Charles Lamb was born on this date in 1775. With his sister Mary, he wrote Tales from Shakespeare, a book of Shakespeare’s plays adapted to story form for children. We always read the Lamb prose version before we go to see a Shakespeare play so that the children can follow the plot without being to frustrated by the archaic language. I recommend it.

By the way, I found out while browsing books at Barnes and Noble that Mary Lamb stabbed her mother and killed her in a fit of temporary insanity. She also attacked and wounded her father. She was “in care” for three years after which she lived with her brother Charles for the rest of his life. She helped write Tales from Shakespeare in one of her more lucid periods, and it was the work that gave them the most fame. I wonder:
How much of the book was Mary’s work and how much was Charles’s?
Mary continued to struggle with recurring bouts of mental illnes for the rest of her life. She outlived her brother by thirteen years. Who took care of her after he died?
What did her father think about Mary? Did he see her after she attacked him and killed his wife?
Did Mary deal with remorse over her actions?

Alexander McCall Smith is a professor of medical law at Edinburgh University and an author. I just read his book, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. ( I know everybody else in the world read this book at least a year ago, but I get my books the cheap way–from the library. And sometimes it takes a while.) The book is set in Botswana, and the setting is a major part of the charm of the book. I don’t know whether or not McCall Smith gets Botswana “right,” but I do know that the Africa in this book is an intriguing and beautiful place. And Precious Ramotswe, a single African lady, who calls herself a “fat lady detective,” is a likable character. She resolves several mysteries and various personal problems of her clients with intelligence, humor, and grace. When people question the idea of a woman detective, Mma Ramotswe reminds them that Agatha Christie was a lady. As the book progresses, we get to see the detective business grow and prosper, and Precious Ramotswe is called upon to combat a great social evil, the sale of human bones as magic charms. The only part I didn’t understand was the ending. Why did she decide to say yes?
This book has three or four sequels which I plan to read. Maybe I’ll find the answer to my question in another book.

Dickens Novels I’ve Read: David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations
Favorite Dickens Hero: Pip, Great Expectations
Favorite Dickens Villain: Madame Defarge, Tale of Two Cities
Favorite Tragic Scene: Mr. Peggotty searching for Littel Em’ly (Is that a scene or an episode?)
Favorite Comic Character: Mr. Micawber, David Copperfield
Favorite Comic Scene: Miss Betsy Trotter chasing the donkeys out of her yard, David Copperfield
Strangest Dickens Christmas Story We’ve Read: “The Poor Relation’s Story”
Best Dickens Novel I’ve Read: A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield is a close second.

Comparisons are odious. Lust’s Dominion. Act iii. Sc. 4

And I thought this bit of wisdom, which I repeat to the urchins frequently, came straight from Madeleine L’Engle. Upon further research, I see that Christopher Marlowe wasn’t the first to commit to writing this piece of wisdom either. Maybe it was Sir John Fortescue (whoever he was) or even Cervantes. It seems that it’s hard to be the first to say something, and comparisons are odious.

Happy Birthday, Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe was a playwright, contemporary of Shakespeare, accused of being a blasphemer, denying the divinity of Christ, and also possibly a spy. He was killed in a barroom brawl at the age of 29. His plays are often compared to those of Shakespeare, but, well, you know the rest.

Husband and wife teams who write and illustrate books together are fun to think about. I could write stories and Engineer Husband could illustrate; on the other hand, we couldn’t dream of reversing the roles. I can’t draw squat, and he can’t even make up a bedtime story. We all have our own talents. In the Hoban household, Russell and Lillian both wrote stories and both illustrated stories. In 1975, they divorced. Ouch, maybe this husband-wife collaboration thing isn’t such a good idea after all. Anyway, they produced some great books together before the break-up. I love Frances.

If I look up the author of a book to find out more about her, it’s a sure sign that I really liked the book. I just finished reading The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and I went immediately to the web to see if she had any more books out and to find out something about the author. Ms. Hale loves Robin McKinley and C.S. Lewis, both of whom adapted fairy tales into novels. The Goose Girl is based on the Grimm fairy tale of the same name. It’s a great story about betrayal, and identity, and language, and finding one’s own voice. I’m quite impressed and happy to read that Shannon Hale has two more novels, Enna Burning, published last fall, and The Princess Academy, due out this summer.

I just read The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children, a collection of speeches by Katherine Paterson, one of my favorite children’s authors. Of course, now I want to write children’s books. The problem is that when I read Tolkien I want to create a fantasy world, and when I read Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie I want to write murder mysteries. And when I read poetry, I want to become a poet. When I read a really good blog entry, I even want to become a really good blogger.
I’m such a copycat, and no one wants to be a copycat. I know that wanting to write, and being a writer who does the real work of a writer are two very different things. I simply can’t help feeling that I might actually be able to do the work if I disciplined myself and did it. However, I’m also afraid that whatever I wrote would look like a pale imitation of whatever I read last. And such derivative writing wouldn’t be worth the time and energy it took to do it.
So, for now, my inner writer remains mostly invisible. Except here on this blog.

Do you remember Gallant and Goofus? (Hint: Highlights magazine) The model for Gallant died this past week.
I think Highlights was/is a fantastic magazine. I never had a subscription when I was little, but I used to read it somehow. (In the doctor’s office? Old copies from somewhere?) I remember all those questions on the back page that got progressively harder and harder. And I remember reading lots of Baba Yaga stories out of Highlights magazine. Baba Yaga, for those who were deprived of the experience, was a Russian witch character, and for some reason Highlights had a whole series of fairy tale stories about her. And I liked them.

The following people share a birthdate with our vice-president:
Ann Taylor, author of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, b. 1782
Barbara Tuchman, author of one my favorite works of historical nonfiction, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century, b. 1912
Walter Savage Landor, poet, b. 1775

Finis
I STROVE with none, for none was worth my strife.
Nature I loved and, next to Nature, Art:
I warm’d both hands before the fire of life;
It sinks, and I am ready to depart.

Angela Margaret Thirkell, author of about 30 books about English village life during and just after WW II.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, b. 1882
Lloyd Alexander, b. 1924, author of fantasy based on Celtic mythology

In honor of Mr. Alexander, I give you some of my favorite fantasy worlds. Can you name an author/creator and at least one book title for each one?
1. Middle Earth (easy)
2. Narnia (easy)
3. Prydain (should be easy)
4. Valinor
5. Earthsea
6. Pern
7. Land between the Mountains
8. Wonderland
9. Oz
10. Shangri-la
11. Westmark
12. Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and Land of the Houyhnhnms
13. The 100 Acre Wood
14. Dictionopolis and Digitopolis
15. Asteroid B 612

Actually, most of these should be easy. And did you know that George Macdonald and his family read Lewis Carrol’s “Alice story” and encouraged him to have it published?