie, miney, and moe for assistance.  Here’s incentive for you: if you successfully convince me to read the book of your choice, I will send you a DailyLit subscription to the book of your choice (so long as it’s free), and you can enjoy a bit of DailyLit in your own inbox.  What do you say?

Emily Brontë

As I read Wuthering Heights, I find myself somewhat awed by Emily Brontë’s characterization and storytelling, especially given her own sister Charlotte’s assertion (in the 1850 introduction to Wuthering Heights) that Emily didn’t have the opportunity to travel widely and learn a great deal about different types of people.  Also, given her age (29) when the novel was completed, her accomplishment is all the more astonishing.

I think many people might read Charlotte’s introduction and find her criticisms somewhat unfair, but they struck me for their even-handedness.  Many of us might be tempted to see only good in a sister’s only novel and greatest accomplishment, especially after that sister’s death, but Charlotte seems to me to be quite a keen critic.  I’m not sure I agree with her criticisms yet (I think I’ll finish the book first), but I found them interesting nonetheless.

I found an excellent resource for readers of Wuthering Heights.  I especially like the photographs and artwork, which help me visualize the setting (not that Brontë is any slouch at description).