Michael Newton (4) (1965–)

While some of the stories were interesting (such as "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs and "Afterward" by Edith Wharton), others just fell flat (such as the overly long Henry James story, "The Jolly Corner," and Edward Bulwer Lytton's "The Haunted and the Haunters: or, The House and the Brain.") We read this as a group, and most of us even questioned whether some of the stories were true ghost stories. Almost all the stories are available in the public domain, so this collection is a bit pricy when that is considered. Purchasers essential pay for the editor's additions--an introduction, a nice bibliography, a bit on each author, and a few end notes. I really wish the author introductions had been at the beginning of each story instead of with the end notes. I wish the end notes had been true footnotes. Most notes explained a word in the text, and it would have been nice not to have to flip on the rare occasion I actually needed to see a definition. I wish the anthology included several contemporary stories.… (plus d'informations)

In this new collection, Michael Newton has pulled together an exemplary set of what he terms "literary fairy tales" – literary not as a value judgment, but in contrast to the oral tradition that had been occupying the likes of the Grimm brothers and others in the preceding eras. In writing their tales, Victorian writers "transform[ed] a form based in the shared telling of tales into self-conscious, authored literary texts," and, Newton argues, they "experimented with the form to explore political and social concerns, as well as questions of identity, love, and the moral life."

Newton selected the stories in this volume for "their representative nature, in order to give the reader a sense of the kinds of literary fairy story that were available in the Victorian period." He surrounds the main collection with two pre-Victorian tales on the front end, and four Victorian essays on the fairy story, including MacDonald's "The Fantastic Imagination." A chronology of the literary fairy tale and notes on the text round out the volume.

All in all, this is an excellent work of scholarship for anyone who is interested in the history, development and impact of fairy tales. Even if Victorian fairy tales are not your favorite, as they are not mine, the anthology is worth checking out, especially as it contains some pieces that are not easy to come by elsewise.

A full review is forthcoming in the May 2015 issue of the Signum Eagle.… (plus d'informations)

Speaking as someone who hasn’t actually seen the movie Rosemary’s Baby, I really had no idea what this book may have been about. What I got was an exhaustive, in depth analysis of an apparently complex film that is almost 70 years old at this point in time. This book covers the many themes of Rosemary’s Baby, and it’s impacts i 1960’s and 1970’s Hollywood. There is also a history on the enigmatic and troubled director Roman Polanski. It was all very informative. I can’t say if this will move me to actually see the film since it’s dark themes might not be for me. Nevertheless, the analysis provided here should certainly appeal to fans of the film and to Hollywood history buffs. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)