Lovely read

Ethereal mash up of Shakespeare and gothic romances. Now I want read “The Mysteries of Udolpho” and to explore different adaptations of “The Tempest” ( )

I had a lot of fun reading this novella that takes place just after The Tempest. I read the play ages ago but don't remember it very well. I didn't find that mattered to my reading of this title. My favorite part was discovering the backstory of Miranda and her family. I rarely say this but I wish this had been a bit longer as I think some of the relationships could have been more fleshed out. The romance in particular felt rushed, which was a shame as they had some seriously romantic lines with each other but it all felt instantaneous. The characters are a lot younger than me, though, so maybe it was more supposed to be that rush of first love that I don't relate to very well. Recommended. ( )

This book has it all! Mystery, fantasy, Shakespearean references, gold star vocab words, bisexual romance, horror... I loved everything about it, but it was so short and quick that I wish it was a little meatier. ( )

At the end of Shakespeare's Tempest, the previously stranded Prospero and Miranda were ready to go back to Milan, with Prospero having relinquished his magic. Katharine Duckett takes up the story at the moment when they enter Milan (although she does catch us up on what happened in between).

The original play had always contained a lot of conflicting information - we know that Prospero was the good guy because he told us (and Miranda) so but his actions during and before the play makes the reader wonder. In fact everything we know outside of what we see during the play is Prospero's version of events - either directly or by what he had told his daughter. The fact that they sent her away when they exiled him seems to be giving some credence to his story but the doubts always linger. Even Caliban's wrong doings are only presented by what Prospero says about them.

Duckett plays exactly on that ambiguity - what if Prospero was not the maligned innocent and actually was an awful man and Antonio was not the villain in the piece (Miranda being sent to an almost certain death as a toddler notwithstanding)? So here is part of the same story we thought we know - from Caliban's punishment for something he never did, through Miranda realizing what a monster her father is (and always had been) to her finally starting to think for herself - for the first time in her life.

I liked the idea of the story although I am not sure I liked the execution as much. Miranda is way too modern and knowledgeable in certain things (and way too naive in others) in seemingly random moments - not badly enough to grate but still noticeable in some parts. Using dream walking to get us to see the past seemed like a good idea but felt a lot like the author just had no idea how to get Miranda to see the truth so dreams it is (noone dreams all their life every night...). I did not even mind her getting in love - her love for Ferdinand was born on an enchanted island when she had known a total of 2 people in her life. But then Dorothea felt almost like a deus-ex-machina in some places.

I did not really dislike the story and I am happy I read it but at the end I was left wanting something more. Maybe a different structure would have helped. Maybe a bit more reality (despite it being a fantasy story) would have helped (in places it felt as one-toned as a fairy tale for very young children). And I am not entirely sure how much my impressions were colored by the fact that this is probably the Shakespearean play I like the least - both as a story and in the way it was told. ( )

A continuation of The Tempest after Prospero and Miranda return to Milan. This read quite a bit like young adult to me. The plot and characters are not terribly complex, I don't think it comments much on themes of the original play, and there is a lesbian romance. For me, it was just meh--not terribly engaging, insightful, or memorable, but designed to please a particular audience, I'm sure. ( )