1. What is a classic book that you didn't like?
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. This is a prequel to Jan Eyre and I didn't like this book because of how much they changed the character of Rochester. He is never the classic hero in Jane Eyre but he is definitely the bad boy in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea which turns him into a cruel, shiftless and self absorbed man. The greatest issue Rhys seems to have with Rochester is his actions towards Bertha and I understand how this section of Jane Eyre is foreign to modern readers. In today's society when someone in your family has a mental illness it is frowned upon to lock them in an attic. But mental health was viewed very differently in the 19th century and I don't think there are clear examples of Rochester's neglect of Bertha. Bertha is actively trying to kill Rochester and he still provides medical help for her as well as a full time career. I have no problem with authors having a go at writing sequels or prequels to classic books but this vast removal from Charlotte Bronte's vision frustrates me. It is like someone coming along and drawing skeleton men all over the sails of the Sydney Opera House and saying it is all right because they view the opera house as a place of death and skeletons. Maybe they do view it that way, fair enough, but it is not their property to doodle on.
2. What is your favourite time period to read about?
Medieval, Viking, Roman, 16-19th Century Europe, Regency, Elizabethan, American Civil war... I could go on. This question should be worded what time period do you not read about.
3. What is the classic book that you are most embarrassed you haven't read yet?
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I keep putting this off because I am worried the the ending of court case will frustrate me too much. I know most of the story already, do I actually have to read it?
4. What are five classics you would like to read?
Dracuala by Bram Stoker, On the Beach by Nevil Shute, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliff, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. What is your favourite movie or tv series based on a classic book?
Cranford based on the novels set in the village of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I like how the tv series and novels show excitement in the little things that occur in village life.
6. What is the worst classic to movie adaption?
Pride and Prejudice 2005. Similar to Wide Sargasso Sea, I feel this adaption goes too far away from the novel. Lizzie's station in life is changed, the whole village is much more rustic and unrefined, and the characters are crass. At best this was the idea of Pride and Prejudice but certainly not a close copy of the original. There would have been no pig just wandering around indoors at the Bennet household!!
7. What is an under hyped classic you would recommend to anyone?
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book is not completely unheard of but it is certainly over shadowed by Treasure Island. The protagonist David Balfour is an unreliable narrator and his indecision and mistakes create a lot of confusion and adventure. Alan Stewart who travels with David is also a very complex character and I found I kept switching my opinion on whether he was a scoundrel or not. This book set in 18th century Scotland sees David and Alan being pursued over sea and through the Scottish highlands. This is a good old fashioned adventure book, that could be read by anyone!
- Lemony Snicket
