Interview with James Forrester, author of Sacred Treason
‘The whole plot becomes so much more sensational when set in the Elizabethan period, and the struggle the conscientious individual to ‘do the right thing’ becomes a battle in itself.’
Crime Fiction Set in the Middle Ages: Historical Novel and Detective Story
Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael Chronicles, however, were no instant success. They did not make the New York Times best-seller list, as Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose did, which was published in 1980 in Italian and translated into English in 1983. The first Brother Cadfael novel had a modest run of 5,000 hard-cover copies, largely for library sales.
The Treatment of Mythology in Children’s Fantasy
Fantasy stories trace their roots back to far older tales: the myths and legends of various cultures, which grew from oral storytelling in the days when myths were the only explanation for the mysterious workings of the real world.
No Game for Knights: The Arthurian Legend in Hardboiled Detective Fiction
In America, novels ranging from The Great Gatsby to John Steinbeck’s Cup of Gold borrowed Arthurian conventions to discuss contemporary American life.
The Mythology of Magic in The Hobbit: Tolkien and Andrew Lang’s Red Fairy Book “Story of Sigurd”
This paper was part of the Tolkien at Kalamazoo sessions.
The Peace Weaver: Wealhthrow in Beowulf
My goal in writing this fictional novella is twofold: to make Beowulf more accessible to modern readers and to expound upon the less articulated female point of view in the poem.
Elements of the Arthurian Tradition in Harry Potter
Both heroes exist to save their people from doom. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, who authored Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) in 1136, Arthur ‘led his troops against the Saxons, who were still making trouble in various parts of the country, and after various vicissitudes he defeated them on a hill outside Bath, wielding a wonderful sword called Caliburn’1 (Ashe, ‘Quest’).
A Response to Anglo-Saxon Heroism and Fourteenth Century Chivalry: Ideals for the Warrior in the Writings of J.R.R. Tolkien
While the chivalric ideal has continued to appear in British literature, Anglo-Saxon heroism with its bond between lord and thane has largely dropped away. The writings of J.R.R. Tolkien provide the striking exception to this.
France’s Jehanne: The 15th Century Heroine in Truth and Fiction
Jehanne bends her legs and arms, holding them close to her chest like a small child, trying hopelessly to find warmth on the cold, damp floor of her prison cell. Sitting only feet away from her body, outside the bars of her tiny cage, two guards argue over whose task it is to watch over her throughout the night. Their loud shouts echo against the tower’s stone walls and follow the stairs to the wet, deserted ground. She extends her arms around her head in an effort to drown out their foul noise from her head and hopefully alleviate her nose from the rank odor of putrefied air.
Book Review: Pope Joan, by Lawrence Durrell
Once I got past all the unnecessary narrative, this book read like a script from a ‘Carry On’ movie: a titillating tale of lusty desires and ambition set against a religious backdrop, and heavily cloaked in the guarded innuendo of the time.
Njáls saga as a novel: four aspects of rewriting
Inspired by Njáls saga and Laxdæla saga, the novel Fire in the Ice by American novelist Dorothy James Roberts is one of numerous modern rewritings of classical and medieval literature.
Interview with Sharon Kay Penman
Best-selling author Sharon Kay Penman has published her twelfth novel, Lionheart, which focuses on King Richard I and his crusade to the Holy…