Various, The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Sixth Edition, Volume 2Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1785–1833) *** Variably enrapturing laudanum-fuelled nightmares, paeans to nature and guilty defences of idleness, concluding with some boring criticism I didn't read because I don't have to write essays any more.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1830–92) **
Thematically all over the shop, pinned down by stubborn rhyme and meter that comes off as a patient challenge. I didn't make it through the Camelot faff.
William Shakespeare, The Illustrated Stratford Shakespeare
The Tempest (1610–11) ***
Touted as The Bard's grand, fantastical, malleabllegorical finale, I still don't get what all the fuss is about. Forbidden Planet did it better.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594) **
Dull courtly love pentangle, brightened by some really laboured jokes that could be mistaken for an exaggerated pisstake. There were some nice rhymes, which is the sort of enthusiastic note I make when forced to listen to rap.
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600) *
Blackadder's putdown to Baldrick that he'd laugh at a Shakespeare comedy frequently came to mind as I endured this mirth-free pantomime of a horny rascal getting his comeuppance, with bonus funny foreign accents. Even the fans don't like this one.
Measure for Measure (1604) **
This early-17th-century #MeToo drama is less problematic than expected, but it still takes about four acts longer than necessary to make its straightforward point.
The Comedy of Errors (1589) ****
Actually recognisable as a comedy and actually funny as contrived confusions and identity crises pass the absurd threshold. Better than Beckett, though I may have been swayed by the phantom laugh track of Elizabethans wetting their breeches.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Original Illustrated Strand Sherlock Holmes
The Sign of the Four (1890) **
Technically a superior sequel, I suppose, but the more laid-back padding made it feel more stretched out than its predecessor's gratuitous double feature, and not really deserving of the length. Its more intimate stakes for Watson could also be considered a plus, but feels off in light of all the episodic jumping around we're going to do. Basically, it's just a bit weird to do the movies before the show.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891–92) *****
Tied with Paradise Lost for the number of versions owned over the years, a miniaturised facsimile of the first two collections was my go-to plane book for a few years, but it's luxurious to have these full-sized in a coffee table book to pore over with morning coffee.
Physically and thematically lighter than the novels, the Adventures are generally more enjoyable as a result, and Holmes' aloof arrogance now comes off as a funny character flaw rather than borderline insufferable. Plenty of classics, but 'The Red-Headed League' was always a favourite for its incredible overcomplication, and it's always refreshing when they get out to the country.
The City and the Stars (1956) ****
Your standard hero's quest turned star trek in an inspired far future setting that's so far down the line, and its machinations conveniently mysterious, that it doesn't come off as dated.
I expect one of those streaming services will mount their own pointless adaptation of it one of these days, rather than having to come up with their own stories.
