Monday ....

And we're back.

I had a nice birthday. Very relaxing. Nothing accomplished. We had dinner at Jake's that evening.

Tonight is Arrow, "The Demon":

Felicity learns something new about Oliver that shocks her. Meanwhile, Diggle asks Curtis to go undercover for ARGUS. Dinah works with an unlikely ally

This weekend on my mystery readers' group, I posed the question about what one book would you save if all books were being destroyed? I narrowed it down to two. I ultimately chose:

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by Josephine Tey.

Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower.

Published 1951; 299 pages. Because I've reread it many times -- I started re-reading it now. It's a contemporary golden age book solving a historical crime.

The other was DISSOLUTION by CJ Sansom.

The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protégé uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

Published 2003; 416 pages. Best historical mystery series.

I'm still reading his newest. Being a UK edition, I don't have the Kindle version to read so it's slow going. Jumping the queue, I read this weekend THE YEAR OF THE FAT KNIGHT: The Falstaff Diaries by Antony Sher.

Antony Sher's account – splendidly supplemented by his own paintings and sketches – of researching, rehearsing and performing one of Shakespeare's best-known and most popular characters, Sir John Falstaff, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2014 production of both parts of Henry IV, directed by Gregory Doran (his life partner). Both the production and Sher's Falstaff were acclaimed by critics and audiences – with Sher winning the Critics' Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance – and the shows transferred from Stratford to London, and then to New York, where Charles Isherwood in the New York Times described Sher's Falstaff as 'one of the greatest performances I've ever seen'. This fascinating book tells us how Sher had initial doubts about playing the part at all, how he sought to reconcile Falstaff's obesity, drunkenness, cowardice and charm, how he wrestled with the fat suit needed to bulk him up, and how he explored the complexities and contradictions of this comic yet often dangerous personality. On the way, he paints a uniquely close-up portrait of the RSC at work. Year of the Fat Knight is a terrific read, rich in humour and with a built-in tension as opening night draws relentlessly nearer. It also stands as a celebration of the craft of character acting. It ranks alongside Year of the King – Sher's seminal account of playing Richard III – as a consummate depiction of the creation of a giant Shakespearean role.

Published 2015; 208 pages.


Stan Lee died today.

Have a great day

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster