I sometimes wonder if it is safe for a novelist to attempt to portray cultures other than her own. Sarah Dunant is an English writer who now divides her time between London and Florence (half her luck!) I daresay she feels that, having studied Italian history and lived amongst Italians, she knows Italian culture. However, as an Italian woman myself, I know how Italians relate to the foreigners in their midst and they are not as easily understood as a British “Italophile” might believe.

Ms Dunant’s first venture into writing about Italy was a contemporary novel, Mapping the Edge, about…

I have recently returned from a trip to Europe which ended in Manchester. Manchester is today a lively, modern city of clear skies, broad canals and proud Victorian architecture. However, the modern city was built on the backs of the dark, satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution.

Although most of us would think of Victorian literature as being about and for the leisured and middle classes, there is also a stream known as the ‘Industrial Novel’ which went beyond this narrow field and ventured into the Midlands where much of the wealth of the leisured classes was created. …

Here in Australia, far away as we are from the sources of our European heritage, nothing is more popular than an exhibition of Dutch Masters of which we have had a few in recent years. The centrepiece of the last such exhibition was The Love Letter by Johannes Vermeer and what a joy it was to be able to stand close to that picture and study every fine detail. But if we are to judge by the recent spate of historical novels inspired by seventeenth century Dutch painting, it is not only Australians who are so fascinated.

Warning: Spoiler alerts

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You remember the old proverb. It was drummed into our heads by our parents and teachers. Don’t make hasty negative judgements about people based on their appearance. Well I’m here to turn that old wisdom on its head and warn you not to have too high expectations of a novel based on the quality of its cover design.

How often have you picked up a book because of its arresting art work, but then got to the end of it thinking either (in Peggy Lee’s immortal words) ‘Is that all there is?’, ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’, ‘What a waste…

I have, in my eclectic collection, two novels which I first read years ago and which, put together, give a fascinating overview of a period of history which is usually neglected, the latter years of the Roman Empire. This neglect is borne out by the fact that when, knowing little about this period, I consulted my library catalogue to find a general history, the only book they had was the classic Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon written over 250 years ago. (Fortunately there was an illustrated abridged edition I could cope with.) Gibbon’s vast oeuvre…

I started posting on Medium in 2016. It was a place I could see my work up in print, express my thoughts on whatever was pre-occupying me at the time and perhaps induce a few readers to buy my books.

This wasn’t my first attempt at blogging. I’ve dabbled in a variety of subjects and formats. Two attempts have evolved into books — Getting into Print: The newbie’s guide to self-publishing and selling your book and Deconstructing Shakespeare: the Lost Years, detailing the research that informed my novel Not Wisely but Too Well. …

The best way to enjoy a Shakespeare play is in the theatre, just as Shakespeare meant us to. However, a live production is not always at hand when you want or need it, so our second-best option is a filmed version of the play. Fortunately, between DVDs, digital downloads, online streaming and cinema broadcasts, there is more Shakespeare available on screen now than ever before. However, the problem that still remains for many students and teachers is where to find these films.

Feature films of Shakespeare’s plays are ever popular. Classic versions of the plays can still be found on…

A bloody revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus fell out of favour for over 300 years until the 20th century, which saw atrocities even Shakespeare could not have imagined. The challenge for a director is to make the play shocking to an audience already inured to blood-soaked entertainment.

More videos of and about Titus Andronicus can be found on the Shakespeare on YouTube channel.

Main author: Pauline Montagna. Additional entries by Tue Sorensen.

Stage and Studio

The BBC Shakespeare Collection (1985)

Directed by Jane Howell (See the full cast and crew on IMDb)

Available on DVD and digital download. …